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Newcastle United are in the market for quality January reinforcements, and Eddie Howe may now be set to rival Unai Emery for a former Barcelona star.

Newcastle set to make inroads for January signings

The Magpies are still in the hunt across four separate competitions under Howe. Nevertheless, the Premier League will be their immediate priority, especially given the fact they are well in contention for a continental qualification slot despite a mixed campaign.

Speaking before his side took on Leeds, the former Bournemouth boss indicated in his pre-match press conference that he has held internal talks about potential January arrivals, but there is nothing deemed to be too far down the line at this point.

He said: “There’s only been very loose discussions over the transfer window as well because we’re in the middle of a really busy spell of games. I think we’re all aware – Ross (Wilson) included – that our injury situation will dictate what happens in the market.”

Reinforcing in the full-back areas appears to be on the agenda for Howe, and Newcastle have identified Brentford defender Michael Kayode as a January target amid Kieran Tripper and Tino Livramento’s frequent injury issues.

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After coming close to landing him in the summer, the Geordies could also make a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Plates are beginning to spin in the transfer window, and it remains to be seen how many players Howe will identify to deepen his squad, though if reports are to be believed, he could land his latest target at a financially advantageous rate.

Newcastle offered chance to sign Oscar Mingueza

According to Mailsport, Newcastle have been offered the chance to sign Celta Vigo defender Oscar Mingueza, and he has also been pitched to Aston Villa and West Ham United as a market opportunity.

Valued at around the £8 million mark due to his contract being set to expire in the summer, Emery retains a known admiration for the former Barcelona man, as detailed by Fabrizio Romano after he held talks over a move to the Midlands-based outfit.

In the case of Newcastle, Mingueza is a versatile presence who can feature in either full-back position or further up on the flanks, proving his worth with a goal and three assists in 21 appearances this term.

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Now set for a new challenge, he would either be attainable at a modest January fee or even on a free transfer this summer. However, gambling on a player of his talent still being available in six months time is a dangerous game to play.

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off 2026 in fairly underwhelming fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the Premier League by Thomas Frank’s former side Brentford.

To say that it was a game bereft of quality would be an understatement. Per Sofascore, neither side created a single ‘big chance’ in the 90 minutes, and Spurs ended the game with just 44% of the possession and two shots on target.

Such a toothless display from the Lilywhites may leave some supporters questioning why Brennan Johnson is set to be sold to Crystal Palace for £33.5m.

The Wales international was the team’s top goalscorer in the 2024/25 campaign, with 18 goals, and has scored 27 goals in 106 matches for the club to date, per Transfermarkt.

Why Spurs are right to sell Brennan Johnson

Despite some of his goalscoring exploits during his time in North London, Johnson should be sold by the Lilywhites because he has not offered enough to the team in his general play.

Johnson has a great knack for finding space at the back post to score, as shown in the clip above, but his lack of creativity and quality in possession in deeper areas took away from his goal threat.

The Welsh forward has scored two goals, provided 0.4 key passes per game, and failed to register a single assist in 16 Premier League games so far this term for Spurs, per Sofascore, which shows how little he has offered the team as a creative presence.

Over the last 356 days, as shown in the chart above, Johnson ranks among the worst attacking midfielders and wingers in the five major European leagues in virtually every key possession or creation-based metric that a winger should be judged on.

That is why Spurs are right to cash in after Palace’s £33.5m offer, as they could look to sign a more well-rounded winger, but the Welshman is not the only dud who should be sold this month.

The Spurs flop who should be sold after Brennan Johnson

Pedro Porro’s wasteful performance against Brentford in the Premier League on Thursday night proved that he has to be the next player to be sold after Johnson in the January transfer window.

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Last month, TEAMtalk reported that Manchester City were showing significant interest in a deal to sign the Spain international from the Lilywhites in 2026, which suggests that there is at least one club that would be willing to take him away from North London.

