Jude Bellingham can leave Borussia Dortmund if Europe's big names come calling as the German club cannot "afford to fight financially", says their CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke.

Bellingham's strong start to the season has seen him register 12 goal involvements in all competitions, earning him a place in England's World Cup and garnering interest from a number of top clubs.

Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all rumoured to be interested in the midfielder, who signed for Dortmund from Birmingham City as a 17-year-old in 2020 for an initial fee of £25million.

If Bellingham does leave, Dortmund reportedly want a fee of €100m, though that number could end up reaching €150m should a bidding war play out for his services.

While Bellingham is yet to publicly state any desire to leave Dortmund, Watzke knows will be difficult to keep hold of him if that changes and the top teams come calling.

"We will hold talks now, as soon as [the World Cup in] Qatar is over," Watzke told Bild. "Then we'll have a fundamental talk about what he would like.

"He just needs to tell us if he'd like to stay or if he'd like to go. In both cases we'll talk about it very pleasantly and reasonably together.

"In general we can imagine that he'd stay with us, but we can't behave as if this topic wasn't on the table.

"If he says 'I'd like to do something else,' then the really big [clubs] in Europe will be there and we can't afford to fight financially."

Barcelona are expected to be major players in the January transfer market after a busy pre-season.

The 26-time Spanish champions are top of LaLiga at the World Cup break but crashed out of the Champions League.

The Blaugrana are still battling financial challenges, while they also have some unsettled players on their books.

TOP STORY – BARCELONA PLOTTING JANUARY GUNDOGAN MOVE

Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona are planning to move for Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in January, with fears Franck Kessie may exit soon.

The Blaugrana are eager to bolster their midfield options and a move for Bernardo Silva appears difficult despite their ongoing interest.

As a result, Barca have turned to the Germany international, whose contract with City ends in mid-2023. The report also claims the Catalans could move for Leicester City's Youri Tielemans.

Kessie has been linked with Premier League clubs Aston Villa and Fulham by Spanish media outlet Sport. The Ivorian only joined in July, but the club's financial position means they are open to letting players go.

ROUND-UP

– Despite being linked with a long list of names, Sport claims Barcelona will only make one signing in the January transfer window, with a right-back seen as a priority. Manchester United's Diogo Dalot, Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard and Villarreal's Juan Foyth are among their options.

– New Aston Villa heard coach Unai Emery wants to bring in Real Madrid's Eden Hazard and Nacho Fernandez, according to El Nacional. Spanish boss Emery left Villarreal for the Villans last month.

– Juventus are ready to offer a new contract to French midfielder Adrien Rabiot, claims Tuttosport. Rabiot had been linked with an off-season move, with Manchester United mentioned as a possible destination, but has impressed this term.

– La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Milan are putting together a bid for Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech in January. The Moroccan winger is expected to cost less than €20million (£17.5m).

– Inter are keen on Valencia left-back Jesus Vazquez in January and a mid-2023 move for Borussia Monchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram, reports La Gazetta dello Sport.

Pep Guardiola believes he would struggle to find a better club than Manchester City, but he still will not discuss his long-term future at the Etihad Stadium.

The Spaniard's contract with the Premier League champions expires at the end of this campaign, by which point he will have had seven years at the helm.

In that period, he has four league titles, four EFL Cups and one FA Cup, although the Champions League crown he was brought in to help secure continues to elude him.

Guardiola's stay at City now matches the time he spent at former clubs Barcelona and Bayern Munich combined, and he acknowledges his working conditions could hardly be better.

"[Would I] stay in another place for seven years? No, I don't think so," he told The Athletic. "It is difficult to find what I have here as a manager.

"To be a manager for a long time, you need to be so supported. The results help a lot, that is undeniable. In this world, they sack you, they fire you, we know that.

"But at big clubs, part of the success of the manager is the chairman, the sporting director especially, the CEOs and all the people here.

"It goes to the media, fans and players. There is stability. This is why I think only in few clubs this can happen."

With the club season set to take a hiatus for the World Cup imminently, City could move to tie Guardiola down to a new long-term deal.

The manager dodged the question on imminent talks, however, only adding: "I've said many times, I don't talk about that.

"Everything is under control. The decision will be made together with the club the moment it has to be made. When we have time, when the moment we feel it both sides, we take a decision."

The final round of Premier League fixtures before the World Cup break produced a huge shock at the Etihad Stadium.

