Manchester City are looking to make a big midfield signing in this transfer window, with Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips reportedly at the top of their wish-list.
Phillips, 26, has been with Leeds his entire senior career, and excelled on the world stage when he started every game in England's run to the Euro 2020 final.
He was rewarded for his excellent international play with England's 2020-21 Senior Men's Player of the Year award, and may have the opportunity to parlay that into Champions League football at the Etihad Stadium.
TOP STORY – CITY SETS SIGHTS ON LEEDS' PHILLIPS
Phillips' stats of one goal and three assists in his past two Premier League campaigns do not tell the story of his impact, as he is arguably England's best defensive midfielder.
After 12 years with Leeds, Phillips has reportedly played his last game for the club, with The Sun claiming City have prepared a £60million bid.
ESPN mentions a factor working in Phillips' favour with City is that he will count as a homegrown player for Champions League purposes, and that Pep Guardiola views him as a strong fit for both the number-six and number-eight roles in his set-up.
ROUND-UP
– The Manchester Evening News is reporting Manchester United remain in discussions with Barcelona for Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, but they are not willing to pay the current £85m price-tag.
– Liverpool and City are both monitoring 17-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi, despite his release clause reportedly coming in at £85m, according to Marca.
– RB Leipzig have set a price of £100m for teams chasing Christopher Nkunku due to the Frenchman not desiring a move away this transfer period, with the Independent reporting interest remains from Arsenal, United and Paris Saint-Germain.
– According to the Telegraph, Newcastle United are moving on from Lille defender Sven Botman after the asking price was raised from £30m to £36m.
– The Telegraph is reporting that Tottenham have joined the race for Everton's Richarlison, with the asking price set at £50m.
Liverpool 4-3 Chelsea: Blues' title hopes suffer huge hit as Bonner decides seven-goal thriller
Chelsea's hopes of a fifth straight Women's Super League title are hanging by a thread after a dramatic 4-3 defeat to Liverpool, with Gemma Bonner scoring a stoppage-time winner for the Reds.
Arriving at Prenton Park six points behind leaders Manchester City with two games in hand, Chelsea had no margin for error but finished on the wrong end of a remarkable contest.
The Blues started brightly and went ahead through Agnes Beever-Jones' header, with Catarina Macario being denied a second by a marginal offside call. However, Liverpool hit back early in the second half as Sophie Haug looped a header in from Marie-Therese Hobinger's corner.
Matt Beard's Reds went ahead for the first time when another Hobinger corner was flicked in by Bonner at the near post, though Chelsea made it 2-2 with 10 minutes to play as Beever-Jones rifled into an empty net after Niamh Charles drew Teagan Micah off her line.
Emma Hayes would have been expecting them to kick on from there, but Liverpool were back ahead within 59 seconds as Leanne Kiernan latched onto Ceri Holland's pass to slot home.
Chelsea drew level for a second time when Macario's shot deflected in off Micah, but they were caught with a sucker punch as they chased a winner, Bonner glancing yet another Hobinger corner home to leave Hayes needing a miracle to deliver a farewell title.
Data Debrief: Hayes' hopes fading
Future United States boss Hayes was furious with the officials after Chelsea exited the Women's Champions League against Barcelona on Saturday, but a fast start to Wednesday's game would have given her hope of a response.
However, Chelsea let a chaotic game get away from them after the break, losing a league match in which they led at half-time for the first time since September 2022 – a 2-1 loss at Liverpool.
Having been eyeing a quadruple just a few weeks ago, Chelsea now need an incredible collapse from City if they are to retain their title – given the Citizens' superior goal difference, just one more win may get them over the line.
'It's here to stay' – Postecoglou jokes he's moving to Sweden to escape VAR
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has joked he may move to Sweden in order to escape VAR, claiming it has changed English football for the worse.
Plans to introduce VAR to the Swedish Allsvenskan – the country's top tier – have been dropped amid fierce opposition from clubs and supporters.
The use of VAR in the Premier League has been a major talking point throughout the season, with a number of high-profile controversies undermining fan support for the technology.
Last week, Mauricio Pochettino said VAR had "damaged" the image of English football after Axel Disasi had a potential stoppage-time winner chalked off during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa.