Spurs should take advantage of that interest and cash in on him, as they are about to do with Johnson, as he put in another disappointing display against the Bees.

Per Sofascore, Porro failed with all three of his attempted crosses and only made one key pass, without creating a single ‘big chance’, whilst he lost possession of the ball a whopping 18 times.

The Spanish right-back has not offered enough quality as a creative threat, with one assist in 19 Premier League appearances, to justify how many times he gives the ball back to the opposition.

Players with most possession lost in 25/26 PL

Player

Possession lost

Pedro Porro

361

Elliot Anderson

341

Kyle Walker

336

Mohammed Kudus

327

Yankuba Minteh

323

Lucas Paqueta

303

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, he has lost possession at least 20 more times than every other player in the entire division, in every position, which illustrates just how incredibly wasteful he has been.

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That wastefulness was on display again against Brentford, completing just 76% of his attempted passes (Sofascore), and that is why Spurs should cash in on him, amid recent reported interest from Manchester City.

On top of that, Porro also leads the entire Premier League in errors that have led to shots for the opposition, with five, per Sofascore. No other player in the league has made more than four.

If the Cityzens, as Palace are with Johnson, are willing to pay a significant fee to take Porro away from North London, the Lilywhites should jump at the chance to part ways with him.

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The Spaniard’s defensive errors, coupled with his wasteful play on the ball, suggest that now is the right time for him to move on from the club.

Rawalpindi were strongly placed despite a valiant fight back by Karachi Blues on the second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I Cricket Championship match at the UBL Sports Complex here on Monday.The home side ended the day on 106 for three in their first innings in reply to Rawalpindi’s 360. Opener Maisam Hasnain batted responsibly for an unbeaten 27 in almost three hours. Giving him company at the crease was skipper Farhan Adil with 15.Karachi Blues, however, dominated the first half of the day when they claimed Rawalpindi’s remaining seven wickets for 94 runs after the visitors had resumed at 259 for three.Test reject Mohammad Wasim was undone by a fine outswinger from Tanvir Ahmed, who had the upright right-hander caught at the wicket with the second new ball. Wasim added only four to his overnight score of 38.Shahid Javed, the other overnight batsman, collected another 19 runs before he was deceived by an armer from Salman Fazal and was bowled for 82 with the total on 323. Shahid, whose knock lasted 306 minutes, faced 250 deliveries and hit seven fours.All-rounder Yasir Arafat made a brisk 36 off 44 balls with five boundaries in 71 minutes until he edged Salman Fazal to Faisal Iqbal at slip. The other notable scorer on Monday was ex-Test spinner Shakeel Ahmed with 20.Tanvir Ahmed and Tabish Nawab captured three wickets apiece while Imranullah and Salman took two each.Karachi Blues were off to a poor start when left-handed Zafar Jadoon was taken at first slip by Shahid Javed off left-arm pacer Mohammad Ghufran for five.Shortly afterwards Ghufran took his second scalp of an impressive opening spell. Asim Kamal, the left-handed one-down batsman, played away from his body to a widish delivery and was superbly held in the gully by Tasawwar Hussain for 16.Faisal Iqbal, fresh from his double century against Sargodha last week, was a victim of the unpredictable behaviour of the pitch. He tried to play left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed off the backfoot but was shocked to see the ball skidding through just above ankle height to strike his pad right in front of the stumps. He made 23 off 55 balls with a solitary boundary.Luckily for Karachi Blues, Maisam and Farhan negotiated the remaining 74 minutes of play to lift the score from 69 for three without being parted.

