Colin Graves is close to completing a controversial return to Yorkshire as chair after the club’s board recommended that members accept the terms of a loan agreement.

Here the PA news agency looks more closely at the details.

What has happened?

Graves, who helped rescue the club from financial oblivion in 2002 and served as chair between 2012 and 2015, has reached an agreement which secures Yorkshire’s immediate financial future. He has personally agreed to loan £1million immediately with a further £4m of funding to come over a five-month period, on the condition that he returns as chair and three other individuals – Phillip Hodson, Sanjay Patel and Sanjeev Gandhi – join the board. Sources close to the club have previously told PA that Yorkshire faced the very real threat of entering administration without an immediate cash injection.

Why is his return controversial?

Graves was a senior figure at Yorkshire across the bulk of a 17-year period between 2004 and 2021 where the club have admitted to an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) charge of failing to address the systemic use of racist and discriminatory language. In an interview with Sky Sports last June Graves said no allegation of racism was ever raised to him but admitted there was “a lot of banter”, comments which were widely criticised at the time, including by Yorkshire and the ECB.

Why is he coming back then?

Yorkshire chair Harry Chathli wrote to members on Thursday to say the board had “exhausted all other options” before agreeing to recommend the Graves offer. The club requires working capital in the short term and has to address longer-term debt, with a major chunk of that – almost £15m – owed to the Graves family trust.

What has Graves said?

He released a statement on Thursday morning apologising to anyone who had experienced racism at Yorkshire, and “profound regret” about the ‘banter’ comment in last year’s Sky interview. He also accepted the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) findings last year. Its panel found racism was “entrenched” within cricket and that women routinely faced sexism and misogyny.

What has the reaction to Graves’ return been?

Azeem Rafiq – who was found to have been the victim of racism at Yorkshire in a Cricket Discipline Commission case which concluded last year – has refused to accept Graves’ apology.

“We’ve seen a lot of grand apologies and I’ve believed them – not any more,” he told PA.

“This is a clear message to me, to other people that have been abused, to south Asians, to people of colour, that cricket is not a place for you. Actions speak louder than words and at the first point of challenge the game has shown exactly what it is, which is institutionally, systemically, racist.”

The Culture, Media and Sport committee, which heard harrowing testimony from Rafiq in November 2021, has invited Graves to appear before it, warning it will be “watching closely” over the next few months.

The ECB welcomed Graves’ commitment to continuing efforts that have been made since 2021 to make Yorkshire a more inclusive club, but warned of its “significant powers” to hold the club and Graves to account if progress stalls.

What happens next?

Members will be asked to vote on a special resolution allowing Graves, Hodson, Patel and Gandhi to immediately join the board at an extraordinary general meeting at Headingley on February 2.

Six individuals – including current chair Chathli – will leave the board on that date, but Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson is understood to be one of two independent non-executive directors who will stay on.

Track And Trace played a starring role in a Catterick treble for trainer Jonjo O’Neill and jockey Richie McLernon with victory in the Vickers.Bet North Yorkshire Grand National.

While the Jackdaws Castle handler recalled booting home plenty of winners at Catterick during his illustrious riding career, he is a rare visitor these days, so punters should perhaps have taken note of his presence at the North Yorkshire track’s flagship jumps meeting of the year.

“I can’t remember the last time I was here, to be honest, it will be a while ago,” he said.

“It was a lucky track for me as a jockey, I rode plenty of winners around here, and it’s been a lucky track all round really. It’s a nice little track really and the facilities are really nice now.”

Having struck gold in the previous two races with Time For A Pint and Hasthing respectively, Track And Trace was a 7-2 favourite to provide his trainer and jockey with a third win in little over an hour in the near £21,000 feature and ultimately got the job done in fine style.

After travelling well for much of the three-mile-five-furlong contest, the lightly-raced seven-year-old took over the running with three fences to jump and stuck to his guns on the run-in to beat Crixus’s Escape by two and a quarter lengths, with Court At Slip just a neck further behind in third.

“He jumps well and I was gambling on him staying, but I thought he would and it just went the right way,” said O’Neill.

“He made a couple of little errors, but he hopped away grand. It’s a long trip and he was probably getting a bit tired at the end.

“Hopefully he can move up the ladder a little bit. We’re looking forward to him going forward.”

Time For A Pint justified 3-1 favouritism in the Download Raceday Ready Today Novices’ Handicap Chase, before Hasthing knuckled down to make it two from two over obstacles as a 10-11 shot in the Friends Of Kiplin Hall/EBF ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle.

The latter finished third in the Grade Two Aintree bumper last spring and is now likely to have his sights raised.

O’Neill added: “He’s a big old boy isn’t he – he has a leg in every county!

“He jumped much better today to be fair, it’s more experience and he’s learning all the time. Hopefully he can keep going forward.

