Brighton and Hove Albion have completed the signing of Yasin Ayari as speculation over Moises Caicedo's future continues.

Ayari, a Sweden international who plays in central midfield, has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Brighton after joining from AIK.

The 19-year-old has reportedly cost Brighton £5.2million (€6m).

"Yasin is a versatile and technical midfield player, who is good on the ball and capable of playing across the midfield," said Brighton's sporting director David Weir.

"He's had an impressive spell in Sweden with AIK, and we are delighted to have completed his transfer and to be welcoming him to the club.

"He will need time to settle here and acclimatise to the Premier League, but we are really looking forward to working with him."

While Ayari is viewed as one for the future, he may be required to step up to the first team ahead of schedule should Caicedo have his wish to leave Brighton granted in the final days of the transfer window.

Caicedo has told Brighton he wishes to leave, with league leaders Arsenal having submitted a bid, reported to be £60m, last week.

The Ecuador international posted an open message to Brighton on Friday, saying he was "proud to be able to bring in a record transfer fee for Brighton which would allow them to reinvest it and help the club continue to be successful".

Caicedo was not involved in Brighton's 2-1 FA Cup win against Liverpool on Sunday, and Arsenal are said to have lodged a new offer worth £70m.

Brighton have already sold one of their stars to the Gunners this month, with Leandro Trossard having joined Mikel Arteta's side.

Wolves have completed the signing of Flamengo's Copa Libertadores winner Joao Gomes, making the highly rated midfielder their sixth addition of the transfer window.

Gomes has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Julen Lopetegui's men, having reportedly rejected interest from Lyon in order to join the Premier League side in a £15million ($18.5m) deal.

Reports claimed Flamengo were refusing to deal with Wolves after receiving a more lucrative offer from the Ligue 1 club earlier this month, delaying his departure.

But the 21-year-old, who started as Flamengo beat Athletico Paranaense to win their third Libertadores crown in October's final, has joined Matheus Cunha, Pablo Sarabia, Mario Lemina, Craig Dawson and Daniel Bentley in moving to Molineux this month.

Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs said: "It's been well publicised that we thought we had a deal sorted a couple of weeks ago, but what's got the deal done has been the player. 

"He's turned down a more lucrative offer at another club because he always said he gave his word, he always wanted to come to Wolves since talking to Julen and I, so he's kept his word and stayed strong."

Gomes will now miss out on a potential meeting with Real Madrid after helping Flamengo reach next month's Club World Cup, and could instead make his Premier League debut against Liverpool on Saturday.  

The LIV Golf Invitational tournament schedule for 2023 has been confirmed.

The breakaway tour, headed up by Greg Norman and backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), started last year and caused ripples across the world of golf.

High-profile players such as Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson signed up for the lucrative competition, leaving the PGA Tour in the process.

On Monday, the 14 tournaments were confirmed, with the events set to take place across seven different nations.

Five venues that were on last year's slate return for 2023, with the Centurion Golf Club close to London, the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois, Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami and Jeddah's Royal Greens Golf and Country Club all making a comeback.

The LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok, LIV Golf International Portland and LIV Golf International Boston are not returning this year, though 

New venues include Orange County National in Orlando and the Trump National Golf Club in Washington D.C. – another course owned by the former United States president Donald Trump.

Seven venues had previously been confirmed prior to Monday's announcement.

The 2023 season will start at El Camaleon Golf Course in Mexico in late February, and end in Jeddah in November.

Eight of the tournaments will take place in the USA, with one each in Mexico, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom.

LIV Golf 2023 schedule

LIV Golf Mayakoba, Playa del Carmen, Mexico (February 24-26)
LIV Golf Tuscon, Arizona, USA (March 17-19)
LIV Golf Orlando, Florida, USA (March 31-Apr 2)
LIV Golf Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia (April 21-23)
LIV Golf Singapore, Singapore (April 28-30)
LIV Golf Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 26-28)
LIV Golf Valderrama, Andalucia, Spain (June 30-July 2)
LIV Golf London, Hertfordshire, UK (July 7-9)
LIV Golf Greenbrier, West Virginia, USA (August 4-6)
LIV Golf Bedminster, New Jersey, USA (August 11-13)
LIV Golf Chicago, Illinois, USA (September 22-24)
LIV Golf Miami, Florida, USA (October 20-22)
LIV Golf Team Championship, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia (November 3-5)

Sean Dyche is the manager Everton have turned to as they aim to stave off relegation from the Premier League.

