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Liam Rosenior, linked with the Chelsea job, has been speaking at a Strasbourg press conference. They play Nice tomorrow.
“I’m going to talk about Nice because that’s my job…There’s a lot of noise, a lot of speculation, but as a coach, if you get involved, you fail. My job is here, I love this club…No, I haven’t spoken to the players about it. There’s no need, they’re connected and I’ve had a few lighthearted jokes. But we’ve been focused on our work. The goal is to continue creating great things here…In life, there are zero guarantees.
“You never know what tomorrow will bring. I’m just doing my job. There’s already been speculation. I don’t want to guarantee how long I’ll be here, but I enjoy myself here every day. I intend to continue doing so as long as I’m here. I love this club, but I can’t guarantee anything. Nobody can.
“I want to do my job here, it’s simple. The reality today is that I am the manager of Strasbourg and I am focused on my position.
“[On Chelsea] There are exchanges because we are part of the same group…I’m honest, you can never control everything in life. I could say I’m going to stay here for years and then get fired.”
Niclas Füllkrug has bid adieu to West Ham fans on social media: “The past one and a half years didn’t go as I – and surely you all – had imagined.
“Above all, I want to thank you for your support, even when things weren’t always easy. There are truly special people at WHU, and I am very grateful for everyone I met and the relationships I was able to build.❤️
“Wishing you all the best for the rest of the season! “Fülle”
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Guardiola happy to see out contract amid Maresca rumours
Will Unwin
Pep Guardiola has reaffirmed his desire to see out his contract, after Enzo Maresca told Chelsea he had held talks with figures associated to Manchester City over replacing the head coach.
The clubs meet in Manchester on Sunday, with Chelsea under the temporary stewardship of the former City academy coach Calum McFarlane after Maresca’s departure on Thursday. Maresca had two spells with City, one as the Under-23 coach and a year as Guardiola’s assistant. One of the reasons behind Maresca’s Chelsea exit was upsetting the hierarchy by informing them he had spoken on three occasions this season to people associated with City about replacing Guardiola, who has 18 months on his contract.
“I have a contract, I’ve said it a thousand million times,” Guardiola said. “I know you [journalists] are bored of me, 10 years here. You want [me to leave], I’m pretty sure of that. I will leave one day, I promise, I promise. But I have a contract, I’m happy, I want to fight with my team. The hierarchy respects me. They proved it last season with what happened in this club that we didn’t win one game in two, three months. They support me. So what can I do? I want to try and do it, but maybe one day I don’t know. But I have one more year contract, I like to be here, so we will see. We will see.”
City have contingency plans for when Guardiola leaves, and Maresca is admired at a club. Questioned about the reported talks between Maresca and City, Guardiola said: “No idea. You have, I’m pretty sure, more info than me.”
Chelsea have lost “an incredible person” in Maresca, according to Guardiola. “Chelsea, I think from my point of view, lose an incredible, incredible manager,” Guardiola, who remains friends with Maresca, said. “An incredible person, but it’s a decision from the hierarchy from Chelsea.” Asked whether he was surprised by the exit, Guardiola said: “All I can confirm is how lucky I am. I was and I am in the club where I am. My club is extraordinary.”
Here’s a transfer oddity: Harvey Elliott may be loaned to Charlotte FC, say the transfer gurus, having barely played for Aston Villa on loan. As he has played for Liverpool this season too, he’s only eligible to play for Liverpool in the Premier League or across Europe. So, a move to MLS may follow. Charlotte’s coach is Dean Smith. One problem is the MLS season not kicking off until 21 Feb.
Wolves v West Ham is Saturday’s basement battle, Nuno Espirito Santo returning to his former club. The Hammers really really really need a win.
“No, we don’t deal with bad results well. It’s impossible to deal with. It’s painful. Believe me, when you don’t win and you go on a (bad) run, you feel that it’s there to take and it’s hard on everybody. Especially on who has the responsibility, because we are in a big club and it requires better from us.
“Every game is important. We’re going to start the second half of the season. All of the teams that are around are direct opponents. It’s huge. It’s going to be a quick turnaround. We have to assess properly the options that we have, which are not too many, so we can compete on both of them properly.”
Iraola hopes the Semenyo money can be reinvested: “We are not going to lose him for nothing. If we lose him it’s because the club agrees it is a good deal for the club. Definitely.”
Iraola on Semenyo, from his news conference today. Seems he will play against Arsenal AND Spurs for Bournemouth.
“I think the idea at least is that he’s going to be available for these two games that we have in a very short turnaround. I hope he can be here more time but I don’t know what is going to happen.
“When the market is open you never know what is going to happen because you cannot control the things but if you ask me right now, I don’t think so.”
“There is nothing signed. There are conversations and I understand a lot of the noise around but there is nothing signed. Antoine is our player and I hope – we want to keep him for a lot of time – but we want to keep him yes.”