After missing out on England's World Cup squad, Ivan Toney struck twice to give Brentford a sensational 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

That result confirmed Arsenal would be top heading into the World Cup interval, and they increased their lead to five points by cruising past Wolves at Molineux as Martin Odegaard scored both goals in a 2-0 triumph.

Tottenham and Leeds United played out a seven-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the hosts eventually running out 4-3 winners.

Elsewhere, Chelsea fell to a third straight league defeat as they were beaten 1-0 by in-form Newcastle United.

Here, Stats Perform looks through the best facts of the day.

Manchester City 1-2 Brentford: Toney double stuns Citizens

City had previously been unbeaten for 20 home matches in all competitions since a 3-2 defeat against Spurs in February, winning their last 16 at the Etihad.

But Toney, fresh from his England disappointment, scored his 21st and 22nd Premier League goals to end City's streak in dramatic fashion.

His winner came after 97 minutes and 16 seconds, the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since exact goal times started being recorded in the 2006-07 campaign.

The Bees were made to do a lot of defending to earn the three points, with City's 29 shots their most in a Premier League home game they failed to win since a 2-1 defeat to Leeds United in April 2021.

Phil Foden's equaliser in first-half injury time was his sixth home goal in all competitions, his joint-best return in a Premier League season. Six of his eight goals (75 per cent) this season have come at the Etihad, compared to 43 per cent last term (six of 14).

Wolves 0-2 Arsenal: Odegaard fires Gunners to five-point lead

Odegaard's double puts him up to six Premier League goals this season, the most of any Arsenal player, while only Kevin de Bruyne, James Maddison and Leandro Trossard have been involved in more away goals than the Norway international (five, four goals and one assist).

The three points, combined with City slipping up, gives Arsenal their biggest lead at the top of the Premier League since December 2013.

Mikel Arteta's men are the only team to have scored in every Premier League game this season and they will be top of the league on Christmas day for the first time since the 2007-08 campaign.

Another defeat for Wolves means new boss Julen Lopetegui has much work to do, with the Molineux club bottom at Christmas for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

They are seriously out of form, only winning one of their last 22 Premier League games, failing to score in 11 matches over that run.

Tottenham 4-3 Leeds United: Bentancur strikes twice as Spurs come from behind

Antonio Conte's side completed yet another turnaround to beat Leeds and have now rescued 13 points from losing positions, more than any other team.

Rodrigo Bentancur's late double was the first time he has scored twice in the same game within the main five European leagues, on what was his 164th such appearance.

Spurs were made to do it the hard way, as Rodrigo and Crysencio Summerville became the first pair of team-mates to both score in four straight Premier League games.

But Leeds ultimately succumbed to defeat, their fifth straight league loss against London sides since thumping Chelsea 3-0 in August.

Spurs meanwhile have now scored 31 goals in 15 Premier League games this season, only bettering that tally at this stage of the competition in one season, when they netted 35 in 15 to kick off the 2009-10 campaign.

Newcastle United 1-0 Chelsea: Willock wonder strike downs Blues

Joe Willock scored a superb winner to earn Newcastle a fifth straight Premier League victory for the first time since 2014.

On the flip side, Graham Potter becomes the first Chelsea boss to lose three consecutive league matches since Jose Mourinho in 2015 as his side's poor form continues.

A key reason for the defeat was a dismal attacking display, registering just seven touches in the opposition box, their lowest since January against Manchester City.

The closest Chelsea went to scoring was Conor Gallagher forcing an acrobatic save from Nick Pope. No other goalkeeper has kept more clean sheets in the Premier League this season than Pope, with five of his seven coming at St James' Park.

The three points ensure Newcastle will be in the top three at Christmas for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign, when they were top.

Pep Guardiola acknowledged Brentford were worthy victors after Ivan Toney's double condemned Manchester City to a damaging Premier League defeat on Saturday. 

City approached their meeting with Brentford knowing a win would move them – at least temporarily – to the top of the table, but Toney added to his opener with a 98th-minute winner as the Bees clinched a shock victory.

The champions failed to build on Phil Foden's outstanding first-half equaliser despite subjecting Brentford to long spells of pressure, and Guardiola believes the result was a fair one.

"The best team won, the better team won," Guardiola told BT Sport. 

"We struggled a lot from the long balls, direct from [David] Raya up to the striker, and when they lost the ball, they were always behind the ball.

"We had problems up front and we didn't have our rhythm. We had more momentum, but when it was crosses, second balls... we struggled.

"It's difficult, in the small spaces, we need the quality and we struggled. But yeah, they were better, I accept it."

Toney's second strike came after 97 minutes and 16 seconds, making it the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since Opta's exact goal times became available in 2006-07.

