Liverpool have been forced to pay substantial compensation to Fulham following the transfer of England Under-17 ace Harvey Elliott.

Elliott signed his first professional contract with the Reds as a 17-year-old in July 2020, having made his debut for the club in an EFL Cup match against MK Dons in 2019, becoming the youngest player to start a game in Liverpool s history.

The Fulham youth product went on to make 13 appearances for Jurgen Klopp s side before moving to Blackburn on a season-long loan in October 2020 and he has played 23 games and scored four goals this season for Rovers.

Elliott became the Premier League s youngest ever player while at Fulham, playing in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves in May 2019, and has been capped at England under-15, under-16 and under-…

England’s Lionesses arrived back in the UK on Tuesday morning following their World Cup final defeat against Spain but left Heathrow via a private transfer rather than coming through the arrivals hall.

A number of fans had turned out early to greet the team off their 6.30am flight but were left disappointed when they were told the World Cup runners-up would not be passing through arrivals.

The party departed Sydney on Monday around 24 hours after their 1-0 loss against Spain in Sydney.

Hopes were raised when Alex Scott was spotted walking through arrivals, with fans saying she hinted the team would follow and the crowd burst out into chants of ‘Sweet Caroline’.

The team’s bags with the squad logo were also carried through.

But the disappoi…

What the papers say

Arsenal and Tottenham are both keen on signing England striker Ivan Toney in the winter transfer window, according to The Times. Brentford have placed an £80million price tag on the 27-year-old, whose eight-month ban for breaching gambling rules ends on January 16.

Tottenham are also chasing Wales and Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson, according to the Independent. Forest are reportedly seeking at least £40m for the 22-year-old, who has also been linked with Chelsea.

Manchester City are continuing their pursuit of Wolves’ Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes, according to the Telegraph. But the Independent says City are prepared to ditch a move for the 24-year-old if they feel it does not provide value for money, having already had an initia…

Even if England s most decorated clubs are now far away from the Premier League summit, the clash at Anfield should be just as intense as some of their previous meetings, especially as both Liverpool and Manchester United desperately need a good result to get their league campaign back on track.

Liverpool

One of world s most colourful managers has faced numerous challenges since taking over the reigns at Anfield and, from this perspective, even a top 4 finish in the Premier League could prove difficult to achieve. Numerous injuries to star players definitely made the job more difficult for Jurgen Klopp, as the lack of options meant that the German coach couldn t rotate as much as he would have liked during the busy festive schedule. As a result, his key players are now runni…

Former Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari will return to Stamford Bridge for Brazil s friendly against Russia on Monday.

The English Premier League giants will host the clash as Brazil, who do not need to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup because they are the host nation, see the next stop on the world tour of friendlies take them to London.

And Scolari who was in charge at Chelsea from July 2008 to February 2009 says he is looking forward to returning to West London for the match.

The game against Russia will be very important in order to prepare Brazil s national team for the Confederations Cup in 2013 and the World Cup in 2014, Scolari said.

Russia is a strong opponent and it is traditionally hard to play against them.

Going to London is a g…

Ainsley Maitland-Niles has committed his future to Arsenal after signing a long-term contract extension with the club.

The versatile youngster joined Arsenal s academy when he was nine years old and made 28 appearances for the first team during the 2017-18 season.

At 17, he made his debut and became Arsenal s second-youngest Champions League player when he came off the bench against Galatasaray, making his Premier League debut four days later against Newcastle United. 

Maitland-Niles spent the 2015-16 season on loan at Ipswich Town and has also captained the England Under-20 side, playing a key role as they won the World Cup for the first time in 2017.

Arsenal also confirmed Maitland-Niles will wear the number 15 shirt next season.

New season…

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane praised Cristiano Ronaldo for his form after his side closed in on the LaLiga title.

Ronaldo scored a brace as Madrid claimed a 4-1 win at Celta Vigo on Wednesday, moving them three points clear atop the table.

He broke yet another record, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in the top five European leagues.

Zidane hailed the Portuguese forward, who has scored 13 goals in his past eight games.

He s feeling great and he s shown it again here. He has put in a massive shift and worked really hard defensively too, he said.

You can tell from the way he s playing that he s in very good nick.

For a long time now we ve been saying that the team is in good shape physically and today they ve proved that.