AC Milan defender Marco Pellegrino has completed a loan move to Salernitana for the remainder of the season.

The 21-year-old Argentinian joined Milan’s struggling Serie A rivals a day after the move looked to have fallen through.

Pellegrino played for former club Platense until July last year before joining the Rossoneri, for whom he made his debut as a substitute in a 2-2 draw with Napoli in October, and was therefore deemed to have played for two clubs this season.

However, after reported talks with FIFA, both clubs announced the deal had gone through on deadline day.

A statement on Milan’s website on Thursday said: “AC Milan announces that Marco Pellegrino has signed for US Salernitana on loan until 30 June 2024. The club wishes Marco a great second half of the season.”

Salernitana’s statement said: “US Salernitana 1919 announces that it has reached an agreement with AC Milan for the temporary transfer until 30 June 2024 of defender Marco Pellegrino. The player will wear the number 24 shirt.”

Delta Work is to follow a tried-and-tested route when he returns to the track in the William Hill Boyne Hurdle.

Gordon Elliott’s 11-year-old ran in the Navan Grade Two event last year, finishing sixth to Blazing Khal, before going on to successfully defend his cross country crown at the Cheltenham Festival and is set to make his first appearance since November in the two-mile-five-furlong event on February 11.

He has finished his campaign in the Grand National the past two seasons and all roads seem to lead to a third crack at the Aintree showpiece in April, having finished third behind Noble Yeats in 2022 before unseating Keith Donoghue when travelling kindly on the second circuit last year.

However, Delta Work will have his well-being to prove on his return to the track this time, having arrived home lame following an outing at Cheltenham earlier in the season.

“He was lame after Cheltenham and is OK again now,” said Eddie O’Leary of owners Gigginstown House Stud.

“The plan is to go Boyne Hurdle, Cross Country at Cheltenham and then Grand National.

“Everything is fine at the moment but he was sore after (his run at Cheltenham). Hopefully we see him at Navan.”

Kevin De Bruyne is pleased Manchester City are close to full strength as the business end of the season approaches.

Erling Haaland returned to action after almost two months out as the champions eased to a 3-1 win over struggling Burnley in the Premier League on Wednesday.

With De Bruyne having made his first start since August and John Stones also featuring after a knock, City are in a healthy position as the pressure ramps up.

Defender Manuel Akanji is now the only absentee as City, five points off the top with a game in hand, battle with Liverpool and Arsenal for the title and prepare for the resumption of the Champions League.

“I think it’s really good,” said De Bruyne, who set up one of Julian Alvarez’s two goals in a comfortable victory over the relegation-threatened Clarets at the Etihad Stadium.

“I think if Manu comes back – and I think it’ll be soon – it’s going to be the first time in the year everybody’s fit, so that can only help us because I think the schedule is getting a little bit harder and harder in the next weeks.

“To have everybody available can only help the team being competitive. Even if you change (the team), there’s big stars sitting on the bench and you can rotate.”

After a difficult spell in November, momentum is growing at City with eight wins in succession and 10 in their last 11 games in all competitions.

That could be ominous for their rivals but De Bruyne insists nothing will be taken for granted.

The Belgian said: “I just think there is that feeling that whenever we lose a game, we’re falling too far behind. And it’s the same in the cup competitions – if you lose, you’re out.

“So I think we’re in a good moment, people are coming back, but we don’t get complacent.”

City, who are next in action at Brentford on Monday, were far too strong for a Burnley side who remain seven points from safety.

Victory was all but secured as Alvarez, aided by some poor defending, struck twice in the space of six minutes midway through the first half.

The Argentinian World Cup winner has excelled this season in the absence of De Bruyne and Haaland.

De Bruyne said: “He’s been really good. I think he’s played a lot in the midfield this year and that’s not really his position, but he did a great job because obviously we had a lot of injuries.

“He’s been banging in goals, giving assists, so he’s probably happy. He’s doing really good.”

Rodri added City’s third goal early in the second half and Burnley barely registered a threat until grabbing a late consolation through Ameen Al-Dakhil.

Italy international Andrea Belotti has joined Fiorentina on loan from Serie A rivals Roma for the remainder of the season.

The 30-year-old striker, who has 44 senior caps and was a late substitute in his country’s Euro 2020 final victory over England, joined Roma from Torino in August 2022, but has made only six league starts this season.

A statement on Fiorentina’s official website said: “ACF Fiorentina is pleased to announce the signing of Andrea Belotti on loan from A.S. Roma.

