Thomas Tuchel’s first watching brief as England head coach will be at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Carlo Ancelotti was tight-lipped over Real Madrid’s pursuit of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Tuchel is set to attend a selection of Premier League games this weekend, starting in north London for Spurs’ clash against Newcastle, while Alexander-Arnold’s future at Liverpool was once again the subject of discussion.
Tuchel bedding in
Tuchel officially started his England role on New Year’s Day and he and his team will be looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup qualifying fixtures against Albania on March 21 and Latvia on March 24.
The likes of Tottenham pair Dominic Solanke and James Maddison plus Newcastle duo Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall will therefore be looking to make an impression in the lunchtime kick-off on Saturday.
Tuchel will be in the stands with assistant Anthony Barry before travelling to other club fixtures.
The German and his support team are then due to visit the training base at St George’s Park for the first time next week.
Real deal?
Real Madrid were rebuffed by Liverpool when they made an initial enquiry about the availability of England defender Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool are determined to hang on to the 26-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer, and a reported potential second approach from the Spanish club, this time backed by a firm cash offer in the region of £20million, is unlikely to sway their resolve.
Ancelotti, when asked about January signings, told a press conference: “It is difficult for me to talk about that in this context. But we are going to have to wait and see.
“I’m not going to speak about it because right now, here, is not the place to talk about it. We will see what will happen but I have a great squad.”
Relentless Rangers record rare Old Firm triumph
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) January 2, 2025
Philippe Clement enjoyed his first Old Firm win at the seventh attempt after his makeshift Rangers side steamrollered Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox.
Midfielder Ianis Hagi fired in from outside the box after seven minutes and the rattled Hoops struggled to keep the relentless Light Blues, who were short of several key players at bay.
Brendan Rodgers’ side, without the backing of away supporters, saw a Kyogo Furuhashi goal chalked off for offside early in the second half before Gers defender Robin Propper bundled in a second in the 65th minute.
Substitute Danilo knocked in a third in the 81st minute soon after climbing off the bench as Gers cut Celtic’s lead in the William Hill Premiership to 11 points.
What’s on today?
The scrutiny surrounding Alexander-Arnold is unlikely to die down as Liverpool boss Arne Slot is set to address the media on Friday to preview the Premier League leaders’ clash against Manchester United on Sunday.
While the Reds are riding high, the pressure is growing on Ruben Amorim at United. As well as the latest on how he plans to turn the listing giants around, the Portuguese could have an update on Marcus Rashford’s future at Old Trafford.
Pep Guardiola is among several other Premier League coaches due to speak on Friday after his Manchester City side ended a five-match winless run with victory at Leicester last time out.