Everton sacked Frank Lampard last Monday following a 2-0 defeat at West Ham – the Toffees' eighth defeat in the space of nine games.

The last time Everton won a competitive match was on October 22 last year, and they find themselves in 19th place, level on points with Southampton, who are bottom only due to goal difference.

Dyche was reportedly the Merseyside club's second choice, with owner Farhad Moshiri wanting to appoint former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa, who held talks with the club's hierarchy in London on Thursday.

However, Bielsa is said to have been hesitant to join Everton in mid-season, and reports have claimed the Argentine instead suggested he would take over the club's under-21s side, with a view to managing the first team following the end of the campaign.

With survival Everton's priority, Dyche has been handed the job on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Speaking to the club's media, Dyche said: "It's an honour to become Everton manager. My staff and I are ready and eager to help get this great club back on track.

"I know about Everton's passionate fanbase and how precious this club is to them. We're ready to work and ready to give them what they want.

"That starts with sweat on the shirt, effort and getting back to some of the basic principles of what Everton Football Club has stood for for a long time... There is quality in this squad. But we have to make them shine. That's the job of me and my staff."

Dyche was sacked by Burnley in April last year, after 10 years in charge of the Clarets.

His last win at Burnley came against Lampard's Everton, and although his temporary replacement Michael Jackson had a good start, taking 10 points from a possible 12, he was unable to keep the Clarets in the division.

Everton stayed up thanks to a 3-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace but have won just three top-flight games this campaign, having struggled for goals following Richarlison's move to Tottenham and Dominic Calvert-Lewin's injury issues.

Dyche is reuniting with two of his Burnley regulars in the form of James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil, while he should have funds to spend in the final days of the January transfer window following the sale of Anthony Gordon to Newcastle United in a deal reportedly worth up to £45million.

The former Watford manager gained promotion with Burnley in 2014, and though they went straight back down, he took them back up to the top tier in 2016.

He established Burnley as steady competitors for the best part of six years, even qualifying for Europe in the 2017-18 campaign, and now will be tasked with maintaining Everton's long top-flight status.

Dyche took charge of 258 Premier League games at Burnley, winning 72 (27.9 per cent) and averaging 1.1 points per game.

His first game at the helm of Everton will come at home against league leaders Arsenal on February 4, with a Merseyside derby at Anfield following nine days later.

Fierce rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid will do battle for a place in the Copa del Rey final.

LaLiga leaders Barca and Los Blancos were on Monday drawn to meet at the semi-final stage, with the winners facing either Athletic Bilbao or Osasuna.

The Blaugrana beat Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana final in Riyadh earlier this month to secure their first trophy of head coach Xavi's reign.

There will be another two El Clasico cup clashes to look forward to, with the first leg staged at Santiago Bernabeu in the week commencing February 27 and the second match at Camp Nou in the week commencing April 3.

Carlo Ancelotti's side were 3-1 winners when the two met in LaLiga in October, but Barca have since opened up a five-point lead at the summit.

Osasuna will have home advantage in their first leg against Athletic.

The final will be stage at the Estadio de la Cartuja in Sevilla on May 6.

Rory McIlroy said his victory over Patrick Reed at the Dubai Desert Classic was "sweeter than it should be or needs to be".

World number one McIlroy clinched his third title at the event in a thrilling final round, making a fine birdie at the last hole on Monday to fend off rival Reed.

Prior to the tournament American and LIV Golf defector Reed labelled McIlroy an "immature little child" for blanking him at the practice range and was also alleged to have thrown a tee at the Northern Irishman.

McIlroy said Reed's lawyer served him with court papers on Christmas Eve, although Reed said he was not behind the subpoena, with the case concerned being one brought by American attorney Larry Klayman relating to divisions between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour.

Reed was involved in more controversy on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.

But McIlroy, considered by some as the PGA Tour's de facto spokesperson since LIV Golf's breakaway, came out on top in scintillating fashion.