“The striker, who was born in Calcinate on 20 December 1993, has amassed over 100 goals in Serie A for Palermo, Torino and Roma.

“Belotti has also turned out for the senior Italy team 44 times, netting 12 goals and winning Euro 2020.”

Belotti’s move was confirmed by Roma, who wished him luck with his new club.

A statement on their official website said: “AS Roma can confirm that forward Andrea Belotti has joined ACF Fiorentina on loan until 30 June 2024.

“Belotti joined the Giallorossi in the summer of 2022, going on to make 68 appearances for the club over the last two seasons.

“He has scored 10 goals for Roma, the first against Helsinki in the Europa League on 15 September 2022. Good luck, Andrea!”

Walbank bids for back-to-back wins at Meydan for trainer George Boughey in Friday’s Dubai Sprint.

The son of Kodiac looked a potential star juvenile a couple of years ago for Dave Loughnane, winning by seven lengths at York before finishing second in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot and third in the Molecomb at Goodwood.

However, he was well beaten on his reappearance last season and a switch to Dominic Ffrench Davis failed to yield improvement, prompting owners Amo Racing to move him from Lambourn to Newmarket.

After seven months off the track, Walbank made an impressive stable debut in handicap company four weeks ago and Boughey is looking forward to raising his sights to Listed level.

The trainer said: “He won well on his first start for us and it was one of those situations where you hope they transfer their work to the track, because he had been working nicely.

“He put it all together that day and they went a good gallop, which I think is what he needs stepping up to six furlongs. He is a fast horse though, and I think he’d be versatile over five and six.

“He’s drawn in the middle and I think there should be few excuses. Amazingly, it looks like there’s quite a bit of rain coming, so I just hope it’s dried out by Friday.

“I think the last day he produced a quicker time than Al Dasim did when he won on Super Saturday last year over the course and distance, but it is a step up.

“He was getting well beat in handicaps (last year) and didn’t beat much when he won the other day, so he’s certainly got it to prove, but I couldn’t be happier with how he’s training.”

Walbank’s rivals include Charlie Appleby’s Mischief Magic and the Johnny Murtagh-trained Ladies First.

Boughey has two other runners at Meydan, with Naxos making his second start on dirt in a seven-furlong handicap and stablemate Koy Koy tackling turf in a nine-furlong handicap.

The trainer is particularly keen on the chances of the former, adding: “Naxos drops in grade and drops in trip for the seven-furlong race. He showed up well on his first start on dirt and just didn’t get home over a mile and a quarter.

“He was taking on an absolute machine in the winner (Kabirkhan), who won a Group One last week.

“Naxos has adapted really well out there, he’s a pretty relaxed horse now and if he handles the preliminaries like he did the last day, I think he’ll be hard to beat.”

Wales centre George North has been ruled out of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash against Scotland because of a shoulder injury.

North, who has won 118 caps and is comfortably the most experienced player in Wales’ Six Nations squad, was hurt during Ospreys’ recent European Challenge Cup victory over South Africa side the Lions.

Owen Watkin and Nick Tompkins will forge Wales’ midfield partnership, with Cardiff full-back Cameron Winnett handed a Test debut after just 15 games of professional rugby.

The 21-year-old features in a position vacated by Liam Williams’ move to Japan, while full-back option Louis Rees-Zammit recently quit rugby union to pursue a possible American football career.

Elsewhere, Winnett’s Cardiff colleague James Botham – grandson of England cricket great Sir Ian Botham – is recalled for a first Wales appearance since July 2021, packing down alongside back-row colleagues Tommy Reffell and Aaron Wainwright.

Dragons prop Leon Brown also starts, with uncapped Cardiff flanker Alex Mann among the replacements, where former Bristol back Ioan Lloyd provides fly-half cover for Sam Costelow.

Racing 92 lock Will Rowlands, whose partner recently gave birth, is not included in the match-day 23, with captain Dafydd Jenkins and Adam Beard forging Wales’ second-row combination.

At 21, Exeter forward Jenkins is Wales’ youngest skipper since a 20-year-old Gareth Edwards led Wales against Scotland in 1968.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland said: “George got quite a big stinger in terms of his shoulder and didn’t take part in full training last week, so Owen Watkin comes into the midfield.

“Will hasn’t come into the squad yet. His wife had a baby a couple of weeks ago in France.

“So the message to him has been ‘you stay home and be with your family’. We always talk about how important that is, and he will turn up when he is ready.”

