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Liverpool have enjoyed an excellent start to life under new boss Arne Slot, but they could still be tempted to make some new signings in the January transfer window.

The Reds have made some big signings in January in recent years, including the £75million addition of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton. However, the Liverpool captain’s future is now up in the air with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are in the same situation and it remains to be seen whether the trio will stay at Anfield. With all that in mind, Mirror Football takes a look at all of the latest rumours and news.

According to a report from Brazilian outlet UOL, Liverpool are interested in signing Brighton forward Joao Pedro.
The report states that Liverpool have been closely monitoring Pedro for ‘almost five years’ and they have made him ‘one of their priorities’ for next season. It is claimed he would be an ideal signing for Slot, but talks over a move are just ‘exploratory’ at the moment.

Manchester United are also said to hold long-term interest in Pedro, but the recent exits of Erik ten Hag and Dan Ashworth could change things. Pedro is under contract at Brighton until 2028 and the Seagulls will likely to demand a big fee for the 23-year-old.

Swedish prosecutors on Thursday dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October.

In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova said there was not enough evidence to continue the investigation into the allegation at a hotel.

“During the course of the investigation, there has been a designated person suspected on reasonable grounds of rape and two cases of sexual assault, but my assessment is that the evidence is not sufficient to proceed and the investigation is therefore closed,” Chirakova said. “The designated person has not been notified of suspicion of a crime.”

Prosecutors never publicly named the suspect in the investigation, but many Swedish media reported it was Real Madrid striker Mbappé, who visited Stockholm in October during a break in the Spanish league.

At the time Mbappé’s legal team dismissed those reports as false.

Mbappe’s lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard and the player’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.

In an interview that aired Sunday on French TV station Canal Plus, Mbappé said he was “surprised” by the reports that he was the subject of a rape investigation and he had not been contacted by Swedish authorities.

“These are things that come into your life like that, you can’t see them coming,” Mbappé told Canal Plus. “It’s just incomprehension. I don’t think it weighed on me in the sense that I have never considered myself involved.”

The 25-year-old soccer star appeared in Stockholm on Oct. 10 during an international break instead of playing for France in the Nations League. Just days later Swedish media reported he was the subject of the investigation.

At the time Swedish prosecutors confirmed that a rape investigation began but declined to comment further.

Saudi Arabia has been officially awarded the hosting rights for the FIFA Men’s World Cup in 2034, while the 2030 edition will be jointly hosted by Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with celebratory matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay. The announcement came on Wednesday following a virtual extraordinary Congress of FIFA led by President Gianni Infantino. Both the 2030 and 2034 World Cups faced no competition for their bids, leading to their confirmation by acclamation.

Speaking about the 2030 tournament, Infantino said: “We are bringing football to more countries. The expanded number of teams has not diluted quality; instead, it has enhanced opportunities.”

The 2030 World Cup will mark a historic first, spanning six nations across three continents. Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay will host single matches to celebrate the tournament’s centenary, honoring the first-ever World Cup held in Uruguay in 1930.

Spain, which hosted in 1982, will join first-time hosts Portugal, Morocco, and Paraguay in staging the rest of the event’s 104 matches involving 48 teams. “What better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary than with a World Cup spread across three continents? The world will stand still to honor 100 years of this extraordinary tournament,” Infantino remarked, extending gratitude to all bidding nations and FIFA’s confederation presidents.

The 2034 tournament will see Saudi Arabia become the second Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup, following Qatar’s successful hosting in 2022. This milestone reflects FIFA’s ongoing commitment to broadening football’s reach and fostering inclusivity across diverse regions.

Manchester City are facing elimination from the Champions League after a seventh defeat in 10 games. They lost 2-0 to Juventus on Tuesday.

Manchester City’s crisis continued with a 2-0 defeat away to Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, while Pep Guardiola’s old club Barcelona beat Borussia Dortmund to clinch a spot in the knockout stage of Europe’s elite club competition.

Arsenal, AC Milan, Atletico Madrid, Lille, Feyenoord and Stuttgart were also victorious, but City’s latest loss in a miserable run will dominate the headlines.

The 2023 European champions succumbed in Turin as Dusan Vlahovic put Juventus ahead early in the second half when goalkeeper Ederson was unable to keep out his header.

Ilkay Gundogan was denied an equaliser by a fine Michele Di Gregorio save, before Weston McKennie made it 2-0 with a fine acrobatic finish in the 75th minute.