Mohammad Asif is close to agreeing a move to The Oval © Getty Images

Surrey are hoping to confirm the signing of the Pakistan paceman, Mohammad Asif, as their overseas player for 2008.Asif has taken 50 wickets at 21.66 in his ten Tests to date, and starred at Surrey’s home ground, The Oval, last year, taking 4 for 56 in the final Test against England before the game degenerated amid the Darrell Hair controversy.His career has been hampered by injury and controversy – he was suspended for 12 months last year after testing positive for a banned steroid, only for the decision to be overturned on appeal – but since the retirement of Glenn McGrath, he is rapidly emerging as the world’s leading seam bowler.”We are negotiating and things are going well,” said Surrey’s cricket committee chairman, Roger Harman, who also confirmed that the West Indian left-arm seamer, Pedro Collins, had joined the club as a Kolpak player on a two-year deal.The former Australia seamer, Matt Nicholson, could also return to The Oval in 2008 as a Kolpak player, if Australia and New Zealand finalise an EU trade agreement.

Malcolm Speed: no disguising his growing anger © Getty Images

Malcolm Speed, the ICC’s chief executive, has issued a terse warning to Inzamam-ul-Haq over making public comments about incidents at The Oval pending the ICC’s Code of Conduct hearing.”I have been very disappointed by some of the public comments that have been made by members of the PCB, team management and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq following the Oval Test,” Speed said in a media release. “Over the course of the last two weeks there has been a stream of unnecessary and inappropriate public comment from the PCB, much of which could be seen as prejudicial to the pending Code of Conduct hearing.”We have in place a fair and independent process for dealing with the matters that arose out of the Oval Test and all concerned parties will have an opportunity to present their evidence during the hearing later in September.”Ahead of this hearing it is wholly inappropriate for officials or players to comment on the issues that will be addressed, particularly as the ICC Code of Conduct includes a specific offence of ‘public criticism of, or inappropriate comment on, a match-related incident or match official’.”This raises the rather surreal situation in which Inzamam could find himself facing Code of Conduct charges for commenting on a Code of Conduct hearing that might turn out to have been directly caused by incidents for which he might be cleared.But there was no doubting that Speed had had enough. “The acute international diplomatic and political sensitivity of this issue has persuaded me not to lay a charge to date but despite the exceptional circumstances I will not hesitate to lay a charge should further inappropriate public comments be made ahead of the hearing.”He added that this issue had been raised twice in the last ten days with Shaharyar Khan, the PCB’s president, and that Mike Procter, the ICC match referee, had been asked to speak to the Pakistan team and management.”There will be plenty of opportunity for Pakistan to put its side of the story in the fair environment of the Code of Conduct hearing,” Speed concluded. “That is the appropriate forum for its views on these matters.”

Andy Duncan: ‘It’s a huge mistake they have made’ © Channel 4

The ECB’s decision to sell all live cricket to satellite broadcaster BSkyB has again come under attack, this time from Andy Duncan, the chief executive of Channel 4, whose contract to cover cricket end with the Oval Test next month.Speaking at the Edinburgh International TV festival, Duncan warned that the ECB’s decision could lead to a generation missing out. “It was not that damaging for us,” he said. “It’s hugely damaging for cricket. It’s a huge mistake they have made.”They’ve gone for the money and will probably spend that on building county clubs or in paying overseas players. They’ve got more money, but in a next few years’ cricket won’t be seen.”The ECB maintain that Channel 4 could have bid, but Duncan said that it was not economic for them to try to match other offers. Although viewing figures this summer had hit record levels, he argued this was a one-off and that when BSkyB had a monopoly in 2006 there would be a “huge drop off”.Duncan’s comments come hard on the heels of similar remarks from Luke Johnson, Channel 4’s chairman. He said: “Our view is that the ECB did a very bad deal for the sport. They didn’t handle the negotiations well. They were short-term. They went for the money. We tried to bring it to the attention of the relevant people at the ECB,” he continued. “But what happened is that there are certain factions in the ECB and they took charge of the negotiations and they are very commercially minded.”Giles Clarke, the chairman of Somerset and the head of the ECB marketing committee that did the deal, explained that not to have gone with BSkyB would have meant a marked reduction in income for cricket in England. “We would have to tell Duncan Fletcher we are cutting your budget,” he said. “Twenty-five per cent of our broadcast income goes to support the England team. What would the media have said then?”