Ahead of Thursday's meeting with Pochettino's Blues, Postecoglou was asked whether English clubs might follow the lead of their Swedish counterparts.
"I'm moving there. I don't have a job, I'm just moving there," Postecoglou joked, before adding: "Yeah, it's here to stay, absolutely. It's not going away.
"I'd change a hell of a lot on it, but I've said that before. I think it's changed the game materially, which I don't think was the intention when it was brought in."
Postecoglou also seemed to suggest the application of VAR in England has been more troublesome than elsewhere, saying it had worked "seamlessly" in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final draw between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
"I watched the Champions League last night like everyone else, and if you hadn't told me VAR was part of the game I wouldn't have known," Postecoglou added.
"I'm sure they had decisions to make but it seemed to work pretty seamlessly.
"Like I said, we're trying to pick the bones out of every little thing that happens in a football game at the moment – whether that's the referee or any other part.
"I don't like it, it changes the game, it changes the game experience whether you're involved or not as an active spectator. Hopefully they'll find the right sort of ground for it to work."
Pochettino says Chelsea in 'most challenging period' ahead of Spurs reunion
Mauricio Pochettino says facing his former club Tottenham will always be "emotional", but his full focus is on guiding Chelsea through a testing period ahead of Thursday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.
Pochettino enjoyed a successful five-year stint with Spurs between 2014 and 2019, leading them to a Champions League final and to three straight top-three Premier League finishes.
He has found the going more difficult since taking over a Chelsea side still going through a transitional period under the Todd Boehly regime, with the big-spending Blues sitting ninth in the Premier League table.
Chelsea did beat Tottenham 4-1 in a memorable return fixture in November, meaning Pochettino could become the first coach to complete a Premier League double over Spurs having previously managed them in the competition.
"It will be emotional coming up against people who I worked with for a long period. I can't hide my emotion for the club," Pochettino told reporters on Wednesday.
"But across 90 minutes we want to win and Tottenham are going to come here to try and win."
Chelsea are five points adrift of the top seven with a game in hand, and Pochettino believes the club are taking the first steps on a path similar to that followed by his Spurs team.
"Tottenham was amazing because the challenge was to create a team that could compete with top sides," he added.
"Now at Chelsea, we are in the process of building an exciting project that needs time and this is maybe the most challenging period."
Tottenham are in desperate need of points if they are to reel in Aston Villa and secure a top-four finish, having suffered back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United (0-4) and Arsenal (2-3).
Despite their recent slide, Ange Postecoglou is in no doubt that his team have made big strides this term, saying: "What I see is us playing football, measuring ourselves against the best.
"My players have got real belief in what we are doing. That's all I need to see."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Chelsea – Cole Palmer
Palmer, whose tally of 20 Premier League goals this term has only been bettered by Erling Haaland (21), has scored hat-tricks in each of his last two home games, netting three goals against Manchester United and four versus Everton.
The only player to ever score three or more goals in three straight home Premier League matches is Haaland, who did so against Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and United last season.
Tottenham – Guglielmo Vicario
Vicario failed to command his area from corners as Arsenal scored twice from such situations in last week's North London derby, and it's an area in which the Italian needs to improve.
Only United (15.3) and Burnley (14.9) have allowed their opponents a higher cumulative expected goals (xG) figure from set-piece situations than Tottenham's 14.3 in the Premier League this season, though Chelsea's tally of 83 shots from dead-balls is a league-low number.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Chelsea have a great record against their London rivals, recording 34 Premier League wins over Spurs. Only United have beaten them more often in the competition, with 39 victories.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have only lost one of the last 33 league meetings between the sides, going down 3-1 in April 2018 when Pochettino was in the Tottenham dugout.
Tottenham are looking to avoid suffering three straight Premier League defeats for the second time this season, having also done so in November – a run which began with their 4-1 defeat in the reverse fixture against Chelsea.
Postecoglou's men could think themselves unfortunate on that occasion, though, missing several good chances to get back into the game despite being reduced to nine men by red cards for Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie.
One thing is for certain – goals should be expected. Chelsea have already conceded 59 Premier League goals this term, their most in a single campaign in the competition, while Spurs have shipped 52 and failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six matches. An entertaining draw could be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Chelsea – 39.9%
Tottenham – 32.6%
Draw 27.5%
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