News on Antoine Semenyo, and it is now expected he will play for Bournemouth against Arsenal and Tottenham. “I don’t think so,” said Andoni Iraola. “Nothing is signed, he is our player.” More to follow.
Maestre appointed as London City coach
Tom Garry
London City Lionesses have appointed the Spaniard Eder Maestre as their head coach, on a contract until 2028.
The 39-year-old former CD Tenerife manager replaces Jocelyn Prêcheur, who was sacked in December despite guiding the team to promotion last term and into the top half of the Women’s Super League table at the halfway stage this season.
Maestre’s first game will be 11 January’s WSL trip to face the bottom side, Liverpool. He said: “I am delighted to join London City Lionesses. Working in English football has always been my goal, and representing this club is a real honour. In my opinion, the project presented to me by the club is one of the best projects in women’s football.”
Manchester United sign up Toone, Terland, Naalsund and George to new deals
Tom Garry
Manchester United have this week exercised options in the contracts of Ella Toone, Elizabeth Terland, Lisa Naalsund and Gabby George to extend their time at the club until 2027, the Guardian understands.
All four players had been set to enter the final six months of their deals but the WSL club have moved during this winter break to extend their stays for at least another season.
The England midfielder Toone who is – like George – a lifelong United fan, has been at the club for seven and a half years, as a mainstay since they reformed a senior women’s side in 2018.
The Norway striker Terland has been at Carrington for two years, while her compatriot Naalsund joined the club in 2023, helping the club reach three consecutive FA Cup finals.
Jacob Steinberg has been across who might replace Füllkrug, an experiment that hasn’t worked. It was only 18 months ago he was leading Dortmund to the Champions League final. After that, nothing.
Füllkrug join Milan on loan
Done deal x 2, via West Ham’s media release:
West Ham United can confirm Niclas Füllkrug has joined Milan on loan until the end of the 2025/26 season, with an option to make the transfer permanent.
The German centre-forward moves to Italy having made 29 appearances and scored three goals since joining from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2024.
Everyone at the Club wishes Niclas the best for his loan spell in Milan.
Done deal x 1: The Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo has completed a loan move to Celtic for the remainder of the season.
Some quotes: ““This is a top club and I can’t wait to get going and work hard with the other players to bring our fans success. I know the demands at a club like Celtic and I am ready for these.
“I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and I want to play my part in bringing good times and good, winning football to our supporters. I have met the boys already. We have some great players in the squad and we are all ready to tackle the second half of the season and do as much as we can for the fans.”
Like Wilfried Nancy, Araujo is an MLS veteran, having been at LA Galaxy.
Brighton have missed Pascal Gross so much – Pascal Groß if you will, they are reconsidering signing him back from Borussia Dortmund. Their midfield does lack a bit of experience in midfield. Here’s Fabian Hurzeler: “I definitely like him as a player and also, when he was gone, I had contact with him because we tried to get him to stay here, but he wanted to follow his dreams, which we respected. We continued to follow him because he’s a player who did great things for the club. We rate him highly.”
John Brewin
Here we go, here we go, this is it. What magic can greet us in 2026?
Today’s blog is a bit like the village bicycle, everybody gets a ride. Latest to hop on is John Brewin.
Football Weekly Extra is out now!
Max Rushden is joined by Lucy Ward, Lars Sivertsen and Mark Langdon to discuss Chelsea parting ways with Enzo Maresca.
You can listen to that via the link below (or wherever you get your podcasts):
Africa Cup of Nations: tie-by-tie analysis of the last-16 matches
Afcon has reached the knockouts and Osasu Obayiuwana has put together a handy guide to each of the last-16 matches before they get underway on Saturday. My personal pick is South Africa v Cameroon on Sunday at 7pm GMT, neither side are perfect but both have good pedigree and it should be an entertaining watch. Bafana Bafana’s pre-match gwijo singing is always worth tuning in for.
Read the full guide here:
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From the aesthetically pleasing to the emotionally powerful and everything in between, there should be something for everyone, and with plenty of technical insight for photography buffs too.
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Morning football fans, let’s keep things moving with some soundbites from Sean Dyche, shall we?
Forest have suffered three straight defeats, including losses to Fulham and Everton, which have left them in 17th place and Dyche reckons a fixture against high-flying Aston Villa might suit his team more.
We’ve just shown lately, we’ve taken on some of the bigger teams, or the ones that are fancied every year, and done very well against them.
And a couple of teams maybe not as fancied, we haven’t done as well against them. That’s probably the challenge of the group – rising to the expectation of each game rather than just big games.
Forest were in the bottom three when Dyche became their third manager this season and despite the recent poor form are four points above the relegation zone.
We’re in a better position than when I got here, and also the Europa League, but (we need to) concentrate on the Premier League for now – there’s a building process.
I think we’ve done some good work and the players have as well, and then it’s the ups and downs of it. They’re all minor things but they all count.