The result leaves Juventus on 11 points with two games left, a tally that is expected to be enough to guarantee them at least a place in the knockout phase play-offs.

City, meanwhile, have now won just once in 10 in all competitions, with seven defeats in that time.

With just eight points, they currently sit 22nd in the standings, in which the top 24 advance to the knockouts. Their next game will be crucial, as they travel to a Paris Saint-Germain side who sit a point beneath Guardiola’s men.

“We have to get points, we’ll go to Paris to try and do that and the same goes for the final match at home (to Club Brugge),” Guardiola told Amazon Prime in Italy.

Pep Guardiola is big on body language – but the Manchester City manager is sending out all the wrong signals at the moment.

Just 48 hours before City face Juventus in a Champions League clash they must win to avoid the prospect of going into a play-off to reach the last 16 of a competition they were the pre-season favourites to win, Guardiola told the world in an interview with a Michelin Star chef that he’s tired and could do with a break.

“I want to leave it and go and play golf but I can’t,” moaned the manager who, in truth, has been so successful in his eight seasons at the Etihad that he’s running out of things to achieve.

But it’s strange that Guardiola should be talking about swapping the training ground for the fairway given it was only last month that he signed a two-year contract two remain in charge until 2027.

Until the Catalan put pen to paper, his future was a constant topic of conversation in both press conferences and the dressing room. Yet instead of looking towards the future, the City boss has continued to harp on about having low energy levels.

His habit of reminding every critic that his team has won six of the last seven Premier League titles is also wearing a little thin given Guardiola’s philosophy has always been that you’re only as good as your last game.

In eight of their last nine games, his four-in-a-row champions haven’t been good enough to win. City have been damaged by injuries, particularly in central defence, with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake all spending time on the sidelines.

Ballon d’Or winner Rodri is out for the season, Kevin De Bruyne has once again been plagued by fitness issues, while Phil Foden is currently a shadow of the player that was named Footballer of the Year last season.

But with director of football Txiki Begiristain leaving at the end of the season, there has also been a failure to recruit the kind of talent to usher in a new era of success as City’s greatest-ever team begins to fade with age.

Playing for Guardiola has been a USP for Begiristain when describing the City project to players like Erling Haaland, Rodri, Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol. Begiristain’s job would have been made much harder last summer when it was assumed the club would be appointing a new manager inside the next 12 months.

His successor, Hugo Viana, may have similar issues given the mixed messages currently emanating from Guardiola. The City boss also revealed in his chat with Spanish chef Dani Garcia that when he does leave the Etihad he will need an extended break from club football.

That he then opened the door to international management is a tantalising prospect for the Football Association, given Guardiola was the man they wanted to replace Gareth Southgate. Guardiola has insisted that he will quit City if he ever feels he can no longer inspire his players – even if he is under contract.

Back in 2015, when the Blues were already deep into a charm offensive to lure him to Manchester, they gave Manuel Pellegrini a new two-year deal. It was merely a smokescreen designed to cover their talks with Guardiola while he was still coach of Bayern Munich.

Six months later, Pellegrini announced he would be leaving at the end of the season to make way for the Catalan – and the Chilean was given a handsome pay-off to go quietly.

FIFA will confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups today, with a joint bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal set to be awarded the former, and the latter being handed to Saudi Arabia.
The awarding of hosting rights for both tournaments will go to a vote during a FIFA Congress to be held virtually, but there is no doubt about the outcomes with neither bid having a rival. The 2030 tournament will mark a century since the first World Cup was held in Uruguay, and as a result the bid will also see the South American nation handed a game along with Argentina and Paraguay.

That makes it a remarkable and completely unprecedented bid, involving three different continental confederations.
FIFA already confirmed over a year ago that the joint proposal led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal was the sole contender for 2030, with all other potential candidacies having fallen by the wayside. A joint British and Irish bid was abandoned when they decided to focus on hosting Euro 2028, while there were suggestions of a bid from South Korea, China, Japan and North Korea.

Four South American countries launched a joint bid in 2019, convinced that the centenary World Cup should entirely take place on the same continent where it all began. In late 2022, UEFA promoted a bid uniting Spain and Portugal with war-torn Ukraine in a show of “solidarity” following the Russian invasion.
However, Ukraine was quietly dropped from that candidacy last year as Morocco joined forces with the Iberian neighbours, while South America agreed to step aside in exchange for being awarded the hosting of three games, one each for Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

Following these “centenary celebrations” in the comparative chill of the southern hemisphere winter, the six teams involved – along with their fans – will have to cross the Atlantic Ocean to play a part in the remaining 101 matches. This tentacular tournament will conclude with the final on July 21, and it remains to be seen where that game will be staged.