The result ended City's 20-match unbeaten run on home soil, but Guardiola does not feel the spectre of the World Cup affected his team's performance.

Asked whether his side played with caution ahead of the tournament, Guardiola said: "Who knows? I don't think so. 

"I think the problem was tactical, you saw how the guys ran and how they fought, it was more the long balls and second balls, we weren't able to do it.

"It's football, now there's a break for everyone. I congratulate Brentford. Hopefully the guys at the World Cup can enjoy it, and we'll come back."

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank struggled to find the words to describe Ivan Toney after he fired Brentford to a dramatic 2-1 win at Manchester City, declaring: 'what a striker!'

Toney was overlooked when Gareth Southgate named England's World Cup squad this week, but he responded in outstanding fashion by scoring twice in a famous win for the Bees. 

Having latched onto Josh Dasilva's cross to score a dramatic winner eight minutes into stoppage time, Toney has reached double figures for Premier League goals this season, scoring two or more goals in three separate games. 

Speaking to BT Sport after masterminding Brentford's victory, Frank hailed Toney's performance and praised his side for keeping City talisman Erling Haaland quiet.

"He's fantastic," Frank said of Toney. "I can't praise him enough. What I would say is the most important thing is how good a person he is, how emotionally intelligent he is around his team-mates.

"Then of course, what a player, what a striker! Scoring two goals, he should probably have had one more. Imagine having a hat-trick here at the Etihad, I thought that was only for Haaland!

"We spoke before the game about how to eliminate Haaland, but I think we did it perfectly. We tried to stop the sources into him, then when the ball came into the box, we defended it brilliantly."

Toney has now scored 22 Premier League goals for Brentford, more than double the tally recorded by any other player for the club (Yoane Wissa is second with 10). 

Having fired Brentford to their first win at City since 1937, Toney said he would not let his disappointment at missing the World Cup affect his displays.

"Listen, the only thing is to keep doing well, keep doing my best for the team and who knows what can happen," Toney said.

"I mean, obviously it's a disappointment but I know what I'm capable of, I won't let it put me down, I'll just keep going and keep doing well for Brentford.

"The motivation is the boys in the dressing room and the fans, as you can see. When you work hard, it's all you can do."

Ivan Toney responded to his failure to make England's World Cup squad by firing Brentford to a stunning 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, preventing the champions from going top of the Premier League.

Brentford went ahead after 16 minutes when Toney nodded beyond Ederson, but City levelled through Phil Foden's brilliant half-volley after pinning the visitors back.

However, Pep Guardiola's men struggled to break down the stubborn Bees in a stop-start second half, and Toney finished off a fine Brentford break by tapping home a dramatic winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

The result saw City sign off for the World Cup break in frustrating fashion, leaving them two points behind leaders Arsenal ahead of the Gunners' trip to Wolves later on Saturday. 

Jurgen Klopp has been suspended by the Football Association (FA) for one game with immediate effect, meaning he will be unable to be on the touchline for Liverpool's home match with Southampton.

Klopp was shown a red card for furiously charging towards assistant referee Gary Beswick and berating the official late in a 1-0 Premier League win for Liverpool against Manchester City at Anfield on October 16.

The Liverpool manager subsequently conceded that he "lost it", having also confronted referee Anthony Taylor.

Klopp was fined £30,000 by an independent regulatory commission but avoided a touchline ban.

However, the FA has successfully appealed that decision, and Liverpool's manager will have to watch on from the stands at Anfield on Saturday, in what is the Reds' final game before the World Cup break.

An FA statement read: "An independent Appeal Board has allowed The FA's appeal against an Independent Regulatory Commission's sanction in relation to the recent case involving Jurgen Klopp.

"As a result, the Liverpool FC manager has been suspended from the touchline for one match with immediate effect, fined £30,000, and warned as to his future conduct."

Liverpool got back to winning ways in the league by beating Tottenham on Sunday, before they edged past Derby County on penalties in the EFL Cup third round in midweek.

Southampton travel to Anfield with a new manager in place after appointing Nathan Jones as Ralph Hasenhuttl's successor.

Khadijah Shaw has expressed her delight at winning the Women’s Super League Player of the Month Award for the very first time.

The 24-year-old Manchester City and Jamaica striker was named Barclays WSL player for October after leading her team to victories over Leicester City, Tottenham and Liverpool, scoring five goals in those three matches.

Shaw’s seven goals this season make her the leading scorer in the WSL and has helped City climb to fourth in the league on 12 points after losing their first two games of the season.