"I think mentally today was probably one of the toughest rounds I've had to play, it would have been really easy to let emotions get in the way," he told DP World Tour media.

"I had to really concentrate on focusing on myself, forget who was up there on the leaderboard and I did that really, really well.

"I think I showed a lot of mental strength out there today and something to build on for the rest of the year.

"There's been a ton of positives this year, but also some things to learn from and improve on.

"I'm going to enjoy this, this is probably sweeter than it should be or needs to be but I feel like I've still got some stuff to work on.

"It's a great start to the year and a good foundation to work from."

McIlroy took a three-shot advantage into the final round, but victory could have slipped from his grasp when a tee shot held up close to the water on the 18th.

Yet the 33-year-old kept his cool to set up a 15-foot putt, which he sunk to avoid a play-off.

"Honestly I feel like I got lucky my ball didn't go in the water off the tee shot, it's such an awkward tee shot, driver's too much, three wood's not enough. I tried to hit an easy driver and it came off too hot," McIlroy said.

"I really only had one choice, to lay up and try to get up and down that way. I said yesterday with the two balls in the water on Sunday last year and yesterday, fool me once shame on me, fool me twice… I wasn't going to get fooled a third time."

Eddie Howe believes Anthony Gordon will be a hit with the Newcastle United supporters and confirmed Jonjo Shelvey is in the process of leaving the club.

Gordon joined Newcastle from struggling Everton over the weekend.

Newcastle have reportedly paid an initial £40million for the 21-year-old, with an additional £5m due in add-ons.

Gordon handed in a transfer request at Everton last week, having missed three training sessions, though Howe has no concerns over the winger's attitude.

"He'll give us a lot," Howe said in a press conference ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Southampton.

"He's a young player with huge potential to have a big impact on our season.

"Very quick, dynamic. He's versatile and can play on both sides. The best is yet to come from him. I've got no doubts about his character. He is fiercely determined and ambitious.

"I believe he will fit our style of play. He is an incredible athlete and has the ability to run box-to-box at very high speed.

"I think he has the athletic durability that we want in our wide players. He has the passion that the fans will feed off but Anthony will have to earn that support."

Gordon's fiery side was on show when Everton lost at St James' Park in October, clashing with Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar and Nick Pope.

"It's interesting looking back at the footage, I like that he didn't stand down that day. He was aggressive," Howe added.

"The supporters and his team-mates will grow to love that about him."

While Gordon has bolstered Newcastle's attacking options, Howe is set to lose midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, who is on the verge of following Chris Wood to Nottingham Forest.

"Jonjo has had injuries this season and certainly I would not want to lose him," Howe said of the former Liverpool midfielder.

"I have to understand again, similar to Chris Wood, the player's wishes with his contract coming to an end.

"It will be very difficult to keep Jonjo currently, with where he wants his career to go. We can keep players who want to leave – there is nothing to say that every player that wants to leave you have to let go.

"But you have to take every situation independently and try to judge everything, judge what is best for him and the club.

"This is a very difficult situation. From a footballing perspective, I definitely want to keep Jonjo, I rate him highly. Jonjo I believe is talking to Nottingham Forest, I don't know what stage that is at."

Newcastle have been linked with a loan move for Sheffield United's Sander Berge and Howe confirmed he wants a replacement for Shelvey, though acknowledged it would be "very difficult" to sign another player on a permanent basis in the final two days of the window.

Rory McIlroy birdied the last hole of a thrilling final round to hold off Patrick Reed and win the Dubai Desert Classic for a third time on Monday.

In a tournament that finished a day later than scheduled due to poor weather last Thursday and Friday, the world number one got himself out of a spot of bother on the 18th to start the year with a maiden Rolex Series victory

American Reed threw a tee in McIlroy's direction at Emirates Golf Club last week after being snubbed for a handshake following a dispute between the pair, but the Northern Irishman held his nerve to avoid throwing away his lead as the tension mounted during the last round.

LIV Golf star Reed was involved in more controversy on Sunday when he took an unplayable penalty drop after his ball got lodged in a tree, with question marks raised over whether it was in fact his ball he had identified by using binoculars.

McIlroy took a three-shot advantage into the final round, but Texan Reed carded a seven-under 65 and birdied the last hole to ramp up the pressure on the four-time major champion.