Spain, which hosted the 1982 World Cup, is set to be the centrepiece as it boasts 11 of the 20 proposed stadiums. Morocco – which has tried and failed on five previous occasions to be awarded the staging of the tournament – will become the second African nation to host the competition after South Africa in 2010.
Potential venues for the final include the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid and Barcelona’s renovated Camp Nou, as well as the planned Hassan II stadium between Casablanca and Rabat, which is set to become “the biggest stadium in the world” with a capacity of 115,000.
Portugal, which hosted Euro 2004, will offer two stadiums in Lisbon and one in Porto, and hopes to stage a semi-final.

As for 2034, FIFA invoked its principle of continental rotation, therefore only welcoming bids from Asia or Oceania – the 2026 World Cup, the first involving 48 teams, will take place across North America.
Controversially, the body gave potential bidders barely a month late last year to submit candidacies, and Australia and Indonesia quickly abandoned their interest. That left Saudi Arabia as the sole candidate, clearing the way for the World Cup to return to the Gulf region following Qatar’s hosting in 2022.
The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been using sport for some time now to amass influence and improve its global image.

Being handed the 2034 World Cup will be a crowning moment, and Saudi will win despite currently only boasting two stadiums with a capacity of 40,000, when 14 are required.
Beyond that logistical challenge, the baking temperatures in the northern hemisphere summer could mean pushing the tournament back to later in the year, as happened in 2022.
However, the fact that Ramadan will take place in December that year is an added complication.

Liverpool kept up their unbeaten run with a 1-0 victory over Girona on Tuesday. Real Madrid beat Atalanta 3-2 away depite Kylian Mbappe’s injury. Both Paris Saint Germain and Aston Villa won their matches.

Mohamed Salah helped maintain Liverpool’s perfect record in the Champions League on Tuesday while holders Real Madrid bounced back from their defeat at Anfield to topple in-form Italians Atalanta.

Elsewhere, struggling Paris Saint-Germain gained a vital win at Salzburg, while Bayer Leverkusen edged Inter Milan to move second.

Aston Villa, in their first appearance in the continent’s elite club competition for 41 years, maintained their bright progress beating Leipzig 3-2 to sit third.

The first eight teams qualify directly for the last 16 with those placed ninth to 24 entering a play-off round.

In Spain, Salah’s 63rd-minute penalty proved decisive against dogged debutants Girona to extend the Premier League leaders’ record to six from six in the revamped format of Europe’s flagship club competition.

Under new coach Arne Slot Liverpool are virtually assured a place in the last 16.

“If you ask me about all six games, I’m really pleased with all the results… (but) I’m far from pleased about the performance tonight,” Slot told reporters in Girona.

“(We had) hardly any control at all over the game, maybe the second half was a bit better but then I’m trying to be positive.”

Salah sent Paulo Gazzaniga the wrong way to net his 50th Champions League goal, pulling the Egyptian level with Filippo Inzaghi as the 10th highest goalscorer of all-time in the competition.

The winger is out of contract at the end of the season but his 16 goals across all competitions have been essential in Liverpool’s superb first half of the season.

While Liverpool are sitting pretty with two league phase rounds to come early next year, kings of Europe Real Madrid, beaten 2-0 by Liverpool last time out, have work to do to ensure their progress into the knockout phase.

Kylian Mbappe gave Real a 10th minute lead before hobbling off injured in Atalanta, his strike was cancelled out by Charles de Ketelaere’s penalty in first-half additional time.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti started Vinicius Junior for the first time since a hamstring problem last month. The Brazilian had Real back on top before the hour, with Jude Bellingham also on the scoresheet for a 3-2 win over the Serie a leaders.

The hard-fought victory moved Real up to 18th on nine points and will have helped to settle any nerves at the 15-time European champions ahead of games against Salzburg and Brest in January.

PSG put the wheels back on their stuttering campaign with a much needed 3-0 defeat on the road at Salzburg.

The French champions went into this encounter in 25th with just four points and three goals scored after five matches.

They approach their last two league outings in provisional 24th – the final berth for the play-offs ahead of Wednesday’s games.

Bayern swept aside Ukraine side Shakhtar Donetsk in Gelsenkirchen 5-1. Fellow Bundesliga giants Leverkusen became the first team to score against Inter in this year’s competition in a 1-0 win that lifted them five points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the league.