“I am delighted to win this award for the first time. It has been a very successful month for us as a team and I am grateful to everyone who voted for me in a very talented shortlist of players,” said Shaw who played for Jamaica in their 1-0 win over Paraguay in an international friendly in Jamaica on Thursday.

“We are feeling so confident after these recent wins and I am enjoying my football right now personally, but the most important thing is results and helping the team to have as much success as possible.”

Shaw is in her second season with Manchester City after joining in 2021 from Bordeaux in France where she was the Golden Boot winner with 22 goals and seven assists.

Shaw will suit up for Jamaica again on Sunday when Jamaica plays Paraguay at the National Stadium in Kingston in the second of two international friendlies.

Pep Guardiola joked both he and Jurgen Klopp will need to play for Manchester City and Liverpool when the sides meet after the World Cup.

The Premier League rivals will meet for the third time this season, having faced off in the Community Shield and the top-flight already, with the Reds victorious on both occasions, when they play each other in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

But their next encounter will come immediately in the shadow of Qatar 2022, with the tie set to take place only a handful of days after the World Cup final on December 18.

That has led Guardiola to suggest both managers may need to lace up their boots, while conceding he does not know how his team will look once the dust settles after the tournament.

"He's going to play at left-back," he quipped on Klopp in a press conference. "I'm going to play holding midfielder. [But] I don't know how many players we will have.

"If [their national teams] don't get through the group stages, then they will be able to play Liverpool. If not, then we will see. Players will come back, but I don't know in what condition [yet]."

Both City and Liverpool will see several key players head to Qatar with their respective nations, though a fleet of players will not be called up.

That includes those, such as Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah, whose countries have not qualified, while others like Roberto Firmino and Thiago Alcantara have not made the cut.

In the case of Haaland, Guardiola does not necessarily see the Norway international's break from action as a blessing in disguise, despite the striker's recent struggles with fitness.

"I'd prefer him to go to the World Cup," he added. "[But] unfortunately they didn't qualify. He'll recover hopefully perfectly from his injury. He'll be in Marbella or Norway, and will hopefully come back to train."

City play Brentford in the Premier League this weekend, in their final game before the mid-season break, but will be without Kyle Walker as he continues to recover from injury.

The defender was named in England's World Cup squad alongside club-mate Kalvin Phillips, who only returned to action himself in midweek, with Guardiola saying Gareth Southgate's call to take the duo to Qatar is backed by City.

"It's a decision from Gareth," he added. "One-hundred per cent, we support his decision. After Saturday, the players belong to their national team, not us. I'm not worried."

Joao Felix is angling for a way out of Atletico Madrid, having fallen out of favour in Spain.

The 22-year-old has started only eight of the 17 games he has played in this season, netting three goals.

The forward is contracted with Atletico until 2026, having signed a bumper seven-year deal when joining from Benfica in 2019.

TOP STORY – PSG PLOTTING JANUARY LOAN MOVE FOR JOAO FELIX

Paris Saint-Germain have joined the list of clubs interested in Atletico Madrid's wantaway forward Joao Felix, according to Le Parisien.

PSG may look to sign the Portuguese on loan in January, having been interested in a move for him during the last transfer window.

Joao Felix has also been linked with Bayern Munich and Manchester United, with both clubs reportedly bidding for him in the last transfer window.

ROUND-UP

– Borussia Dortmund are bullish they can ward off interest in their 19-year-old midfielder Jude Bellingham and retain his services, reports 90min. Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United are all keen on the England international.

– Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa may have penned a new contract last week, but Manchester United are still monitoring the 23-year-old, reports Nicolo Schira. United will keep an eye on him during the World Cup, although he has a €75million (£65m) release clause.

– Arsenal are willing to fork out £56m to land Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Mykhailo Mudryk, according to Dean Jones on GiveMeSport.

– Roma are interested in out-of-favour Barcelona full-back Hector Bellerin, having failed to lure Manchester United's Diogo Dalot, reports Calciomercato.

– West Ham have identified Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Kouadio Kone as their top transfer target, reports Bild.

EFL Cup holders Liverpool will go up against fellow Premier League giants Manchester City in the fourth round of the competition.

Liverpool needed penalties to get past League One side Derby County on Wednesday, while City have already seen off top-flight rivals in Chelsea thanks to a 2-0 win.

But the two were paired together in Thursday's draw, meaning there will be at least one major casualty in the fourth round, with games due to take place just a few days after the World Cup final.