Ray Price: heading for New Road© Getty Images

Ray Price, the Zimbabwean left-arm spinner, is the latest player to sign for an English county as a non-overseas player under the “Kolpak” ruling. Price, 28, has agreed a two-year deal with Worcestershire, and is available to play as soon as possible.Before the so-called Zimbabwean rebel players had their dispute with the board, Price had been an integral part of the Zimbabwean Test attack, taking 69 wickets in 18 matches. He also played in 26 one-dayers.He will qualify as a local player because Zimbabwe has a trade agreement with the European Union. Maros Kolpak, a Slovakian handball player, went to the European Court in a bid to play in Germany without being classed as a foreigner because he came from a non-European Union country. His victory meant that workers from around 100 countries who have trade agreements with the EU are now protected by European employment laws.Price, nephew of the major-winning golfer, Nick Price, has now set his sights on a career in England with an eye to qualifying for the national side – watch out Ashley Giles. Price said: “I have always wanted to play county cricket and am really looking forward to the challenge.””In the short-term his experience and skill will help us finish our season in style,” Tom Moody, Worcestershire’s head coach, said: “His attitude and work ethic will give us a timely boost for the final five weeks of the season.”

Vettori: stint in county cricket something he always wanted to do

“Almost perfect” is Daniel Vettori’s summation of the opportunity provided for his personal development in the five week-stint he will have for Nottinghamshire in English county cricket.Vettori leaves on June 29 to take up the challenge, something he has always wanted to do.Coming after a six-week break from New Zealand’s international season which ended with success in the Sri Lankan tri-series, the five weeks will provide him with an unexpected chance to get plenty of overs under his belt, before returning home for another six-week break ahead of New Zealand’s tour of India and Pakistan.The left-arm spinner was frustrated by the pitch conditions in New Zealand over the summer. They denied him the sort of workload that has him at peak and it wasn’t until the Test matches in Sri Lanka that he started to feel his best, something that was borne out with his quality bowling during the tri-series that followed.”That hit home to me how much I do need the bowling workload. Sri Lanka gave me the confidence to get out there and bowl,” he said.It also allowed him to work on other aspects of his bowling, something that only comes with a reasonable amount of time at the bowling crease.”It was mainly just tidying up a few routines as I was trying to find ways to get back to my best quicker.””I was really happy with how I bowled in Sri Lanka. What was especially pleasing was that I bowled very few bad balls, was bowling well and I was getting wickets.”Since the back injury, suffered in the home series against Australia in early-2000, which was further exacerbated during the following summer in Africa, Vettori’s workload has been carefully watched.But by the time of the tour to Australia over the summer of 2001-02 Vettori felt during the Tests in Hobart, and especially in Perth, that he was bowling as well as he ever had.”In the Perth Test I felt I was really in control. I took five-wicket bags in Hobart and Perth and round that time was probably the best I have felt in my bowling.”The first innings dismissals of Adam Gilchrist and Steve Waugh, in short order, still stand out as memorable wickets, while the failure of Ian Robinson to give Waugh out caught in the second innings was a vital blow to New Zealand winning the match.Vettori added that the West Indies tour last year had also been an occasion for some good long spells after a lack of opportunity at home during the England series when two of the games were played on portable pitches that were of little value for a bowler of his type.Not surprisingly, Vettori is at the head of the queue of those waiting for the portable pitch technology to reach the point where it is capable of delivering a pitch for all aspects of the game, something that hasn’t happened so far.In the England series, the first and third Tests were played on the portable pitches which suited faster bowlers and batsmen, especially in the first Test when the feat of repeating a double century to each side in successive years occurred.Mathew Sinclair and Pakistan’s Yousuf Youhana had done it a year before on a bone dry, featureless pitch at Jade Stadium while Graham Thorpe and Nathan Astle gave the record books a nudge on a much more sporting wicket, Astle especially while scoring Test cricket’s fastest double century, off balls faced. But for bowlers of Vettori’s ilk they were a short cut to extinction.”I just hope they get the balance right for a good Test match one day,” Vettori pondered.Long absences from the bowling crease to ply his craft can affect the team dynamics and make it that much harder to be able to command the support he had previously enjoyed in the team’s strategy.While the home schedule for next year hasn’t been finalised, it is likely that Test matches in the series against South Africa will involve games in Christchurch and Auckland. No wonder Vettori has his fingers crossed that the technology produces the goods.In the meantime he knows there is a power of bowling ahead in the new summer. It starts with a tour of India, where the expectation is that the seamer-friendly conditions that plagued the Christmas series will be reciprocated with spinner’s paradises to suit the home batsmen. But that has its own benefits for Vettori and he is looking forward to that prospect.While the contest against India is always demanding for a spin bowler, Vettori is not phased. He enjoyed the challenge against the Sri Lankan batsmen and expects to thrive in the Indian conditions.Then on the Test schedule it is back to New Zealand to play Pakistan and South Africa before the tour to England.”We will be playing from September to July so it will be full on but I am really excited about it.”The challenge won’t be any less against the South Africans. In flat conditions on their last tour in 1998-99 their batsmen made life a misery for the home side, one of whom was Vettori who bowled 42 overs on a glued first Test pitch in Auckland and took one for 120. In the third Test at Wellington his 54 overs in South Africa’s first innings netted four for 153.And then there is a second trip to England to try and repeat the series victory achieved during the 1999 summer.”I definitely think we can do it again. The team we had in Sri Lanka was young, but experienced, and with some good players. If we can be at full-strength, and have Chris Cairns there, we will be capable of doing it again.Cairns, whether batting or bowling had such a huge influence on the side and, as they are now both associated with Nottinghamshire county, and as long as Cairns has recovered from a broken finger, Vettori will have the chance to go to battle together with his national team-mate.The prospects for Vettori, both during his county season, and the international summer ahead, are intriguing.