“He’s qualified now (for the EBF Final), so we’ll see how he comes out of it, have a chat with Frank (Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus) and see where we go from there.”

Brucio (11-4 favourite) barely broke sweat when opening her account in the opening Watch Racing TV Now Mares’ Maiden Hurdle.

Carrying the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the Irish raider was a solitary ride on the card for leading jockey Daryl Jacob, who was securing only his second ever Catterick winner.

He said of the Stuart Crawford-trained winner: “She felt good there today and she’s relished the ground. It was a very weak mares’ maiden, the ground was right and everything fell into place for her.

“The more I’ve ridden her the more she’s starting to get the hang of things. She’s a slow burner and hopefully with a summer’s break we might see her improve a little bit more.”

The Sue Smith-trained It’s Maisy (7-2) followed up last month’s Market Rasen victory in the Racingtv.com Mares’ Handicap Hurdle under Nick Schofield, profiting from the final-flight exit of likely winner Minniemum.

Tristan Davidson and Harry Reed combined to land the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Hurdle with 15-2 chance Shantou Moon, while the concluding Racing Again 24th January Handicap Hurdle went to Freddy Robinson (100-30), trained by Brian Ellison and ridden by 7lb claimer William Maggs.

Ronnie O’Sullivan relished the prospect of a “massive, dirty curry” after grinding out a 6-3 win over Barry Hawkins in a Masters quarter-final that lacked spice.

The seven-times winner looked under the weather as he wore a thick coat for his post-match TV interview, muttering: “I fancy a curry – a massive, dirty curry. There’s nothing I don’t like.”

In a match awash with errors from both players, O’Sullivan kicked off with a break of 88 but had to wait until the penultimate frame to post his next half-century, a 60 to move one frame from victory.

Despite riding his luck early on, Hawkins will seldom have a better chance of improving his dismal record against O’Sullivan, having lost 17 of their previous 20 clashes, including a 10-1 thrashing in the 2016 Masters final.

Hawkins, an impressive winner of Neil Robertson in the last 16, could have been 4-0 down at the interval but instead went in all-square after being handed a series of uncharacteristic chances by the world number one.

A missed pink in the second allowed Hawkins to level, and Hawkins was not punished for a rash, missed yellow in the fourth as he somehow made it 2-2 at the interval.

A missed blue, among a number of others, from O’Sullivan gave Hawkins the chance to nudge ahead for the first time at 3-2, but Hawkins failed to take a series of opportunities to establish a two-frame lead.

A horrendous miscue from O’Sullivan, in which he missed the pink completely, was greeted with a sigh of exasperation but Hawkins missed the same ball at a stretch with the spider to let the favourite back in.

Worse was to follow from both players with O’Sullivan emerging on top after a catalogue of errors in frame seven, before wrapping things up to book a last-four clash with either Shaun Murphy or Jack Lisowski.

Andy Farrell described his appointment as British and Irish Lions head coach as “pretty magical” but has ruled out a repeat of the moment that made his name with the tourists.

Farrell takes charge of the Lions for the first time when they visit Australia in 2025 having been a part of Warren Gatland’s management team in 2013 and 2017.

The 48-year-old Englishman was chosen by a committee comprising of Brian O’Driscoll, Ieuan Evans, Nigel Redman and Sir Ian McGeechan, who spent six months on the selection process before unanimously agreeing on the right candidate.

Farrell, the current World Rugby coach of the year, has been rewarded for guiding Ireland to a Grand Slam, an historic 2-1 series victory in New Zealand and to the summit of the global rankings.

“This means the world to me. To be thought of as a candidate for the head coach’s role is pretty special, but to be chosen is pretty magical,” Farrell said.

“For those of us who have been lucky enough to go on a Lions tour, or go as a supporter, knowing what the Lions stand for, we all know how special this is.

“So for me to be chosen as the head coach, it’s beyond words to be honest.”

Farrell insists that Gatland “took a big punt on me in 2013” when he was taken to Australia as a rookie assistant coach and oversaw the defence for a 2-1 series victory.

But the dual code international also provided one of the highlights of the tour by giving his famous ‘hurt arena’ speech before the Sydney decider, imploring his players to reach new levels “because there is no tomorrow”.

The Wallabies were subsequently crushed 41-16 and Farrell’s Lions reputation was made.

“I’ve probably grown up a little bit since then – I’m probably not as dramatic!” Farrell said.

“There won’t be any film star roles from me, just being myself and making sure that the team comes first.

“My coaching style is what it is. It’s me being myself. It’s me trying to put across to the talented group of players that I will be working with that they can express themselves.

“It’s 100 per cent that the talent will be there so I need to work to make sure I let that talent flourish.”