Wales have beaten Scotland 11 times on the bounce in Cardiff, winning nine Six Nations games, a World Cup warm-up fixture and an autumn Test since the Scots triumphed in April 2002.

But Wales are now without the likes of Rees-Zammit, Williams and long-term injured trio Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau and Dewi Lake, while Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retired from international rugby after the World Cup in France.

Gatland added: “Cameron Winnett is just a lovely footballer, and I think he is going to develop into a quality international player in the future.

“He is young and there will be no pressure on him. It is also great that Alex Mann is on the bench, and will hopefully get his debut as well.

“Scotland haven’t won here in a long, long time, and it is an opportunity for us to continue with that record.

“The (stadium) roof is going to be open.

“Scotland want the roof open, which I think is a little bit disappointing from an atmosphere point of view because when that roof is shut it does tend to create a lot more atmosphere and noise in the stadium. But that is the decision that they made.”

Six Nations regulations state that both teams have to agree in order for the roof to be closed.

Wales team versus Scotland: C Winnett (Cardiff); J Adams (Cardiff), O Watkin (Ospreys), N Tompkins (Saracens), R Dyer (Dragons); S Costelow (Scarlets), G Davies (Scarlets); C Domachowski (Cardiff), R Elias (Scarlets), L Brown (Dragons), D Jenkins (Exeter, capt), A Beard (Ospreys), J Botham (Cardiff), T Reffell (Leicester), A Wainwright (Dragons).

Replacements: E Dee (Dragons), K Mathias (Scarlets), K Assiratti (Cardiff), Teddy Williams (Cardiff), A Mann (Cardiff), Tomos Williams (Cardiff), I Lloyd (Scarlets), M Grady (Cardiff).

Willie Mullins has decided to skip a clash against Marine Nationale with Gaelic Warrior in Saturday’s Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase at Leopardstown.

Positive noises had been made that the exciting Gaelic Warrior would drop down to two miles to take on Barry Connell’s unbeaten Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner.

However, Mullins will instead field Facile Vega, Il Etait Temps and Sharjah in opposition.

Two others will go to post, Gordon Elliott’s promising Found A Fifty and Vincent Halley’s Senecia.

Mullins’ Galopin Des Champs will only face three in his attempt to win the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup for a second successive year.

He bounced back to form to win at Christmas and will meet his Punchestown Festival and John Durkan conqueror Fastorslow.

The only two other runners are Conflated and I Am Maximus.

Also appearing on day one of the Dublin Racing Festival is A Dream To Share, one of the feelgood stories of last season as he went through his campaign unbeaten, culminating with champion bumper wins at Cheltenham and Punchestown.

He had been favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle for months but a setback delayed his hurdling career and he will remain in the bumper sphere for now.

A Dream To Share will be attempting to win the Donohue Marquees Future Stars Flat Race for a second successive year.

Mullins runs My Great Mate, You Oughta Know, Hens Tooth, Joystick and Redemption Day against him.

The champion trainer has four of the six in the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle over two miles and six furlongs.

Dancing City, I Will Be Baie, Loughglynn and Predators Gold will face Elliott’s Stellar Story and Jessica Harrington’s Jetara.

Mullins also fields six of the 11 in the McCann FitzGerald Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

Bunting, Ethical Diamond, Highwind, Majborough, Storm Heart and Kargese will face the most competition from Elliott’s Kala Conti.

The Closutton maestro is a big fan of the Dublin Racing Festival, stating: “It’s one of the best initiatives to come from HRI in the past few years – it’s two days of pure, hardcore racing.

“Grade Ones – bang, bang, bang, one after the other. I don’t think there’s any other festival in the British Isles or France that has high calibre horses in so few races, where you can see them all and it gives you an idea what’s best and what’s looking good for the other spring festivals.

“This is one of the best two days in Irish jump racing and probably English jump racing or French jump racing – it’s a fantastic festival.

“When you have a good horse, you have to run in good races and I’m a believer in that, you put them in and they have to take their chance.

“Some of them seem obvious that they’re going to win but then we get surprises every day of the week, that’s why bookmakers are so successful!

“Our opinions aren’t always right, we all have opinions; from the punter, to the trainer, to the owner. You’ve got to get out there on the track and prove which is the best horse.”

Midfielder Curtis Jones believes his “time has come” to play a significant role for Liverpool.

Jones, who turned 23 on Tuesday, made his senior debut in January 2019 but his breakthrough did not come until the following campaign.