Wasim Akram upstaged his long time bowling partner Waqar Younis as PIAtook a vital 42-run first innings lead over National Bank on thesecond day of the four-day Patron’s Trophy match at SheikhupuraStadium Friday.A day after Waqar Younis picked up three for 38 to skittle out PIA for267, Wasim Akram captured four wickets for 39 runs in 14 overs todismiss the bankers for 225 after they had resumed this morning atthree for no loss.The national carriers had stretched their lead to 123 when theyfinished the day at 81 for the loss of Sohail Jaffar who was adjudgedleg before to Waqar Younis.Ghulam Ali was batting on 44 and with him was Faisal Iqbal on 36.Wasim accounted for both the National Bank openers – Imran Nazir andKamran Akmal – by trapping them in front of the wickets. His two othervictims included Test reject Qaisar Abbas and Mushtaq Ahmad who werepicked behind the wickets by Moin Khan.Abdur Razzaq, who will represent Middlesex in the English countychampionships next year, snapped up three wickets fro 68 runs whileoff-spinner Shoaib Malik chipped in with two for 21.For the bankers, Naumanullah top scored with 67 as wickets continuedto fall around him at regular intervals. NBP were saved fromembarrassment by Waqar Younis who stroked a 56-ball 43.Inzamam-ul-Haq, playing his debut match for the bankers, contributedjust two before falling to Razzaq.

ScorecardAndrew Gale can anticipate a second chance to lift the title•Getty Images

Andrew Gale could have written the script. Next week, a little under a year after a last-minute ruling from the England and Wales Cricket board denied him his dream of lifting the Championship trophy as Yorkshire captain, he will realise his ambition on their own front lawn, so to speak, at Lord’s.That this will happen is a formality after Yorkshire’s third win by an innings in the space of seven matches left them within a handful of points of winning the title for the second year running. Now they take on Middlesex, currently in second place, knowing that when they turn up at headquarters next Wednesday, a draw would put Middlesex out of the running and give Yorkshire enough points to ensure that Nottinghamshire could not catch up even if they won all their remaining matches with maximum points.