A tee shot that held up precariously close to the water left McIlroy with work to do at 18 and he had to wait for his second shot while Reed was coming close to an eagle three up in front of him before sinking a short birdie putt.

McIlroy laid up short of the water before showing his class to land his third shot 15 feet from the pin and duly avoided a play-off by draining a brilliant putt for the win.

A closing four-under 68 was enough for the 33-year-old to get the job done, finishing with back-to-back birdies to end the tournament on 19 under – beating Reed by one shot.

McIlroy had made his only bogey of the week at 15, but put that behind him to finish with a flourish following a steady start – adding to the Dubai Desert Classic victories he celebrated in 2009 and 2015.

Reed went out in 32 following three gains and maintained his momentum with an eagle-three at the 10th, then a further two birdies at 11 and 13.

He dropped a shot at 16 and a birdie at the last proved to be in vain as he fell just short.

Lucas Herbert finished strongly with a 66 to take third place, three adrift of McIlroy, with Callum Shinkwin fourth at 15 under and Julien Brun a further stroke back. Ian Poulter double-bogeyed the last and had to settle for joint-sixth along with Thomas Pieters following a closing two-under 70.

Campbell Johnstone hopes that coming out as gay will help others within New Zealand's sporting community.

Johnstone, who played three times for the All Blacks, including in a Test series against the British and Irish Lions in 2005, confirmed he was gay on a current affairs television programme on Monday.

He is the first openly gay player to have been involved within the All Blacks set-up. 

"If I open up that door and magically make that closet disappear, then we're going to help a lot of people," said Johnstone.

"I pushed that side of me down deeper and deeper. I went to some interesting places."

In an interview credited to TVNZ, Johnstone expressed his hope that him becoming the first All Black to come out might help others feel more comfortable in their own skin.

"If I can be the first All Black that comes out as gay and take away the pressure and the stigma that comes with that issue then it can actually help other people.

"Yes, it is [a big thing], to be able to do that could possibly be one of the final pieces of the puzzle for New Zealand sports."

The ex-Crusaders player also said he had been "living a lie".

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, who played alongside Johnstone at Canterbury, commended his old team-mate's strength and courage.

"On behalf of the New Zealand rugby community and as a former team-mate, I want to acknowledge and support Campbell for sharing his authentic story. Your strength and visibility will pave the way for the others in our game," said Robinson.

"Rugby is a sport that is welcoming to everyone and a place where people should feel safe to be who they are.

"We know that there are people who have not always been comfortable to be who they are in rugby. We want to be clear, no matter who you love, rugby has your back."

Rafael Nadal has congratulated Novak Djokovic on the "amazing achievement" of matching his record tally of 22 grand slam titles by winning the Australian Open on Sunday.

Djokovic and Nadal share the record for the most major tournaments won by a male player after the 35-year-old beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) at Melbourne Park.

The Serbian superstar also returned to the top of the rankings by being crowned Australian Open champion for a record-extending 10th time.

Djokovic and Nadal will head to the French Open in May eyeing major triumph number 23.

Spaniard Nadal, who will be out for around eight weeks due to a hip injury he aggravated during a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald in Melbourne, posted on Instagram: "Amazing achievement Nole @djokernole Many congrats to you and your team!

"Well deserved. Enjoy Nole!"

Swiss great Roger Federer, a winner of 20 major titles before retiring last year, also saluted Djokovic in an Instagram story on Sunday: "Incredible effort, again! Many congratulations." 

The legendary Margaret Court leads the way with 24 major singles titles, while Serena Williams racked up 23 in her incredible career.

Joseph Ossai knows he must learn from a painful experience after he gifted the Kansas City Chiefs the chance to seal their place in Super Bowl LVII.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Ossai was hit with a roughing-the-passer penalty for a shove on Patrick Mahomes after the quarterback had run out of bounds right at the end of the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

A 15-yard penalty allowed Harrison Butker to convert a decisive 45-yard game-goal to snatch a 23-20 win and set up a showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium, Arizona on February 12.

The 22-year-old Ossai was emotional after such a costly late penalty in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship Game and knows he must be more disciplined going forward.