Since then he has been gaining experience and – after a testing time last year because of injury – he is enjoying his best goalscoring season, having taken his tally to five with a goal in last weekend’s FA Cup victory over Norwich.

Manager Jurgen Klopp’s faith in the Toxteth-born academy graduate has not wavered and Jones responded with another good performance in the 4-1 win over Chelsea which extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points.

“It’s the most I’m enjoying it, I’d say,” Jones told TNT Sports.

“It’s been up and down for the whole time, I’d say – I had the injuries and stuff. It’s the first time when I’ve come in the team and I’m enjoying it, I’m playing free, I’m scoring goals and helping the team, so, I’m happy.

“I came around the team when I was 17 and it wasn’t an easy thing, but he (Klopp) was calling me in all the time and we were having chats. He was always saying, ‘Your time will come’.

“I’m at the point now where my time has come and I’m taking my chance. I had to adapt my game a lot. That’s what I’ve done now.”

Jones’ contribution this season has been particularly important with injuries to Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, plus the Asian Cup absence of Wataru Endo, meaning midfield resources have often been stretched.

But having come through January unscathed, the club are still challenging for four trophies and even before news of Klopp’s pending departure emerged, Jones believes they were set up for something special after a summer rebuild of their midfield.

“The team has got this buzz about us. It’s a new team, it’s a young team, it’s a fresh team,” he added.

“Of course there’s been a change in terms of how we play and the lads that have come in.

“Normally it takes a bit of time to adapt but the lads have just adapted quickly, they’ve come in, played their part.

“It’s just not individuals, like Mo (Salah) scoring all the goals. The likes of me are going to help, Dom’s going to help, Conor (Bradley) is going to help, Trent (Alexander-Arnold) as always. It’s passing through the whole of the team.”

The demolition of Chelsea highlighted the focus of the Liverpool players has so far not been distracted by Klopp’s announcement he is quitting and the manager is delighted by that.

“Attitude is not our problem, attitude is something we can expect. Attitude is created by the culture. Attitude is created by the crowd,” said the German.

“Attitude is created by pretty much everybody around the team. Attitude will not be the issue of this team.”

Lewis Hamilton is on the brink of a blockbuster move to Ferrari in 2025, the PA news agency understands.

Hamilton, 39, is entering the first of a new two-year deal with Mercedes worth £100million.

But it is understood the seven-time Formula One world champion is eligible to leave Mercedes at the end of the year.

PA has been told that confirmation of Hamilton’s transfer to Ferrari could be announced as early as February 1.

Both Mercedes and Ferrari declined to comment when contacted by PA.

England are ready to play the generation game after pairing 20-year-old debutant Shoaib Bashir and 41-year-old seamer James Anderson for the second Test in India.

Bashir, who has been fast-tracked into the XI after just six first-class appearances and 10 wickets, was born five months after Anderson won his first cap at Lord’s in May 2003.

The duo come into a winning team at Visakhapatnam on Friday, with the young off-spinner replacing the injured Jack Leach and the country’s record wicket-taker in for Mark Wood.

Bashir will be the 99th player to make their England debut since Anderson made his bow against Zimbabwe more than two decades ago. Numbers 98 and 96, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed, are the men to join Bashir in a three-pronged spin attack boasting just three Tests between them.

Solitary seamer Anderson is on hand to make up for their collective lack of experience as he lines up for the 184th time.

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have made fearless selections a hallmark of their reign as captain and coach but, emboldened by their stirring 28-run success in Hyderabad, this is their boldest move yet.

Yet Stokes, who was first alerted to Bashir’s promise via a social media clip of him bowling at Sir Alastair Cook, insisted it was a straightforward call.

“Bash coming in for Leachy was a simple one: one spinner out, one spinner in,” he said.

“Baz told him. So, when I went up to him, I knew that he knew and he just gave me a big hug. He looked very excited. I’m fully backing him and looking forward to hopefully putting on a grand show.”

Bashir impressed England during their recent training camp in Abu Dhabi and looked assured enough for Stokes to treat his delayed arrival in India, caused by visa hold-ups related to his Pakistani heritage, a non-factor.

Brushing off the disruption of his unplanned trip back to the embassy in London, he added: “There’s no issues for me that he’s been away from the group for a period of time, then come back in to make his debut. It’s not like he’s forgotten how to bowl.”

Sitting at the other end of the spectrum is Anderson, setting out on his 22nd calendar year of international cricket and his first outing since the retirement of long-time partner Stuart Broad.