Gale reluctant to lose 16-game Championship

Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale has spoken against reducing the number of Championship fixtures from the current 16 per team in any restructuring of domestic cricket.
It is expected that a cut to 14 — opposed by county chief executives but supported in principle by county chairman after consultations at Lord’s this week — will be recommended when the ECB executive meets at the end of the month.
Polled by the Professional Cricketers’ Association, the majority of players said they wanted the primacy of the Championship to be preserved and Gale, about to lead his team to a second consecutive title, is among them.
“I’m not against 14 games but only as long as there is symmetry in the fixtures,” he said, “but I would prefer 16 because I think you need that number to properly reflect who is the best side in that format over a season.
“I’m also a Yorkshireman and a traditionalist and if you asked the members I think 99 per cent of them would want 16 games as well.”

As Yorkshire celebrated this crushing win, Gale revealed that the title had not been mentioned in the dressing room, even though it is so close, but he was not denying the gleam in his own eye. Told that, because he was suspended after his verbal attack on Lancashire’s Ashwell Prince, he would have to stand aside as Yorkshire received their trophy last season, what should have been the sweetest moment of his career was soured. He knew he might never have the chance again but now 12 months later he has.”Since we came back for pre-season, the motivation for me to lift that trophy again after what happened last season has been a big driver,” he said. “To win back to back Championship trophies will be special but, for me, to actually lift the trophy myself will be even more special.”It would have been nice to do it here in front of our own fans but to do so at Lord’s, the home of cricket, will be a fantastic experience. I’m sure people will travel down to be there too.”And I don’t know if you noticed but I’ve been keeping my mouth firmly shut during this game, leaving the others to do the talking. And I’ll be keeping it shut again next week, just concentrating on the job in hand.”Amid intense competition for places at Headingley, Gale’s sometimes patchy batting form has again put him under pressure to justify his place but he has inspirational qualities as an individual to which his players respond time and again.On this occasion, his bowlers delivered twice, skittling Somerset for 110 in the first innings and making short work of them second time around. Resuming at 44 for 2 on the third morning, the relegation-threatened west countrymen managed to survive 35 minutes without losing a wicket but once the first incision was make by Steve Patterson they were ripped apart with ruthless zeal.Tom Cooper, driving expansively, was first to go, caught behind, followed by Jim Allenby, taken at third slip. Once James Hildreth, having reached 57 following his reprieve on 18 on Wednesday evening, had been seen off by Jack Brooks, it became only a matter of how quickly Yorkshire could finish the job.In the event, it was before lunch, more or less, the interval having been delayed for all of two minutes after the ninth wicket fell before Tim Groenewald squirted a catch to Gary Ballance at point off Tim Bresnan and the celebrations began. From the first wicket of the morning to the last there were 19 overs precisely, the last eight Somerset wickets falling for 68 runs.Patterson and Ryan Sidebottom in particular were impressive, the latter moving to within one wicket of 700 for his career in first-class matches, although Somerset’s resistance was feeble, their performance collectively that of a side who could not wait to be on the coach home.Their captain, Marcus Trescothick, admitted the next two matches are more important.”This was a comprehensive defeat and we were completely outplayed,” he said. “Yorkshire executed their skills far greater than we did in every aspect of the game. It is why they will almost certainly be champions for the second year.”Our next game is a crucial relegation clash with Hampshire and it is a massive game in the context of the season. We need to improve our skills and put in a much better performance to get the result we want.”We follow that with a visit to Hove so we have eight days of challenging cricket in nine days. We have got a mental battle ahead of us over the last few weeks of the season.”