Another noteworthy performance on matchday six came on the Brittany coast where modest French Ligue 1 outfit Brest dished out a 1-0 defeat to former European champions PSV Eindhoven.

It left the Atlantic port city club flying high in fifth in their first ever appearance at European football’s high table.

In other games, Celtic and Dinamo Zagreb remained in contention for the knockout round after an uninspiring 0-0 draw and Club Brugge beat Sporting 2-1.

GENEVA — Norway’s soccer federation plans to abstain from giving its approval when Saudi Arabia is confirmed Wednesday as the 2034 World Cup host, saying FIFA has done too little to protect human rights around the tournament.

“FIFA’s own guidelines for human rights and due diligence have also not been adequately integrated into the process, increasing the risk of human rights violations,” Norway federation president Lise Klaveness said in a statement Tuesday.

FIFA’s 211 member federations are holding an online meeting on Wednesday to rubberstamp the decision to give Saudi Arabia the 2034 World Cup and award the 2030 edition to a six-nation project led by Spain, Portugal and Morocco that will see games played on three continents.

“ vote is not about who gets the 2030 and 2034 World Cups — that has already been decided,” Klaveness said, adding that FIFA’s approval without an itemized vote “does not align with the principles of a sound and predictable governance system.”

FIFA shaped the contests last year to have just one bid each that faced limited outside scrutiny, as the soccer body and its president Gianni Infantino continued to build deeper financial and political ties to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has a massive construction plan for stadiums, hotels and transport for the World Cup set to rely heavily on migrant labor – raising concerns that FIFA is inviting a repeat of intense challenges and fatalities faced by workers in Qatar during preparations to host the 2022 edition. Norway and Klaveness also put pressure on FIFA and Qatar before that tournament.

FIFA’s in-house evaluation of the Saudi bid rated the tournament an elevated risk though with “significant opportunities for positive human rights impact,” which activists claimed was a whitewash.

A FIFA-mandated Saudi report on human rights was commissioned from a legal firm closely tied to the kingdom, and it committed World Cup organizers only to work with state-approved domestic agencies plus the UN-backed International Labor Organization.

The ILO in Geneva, which worked with Qatar to reform the “kafala” system of labor rules, is currently investigating a formal complaint alleging abuses in Saudi Arabia filed by the global trade union Building and Wood Workers’ International.

Switzerland’s soccer federation said Tuesday it will support FIFA’s 2030-2034 decisions, but noted “some vagueness on certain points” of the Saudi strategy to protect rights and freedoms.

“We consider it the duty of FIFA and the organizers, in cooperation with renowned independent international organizations” beyond the ILO, Swiss federation president Dominique Blanc said, “to look closely, observe and monitor whether commitments and promises made to workers, teams, fans and media professionals are upheld.”

Ultimately, the Swiss soccer body said, it believed FIFA and World Cup organizers in Saudi Arabia “have learned the lessons from Qatar.”

However, FIFA has ignored advice to compensate workers in Qatar and their families, given by a panel of rights experts appointed last year under pressure from European soccer officials including Norway.

FIFA withheld the panel’s report for almost a year until publishing it Nov. 30, two days after announcing a 2022 World Cup legacy fund of $50 million that that does not give anything directly to the workers. The money is going to charity projects linked to UN agencies.

FC Barcelona are racing against time to register Dani Olmo, their star signing for whom they spent €47 million plus variables. The Spanish international was only able to be registered with La Liga until 31st December due to the injury of Andreas Christensen. Efforts are being made to secure his registration for the remainder of the season, but there appears to be a major concern for Barça.

Olmo could become a free agent if unregistered. According to Mundo Deportivo, Olmo will become a free agent if the club does not manage to register him again during the winter transfer window or any of the future transfer windows until his contract expires in 2030. This is stipulated in a clause that was added to the contract in August. When he joined Barcelona, the Spaniard accepted the condition of being registered for just one season.

Normally, players sign for the full duration of their contract, but given the club’s current financial situation, the 26-year-old agreed to be registered only for his first season.

Barcelona needed to free up Fair Play space, but the money needed to cover the deficit in Barça Studios had not arrived. Other income did not materialise, nor were there enough departures.

The exit of Ilkay Gundogan was not enough, and it was only when Christensen suffered a long-term injury that the club was able to register Olmo, but only until 31st December.

As a result, the commitment between Barcelona and Olmo had to be updated. It was in August that a new clause was added to the contract of the attacking midfielder. Olmo agreed to be registered for just half a season, but an additional condition was included stating that if the player was not registered in any of the following transfer windows, he could leave the Catalans and join another club for free.