All of a sudden, you’ve lost three when it could have been certainly a couple (of wins), if not three draws. So it’s frustrating in that respect because of the softness of the goals and not finding that real killer moment to open up the opposition.
Time for another baton change: Tom Bassam’s now in the chair. Laters.
Eddie Howe is having none of the idea that Newcastle have no plan B, reports PA Media, and rejected suggestions they were under the cosh in their win at Burnley.
Howe bristled at suggestions they had come under an onslaught at Turf Moor and there was nothing they could do about it. He said: “An onslaught? What, against us? Have you seen the stats of the game? You must have been watching a different game then. There was no onslaught.
“Yes, we had moments, of course. We had moments the other way. I would never describe it as that. If it was an onslaught, I’d give you my opinion and say, ‘Yes, I thought it was’.
“But a plan B? That’s always a difficult one because if you have too many plan Bs, that means your plan A is flawed and your players are then thinking of what’s next rather than trying to deliver the plan A to the best of their ability.
“We have loads of different ways of playing, but within the structure and the principles of what we believe in. I see countless managers asked the same questions on plan Bs and, as I say, you have to be careful.“We have a very strong plan for every situation. We just need to deliver it better. That’s sort of where I am and the focus is towards the players on trying to improve our performances all the time.”
Newcastle host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
West Ham agree deals for Castellanos and Pablo
Jacob Steinberg
West Ham are poised to boost their attacking options by signing Gil Vicente’s Pablo Felipe and Lazio’s Taty Castellanos at a cost of up to £47m.
Both deals have been driven by Nuno Espírito Santo, who is looking to help his struggling side’s fight to stay in the Premier League by adding more firepower. West Ham considered a move for the Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen but decided against making a bid after concluding that his £40m valuation was too high.
Much talk about possible incoming Chelsea gaffer Liam Rosenior’s credentials. Michael Butler profiles him here.
Liam Rosenior started this decade as a columnist for the Guardian and is now the favourite to replace Enzo Maresca as manager of Chelsea. While the prospect of Barney Ronay or Jonathan Liew making the move into management is a tantalising one, Rosenior’s rise – from a youth coach at Brighton to an assistant and interim manager at Derby before full-time management at Hull City and Strasbourg – shows just how far the 41-year-old has come.
After a very respectable playing career at Bristol City, Fulham, Reading, Hull and Brighton, Rosenior earned a coaching job at the latter, managing the Seagulls’ under-23 side and supplemented that with punditry roles.
Would like to know what Strasbourg fans think of all this too. Because one of the (many) problems with multi-club ownership is that the “junior” clubs in such arrangements are prone to having their setups disrupted on the whim of the “senior” ones. Strasbourg are seventh in Ligue 1, eyeing the European places.
A little slice of Mikel Arteta chat, in which he was being pretty noncommital about Arsenal’s possible January transfer activity: “We are open to every option [for new signings] – we can find short, medium and long-term solutions but let’s see what happens and we’ll try to make the right decisions.” Asked about whether players such as Ethan Nwaneri might be shipped out on loan, the manager insisted that “every player is important, has a role that can change through the season and every player should be ready to play”.
Arteta had some warm words for Enzo Maresca: “I wish him all the best. I really like Enzo as a person and professionally – he has done a terrific job at Chelsea.” Arsenal visit Bournemouth tomorrow evening.
Who was at a game yesterday? Commiserations to those at the Gtech Stadium for that Brentford-Spurs stinker, and Liverpool v Leeds wasn’t exactly a barrel of fun either. Sunderland (and Arsenal) fans will have enjoyed their own stalemate rather more though. Meanwhile Ipswich are coming up on the rails in the Championship promotion race and Bristol City filled their boots in a 5-0 romp against Portsmouth.
Here’s some accounts of yesterday’s action:
Thanks Taha, morning everyone. And as it’s that time of the year again, I’ve sifted through some transfer tittle-tattle for you.
Time for a switch: Tom Davies will take over from here.
Right then, why not share what you’re most looking forward to this year (in a footballing sense, of course). Or any predictions: your World Cup, Champions League winners, top-scorers, summer transfers etc.
So Enzo Maresca has left the building. It was a very decent stint on paper, one with two trophies, including a Club World Cup victory which may grow in significance if the tournament becomes a properly serious thing in the future. But it was pretty turbulent, too; Jacob Steinberg has the inside story on what went wrong.
Preamble
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the first Friday blog of 2026. We’ve already had some drama at Stamford Bridge with the departure of Enzo Maresca, and there’s plenty of Premier League action to review/preview. But let’s just ease up before going full throttle and take in this excellent interview with Jess Carter, the Guardian Footballer of the Year.
A lot of people don’t like the way I play football and that’s absolutely fine, but then attacking someone because of what they look like? I can’t do anything about that one, and I wouldn’t want to. I could never imagine going on to my social media to tell you how I think you’re doing at your job.
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