He showcased his undimmed desire to play a part by throwing himself into substitute fielder duties on the final day of the first Test.

“It’s great that Jimmy is doing good things for the old boys out there,” said Stokes with a smile.

“It’s huge credit to him and lots of people should look up to Jimmy considering he is where he is at 41. Bringing in Jimmy’s experience, and the class that he has, is great for us and I think it also goes under the radar how good his record in India is.

“Considering what Jimmy is known for – ‘the swing king’ and all that – it just proves how good a bowler he is. Taking nothing away from Woody, we just feel like there’s a bit more I can turn to him for. It’s not just picking Jimmy for the new ball, it’s everything else he possesses – his reverse skills, his off-cutter skills and stuff like that.”

Stokes is playing in India as a specialist batter but bowled gently during Thursday’s practice session for the first time since undergoing knee surgery. He plans to return as a fully functioning bowling option during the English summer, when Joe Root’s newfound status as the side’s top-rated all-rounder – as confirmed by the latest ICC rankings – could come under threat.

“I’m surprised but he’s not actually mentioned he’s nipped above me,” Stokes said.

“I always said to Joe he underbowled himself as captain. I told him ‘I’ll make a bowler out of you!'”

Kevin Durant likes where the Phoenix Suns are trending after pouring in 33 points to seal a victorious return to Brooklyn.

The Suns won 136-120 over the Nets, as Durant shot 10 of 16 from the field and added eight assists in his first game in Brooklyn since being traded to Phoenix nearly a year ago.

Jusuf Nurkic had 28 with 11 rebounds, Devin Booker scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added 17 for the surging Suns.

The win at Barclays Center was the Suns' ninth win in 11 NBA games before they play the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night and the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

"We were just floating from two to three games under .500 and .500 for most of the year," Durant said after the game, per ESPN. 

"Now we look up, we're 28-20 with a good opportunity to be 10 games over .500 with our next two games on the road. 

"So, we're going home at the 50-game mark, hopefully we can be 30-20, and I like where we are. 

"It's a grind throughout the whole season, especially with the new group, new coaching staff, new team, guys in and out the lineup. You got to build some continuity, and we are on our way to that."

There was huge hype around Durant’s return to his former team, but Suns coach Frank Vogel was impressed by how he focused on the job at hand.

"Hell of a performance," said Vogel. "He put the team first.

"He went out and competed, played team-first basketball, had eight assists and several other plays where made the extra pass and allowed his teammates to play through his double-teams.

"He played a team-first type of game and ended up with 33 and eight."

Durant spent almost four years at Brooklyn, playing alongside James Harden and Kyrie Irving. But the stars only played 16 games together and the Nets won just one playoff series.

The two-time NBA champion gave his reflections on that time but said he did not ponder what might have been, instead focusing on the facts of his time in a Nets jersey.

Durant said: "No, I don’t think about what could have been, that's just a pointless exercise, in my opinion. What happened. That's what I thought about: what actually happened, the reality of it.

"We didn't have enough time together. That's just it. Guys wanted to go their separate ways. 

"We tried our hardest to salvage everything together. We had three or four different teams [from] when I signed here until when I left. 

"But at the end of the day, I enjoyed coming to work, playing for, being a part of this community and playing, representing Brooklyn; regardless of what went on, what was said or how I felt, I still came to work.

"I was an All-Star every year. I was the leading vote-getter every year in All-Star games. Sold a lot of jerseys. [Averaged] 50-40-90, averaged 30, [made] All-NBA. 

"I mean, was that successful? You know what I mean? But team success is a different thing.

"You'd like to put the team, how the team does, you'd like to put that on one of the best players and call it a failure, but if you want to talk about me individually, you can just look at the work that I put in here.

"I think I've grown as a player. I'm on my way to mastering the game. I think coming here helped me, pushed me far closer to that. So that's what I try to take from my time here."

The Nets played a tribute video for Durant before the game and he had a mixture of cheers and boos from the home crowd over the course of the night.

"That wasn't going to stop me from just doing my job regardless," Durant said about the video.

"But there's class people here. They appreciate everybody who donned the jersey and that shows a great organization. I respect that."

Cam Thomas scored 25 points and Mikal Bridges, who came to Brooklyn in the Durant trade, had 21 but the Nets (19-28) failed in their bid to win three straight for the first time since early December.

They next play at Philadelphia on Friday.