Neither Barcelona, due to the significant investment made and their complete trust in the player, nor Dani Olmo himself are considering the possibility of him leaving for free in January.

The La Liga leaders are working to secure the necessary income to register both Olmo and his teammate Pau Victor. Barcelona have already reached an agreement with Nike, which must be ratified by the Assembly, and continue to seek other commercial income to meet the 1:1 ‘fair play’ financial rule, allowing them to operate in the transfer market normally.

As a last resort, the club could activate a personal guarantee from Joan Laporta or another director, as was done in the past. Olmo, for his part, is solely focused on succeeding at Barcelona. The player is determined to play and help the team achieve its objectives. For the time being, both he and his entourage are waiting for developments and remain confident in the club.

English soccer referees’ body PGMOL has sacked Premier League referee David Coote after its investigation found his actions to be in serious breach of his contract.

Coote had been suspended last month after a video circulated on social media showing the official allegedly abusing Liverpool and former manager Jurgen Klopp, and after a full investigation, his position has been deemed untenable.

“Following the conclusion of a thorough investigation into David Coote’s conduct, his employment with PGMOL has been terminated today with immediate effect,” the PGMOL statement said.

The Football Association also launched an investigation after Coote’s initial suspension on November 11, and two days later PGMOL said it was taking the allegations very seriously.

The Sun published a video which the newspaper said showed Coote appearing to snort white powder during his time working as a match official at Euro 2024, and UEFA also launched an investigation having suspended the 42-year-old.

On November 27, the FA said it was investigating allegations that Coote had discussed booking a player the day before a game with a friend, which the referee denied.

“Supporting David Coote continues to be important to us and we remain committed to his welfare,” the PGMOL statement added.

Coote has the right to appeal the decision.

Liverpool supporters are starting to consider the possibility of Mohamed Salah potentially bidding adieu to Anfield Stadium at the conclusion of the ongoing campaign, and the chiefs at Kirkby have already started planning for the possibility of the Egyptian’s exit as they have been looking at a move for Kenan Yildiz.

While the Reds are keen to keep hold of Salah, they have started planning for a possible exit as the Merseysiders look to replace the 32-year-old.

The Turkish forward has been highly impressive for Juventus as he has been showing glimpses of high potential. Yildiz is an exciting forward who likes to operate in the left half-space.

However, his potential is replicated in the sides interested in his signatures, as the likes of Manchester United as well as Arsenal express interest in his services. The 19-year-old comes with a hefty price tag; as per Caught Offside, Kenan Yildiz could cost around €80 million in the upcoming 2025 transfer intervals.

For a Liverpool supporter, while the idea of Salah potentially leaving L4 is hard to digest, the fact that the Reds are looking at promising talents like Yildiz is a sign that the club is heading in the right way and preparing for the future. For Yildiz per se, the €80 million price tag is a hefty sum, though for a player of his age and potential, it perhaps shows the current inflated market for young players.

If Salah does end up leaving Liverpool, it will undoubtedly hurt, but signing someone of Yildiz’s potential could help soften the blow.

Erik ten Hag and Graham Potter are both currently out of work, with the duo now thought to be on the shortlist for the RB Leipzig job as the Bundesliga club considers sacking Marco Rose. Erik ten Hag and Graham Potter are set to battle it out to replace Marco Rose as RB Leipzig boss.

Rose is facing serious pressure at the Bundesliga side after a difficult start to his third season in charge. They currently sit fourth in the German top-flight, nine points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich.

Leipzig are also yet to win a game in the Champions League, losing all five of their matches so far. That has put them third bottom of the table, with little hope of progressing into the knockout stages.

Club chiefs are now thought to be considering making a change in the dugout to revive their season. But Red Bull’s incoming head of global soccer Jurgen Klopp is not an option being considered.

Instead, according to The Sun, Potter and Ten Hag are the frontrunners to replace Rose should he be sacked. It is thought that Potter could be tempted by a role abroad, with Leipzig an attractive option for him.

The Englishman has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023. Potter is also in the running for the Wolves and West Ham jobs, though those two are battling at the bottom of the Premier League, with the out of work boss recently revealing he is on the search for a return to the touchline.

Asked on Prime Video if he was weighing up possible opportunities, he said: “Yeah, of course. As I’ve said before, you’re open to everything. But at the same time I’m really enjoying this [punditry] as well.