Manchester United booked their place in the draw with a thrilling 4-2 win over Aston Villa on Thursday, and they will be confident of a more straightforward route through the next round after drawing Championship side Burnley, now managed by City great Vincent Kompany.

Gareth Southgate says it may have been perceived as "arrogant" to select Reece James for England at the World Cup with "too many unknowns" over his recovery from injury.

The Chelsea full-back was left out of England's 26-man squad for the World Cup, which starts on November 20 in Qatar, after being sidelined since October 11 with a knee issue.

James sustained the injury in a Champions League clash with Milan and, despite no initial concern, scans revealed damaged ligaments could keep him out for up to eight weeks.

The 22-year-old still hoped to make England's travelling party but Three Lions manager Southgate opted to leave the right-back out due to the unknown nature of his recovery.

"We had to make a very difficult call with Reece, who is a fantastic player," Southgate said.

"He was not going to be available – if everything went perfectly – until the latter stages of the tournament and there were too many unknowns for us on that road to recovery."

Kyle Walker was still selected despite not playing since limping off in Manchester City's derby-day victory over Manchester United on October 2.

Southgate suggested Walker has made more encouraging progression in his recovery as he claimed including James may not be looked upon favourably due to issues over his group-stage availability.

"I do not think we can take a player who is not available for the group stage, that would be deemed arrogant in some circles," the 52-year-old added.

"But if everything went well and he was available, we would be dropping him into a quarter-final after eight weeks out. That would be really demanding. So it was a tough call.

"Kyle is a long way ahead of that and is progressing really well."

England face Iran in their World Cup opener before Group B fixtures against the United States and Wales.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola heaped praise on England World Cup hopeful Jack Grealish after a "magnificent" display in Wednesday's 2-0 EFL Cup win over Chelsea.

Grealish is expected to be named in Gareth Southgate's 26-man World Cup squad on Thursday and offered a timely reminder of his quality against the Blues.

The 28-year-old midfielder forced Edouard Mendy into a couple of saves early in the second half and was full of confidence and energy in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.

"Jack was magnificent," Guardiola told reporters. "He played really well. I want Jack to have responsibility when we play with Kevin or Phil.

"When he gets the ball and attacks the backline, his intention is always to pass the ball.

"All the time we tell him to go to score a goal. He has the body language to pass the ball, but tonight his body language was 'I am going to score a goal'. He didn’t score, but one day he will do it. Jack is playing really good."

The game marked Grealish's 13th start for the season, having only managed one goal in 16 appearances.

City teammate Kalvin Phillips, who returned from a shoulder injury as a 50th minute substitute, hailed Grealish.

"Jack has trained hard every single day," Phillips said. "He's not had the luck with scoring and assists, but I think he brings a lot more to the team than just that.

"When you see him play and he plays like that, it's a joy to watch."

Chelsea manager Graham Potter believes Wednesday's 2-0 EFL Cup loss to Manchester City was a "step forward" for the Blues despite suffering their third defeat from their past four games.

The Blues have only won two of their past seven games under Potter, who replaced Thomas Tuchel in September, amid a poor run of form.

Potter made seven changes to his starting line-up from the side that went down 1-0 to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday but was enthused albeit disappointed by the defeat.

"I thought there were quite a few positives," Potter told reporters. "Obviously, we’re disappointed with the result but in terms of how we played, we created some good chances, there was a better structure and performance level.

"The team looked closer to what we want it to look like [compared to Arsenal]. The boys had great courage and they tried against a top team.

"Their goalkeeper got man of the match and I think that tells a little bit of the story. But overall, I think it was a step forward for us."

Potter's side go to third-placed Newcastle United in the Premier League on Saturday in their final game before the World Cup break. Chelsea are winless in four league games.

"We're concerned when we don’t get the results we want," Potter said. "Our performances have not been what we want either in the last couple of games. Tonight was a big step in terms of how we want to play, and we can get confidence from that.

"It’s a big game at Newcastle, 5.30 on the TV, it'll be a fantastic atmosphere. They’re doing really well, so it’ll be a tough game, but we have to try and go there and get the three points."

Potter was impressed with 18-year-old midfielder Lewis Hall, after the England youth international earned his second career start for the Blues.

Hall played 75 minutes and had a good chance saved by City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega late in the first half in an energetic display.

"I really enjoyed his performance," Potter said. "He took responsibility, took the ball in tight areas, attacked the box, and could’ve scored a couple of goals on another day.

"It was a really nice performance, a mature performance I thought. He is a quiet lad but goes about his work. I've been really impressed with him."