"I gotta learn from experience," Ossai said. "I gotta know not to get close to that quarterback when he's close to that sideline if it's anything that could possibly cause a penalty in a dire situation like that. I gotta do better."

He added: "I was just in full chase mode. I was trying to push him, maybe get him going backwards because I knew he was going for that sideline.

"I was trying to make him go backwards, get that clock running. I haven't seen it yet. I don't know how far out of bounds we were."

DJ Reader backed Ossai to use the hurt he is feeling now to drive him on to better things.

Reader said: "That play is going to find him again. Those roles are going to find him again as a player, and just be ready for it."

He added: "This pain is going to drive him to be great. He'll get there."

Sebastian Aho has taken his game to a new level after inspiring the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-1 victory over the NHL-best Boston Bruins on Sunday.

That is the assessment of team-mate Brent Burns, who is enjoying a first-hand view of the flying Finn's excellent form.

Aho scored for a fourth game running, while Paul Stastny, Seth Jarvis and Jordan Staal each finished with goals as the Canes made it five straight wins to sit top of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference.

"It's been fun. It's fun to see a guy like that off the ice, what he does and how competitive he is on the ice," Burns said of Aho.

"He doesn't like to lose in anything. It's fun to see it up close and take it to the next level.

"He's just explosive when he gets the puck. Anybody can see his confidence growing and he's just a special player. It's special to see every day."

Aho has racked up seven goals during his streak, and has 21 overall for the season.

"He seems to have picked that step up again," Canes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "He's playing at a high level, that's for sure."

Pavel Zacha managed the solitary goal for a Bruins side who have 81 points, the most in the NHL, but are now on a three-match losing streak.

Nonetheless, Aho recognised the quality at Boston's disposal.

"Through the lineup, every line did their job. That's a great team we played tonight," Aho said.

"There's a reason why they're at the top of the standings. They play a good game. We needed to bring our best tonight."

Brind'Amour added: "It was a great game. Listen, we know that that team is the cream of the crop and they're lapping everybody right now. It was a good test. 

"We played good. Regardless of the opponent, we played solid the whole game."

Giannis Antetokounmpo was determined to reach 50 points as he piled on 12 in the last four minutes of the Milwaukee Bucks' 135-110 home win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

It was the sixth 50-point performance of Antetokounmpo's career, and after coming into the season with four, he has managed two this month following his career-high 55 against the Washington Wizards on January 3.

He shot a blistering 20-of-26 from the field – including 16 of Milwaukee's first 21 points – adding 13 rebounds and four assists, and while he could have settled for a strong effort and a comfortable win, he decided to make it a memorable night down the stretch.

Sitting on 38 points with 3:51 remaining, Antetokounmpo hit four free throws and a layup to reach 44, before closing the game with back-to-back three-pointers to bring up his 50.

Speaking after the victory, the two-time MVP and 2021 NBA Finals MVP said these are opportunities you do not want to waste.

"I knew that if I was able to get the rebound, I was going to shoot," he said. "It doesn't always work out, but tonight it did. 

"I didn't hesitate at all. I was able to get my legs under my shot, stayed there, and just watched the ball go in.

"It's one of those moments you can never take for granted because you never know when you're going to have those moments again."

Antetokounmpo's team-mates decided to bring the locker-room celebration out to the court, showering their franchise player with bottles of water in front of the sold-out Fiserv Forum.

"We might as well do it in front of everybody," Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. "It's really just to show how much we appreciate him. For him to go out there and do that is amazing, no matter how many times you score 50 points.

"It's a great time – everybody just kind of gets on his shoulders and we're just along for the ride. At that point, we just got to support him. If he passes it to us, make the shot, but for the most part, we know who's going to carry us."

Head coach Mike Budenholzer joined Holiday in awe of his star player, highlighting all the hard work he puts in.

"Tonight, I think 50 on 26 shots is impressive," he said. "Just everything he did, his aggressiveness, a couple threes, especially late, but he's shooting it well. 

"It feels like a few more catch and shoots – if we can generate a few of those for him and build the confidence in that area, those are areas where he's improving."

The Bucks improved their record to 33-17, leaving them third in the Eastern Conference and with the fourth-best record overall, while the Pelicans slipped to 26-25 after their eighth consecutive loss as they battle a number of key injuries.