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Farrell begins his role in December having been given the green light by Ireland to take charge of the Lions for their 10-fixture trip that culminates in a three-Test series against the Wallabies.

He has been given a sabbatical by the Irish Rugby Football Union to focus purely on the Lions, meaning he will miss next year’s Six Nations.

One of his most important tasks will be assembling his coaching team, with Paul O’Connell and Gregor Townsend likely to be given prominent roles.

“I’m in no rush at all. There’s a long way to go isn’t there? There’s a lot of coaches just starting in new roles,” Farrell said.

“Some people will get better as coaches under pressure, so I’ll just sit back and watch.

“You’ve got to have the right people on the bus. It’s about excellence as well and the right balance between the coaching staff in general. If you have all the personalities being the same, it won’t feel right.

“If you don’t get the people right that technically and tactically can deliver to these superb players, that won’t feel right either. We’ve got to do the right thing by the team.”

The Prince of Wales has surprised Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield by presenting them with their CBEs during a visit to Headingley Stadium.

William paid tribute to the pair’s “phenomenal” efforts in raising funds and awareness for motor neurone disease (MND).

Sinfield and Burrow, who were Leeds Rhinos team-mates during their playing careers, were made CBEs in the New Year Honours List for services to MND awareness.

Sinfield has raised more than £15million since his friend Burrow was diagnosed with MND, an incurable and life-limiting condition, in December 2019.

Last year, Sinfield, 43, completed the “7 in 7 in 7” challenge by completing seven ultramarathons in seven cities in as many days.

On Thursday, William met Burrow and Sinfield at the stadium, and presented them with their CBEs in front of their wives and the former’s three children.

After talking to the two friends in the dressing room at Headingley, the prince said: “I’ve brought a special couple of things up with me to give you today.

“I did check with Kevin to make sure you didn’t want to go down to London to receive this, but I brought your CBEs up here to give to you today if that’s OK, while you’re in your home, in Leeds, surrounded by your family and friends. I thought today was a good day.”

William told Burrow: “The most amount of thank yous and congratulations for all the inspirational work you’ve done Rob, you’ve been amazing and everyone’s so proud of you.

“We’ve been following your case and all the money you’ve been raising, and you’re changing people’s lives with MND.”

Presenting Sinfield with his CBE, the prince said: “A huge, huge congratulations. It’s been amazing what you’ve done. It really is.

“You’ve raised so much the profile of MND. Your brotherly bond and relationship between the two of you has been so amazing to watch – an inspiration to everyone to go, like ‘this is how we help each other’.

“The groundswell you’ve created in terms of fundraising and looking after each other and for MND is huge. Make sure you look after your knees, your hips, and everything else, but it’s been incredible.”

Burrow welcomed the prince to the venue with a message recorded on an eye gaze machine, saying: “I would like to welcome you to Headingley, the home of Leeds Rhinos, and thank you for coming today. It is an honour to meet you.”

After being described by the prince as an inspiration to the MND community, Burrow said: “I can honestly say that I never set out to be an inspiration, I just wanted to try and help other people in a similar situation to me.

“I’m just trying to live my best life with the cards that I’ve been dealt.”

He added: “I wouldn’t be here without the love and support of my wife Lindsey. She is stronger than any rugby player I ever played against.”

After being asked about their friendship, Sinfield said: “The humour’s different. It’s different in how we communicate but the humour’s still exactly the same, it’s still there. He’s still as mischievous and funny as he’s always been.”

Talking about Burrow’s reputation for “playing tricks” before big games as a player, Sinfield told William about an incident in the dressing room when Burrow rubbed a Jaffa Cake on the white underwear of another player.

The prince joked: “I’m so not telling my children Rob because that’s the sort of thing they’ll do to me.”

Burrow’s daughters Macy and Maya also presented William with three gift bags for his children.

After receiving the CBE, Burrow said: “It is an honour to accept on behalf of the whole MND community. Days like today allow us to keep the spotlight on the disease and continue to raise awareness and, hopefully, funds to fight the disease and support those who are living with MND and their families.

“It was wonderful that His Royal Highness was able to come to Headingley to see us and very much appreciated. It was lovely to talk to him and for me to meet my family.”

Officials at Wincanton are delighted to play host to Henrietta Knight’s return to the training ranks – but are keeping their fingers crossed the track passes an early Friday morning inspection.

The 77-year-old is best known for the Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning exploits of Best Mate in the early 2000s but has been missing from the training fraternity since handing in her licence in 2012.

However, she announced her plans to end that 12-year hiatus late last year and is set to saddle two runners on the Wincanton card as she begins the new chapter of her decorated career in racing alongside right-hand man Brendan Powell.

Knight is of course no stranger to Wincanton saddling 42 winners from 262 runners during her previous time as a trainer, with her Champion Chase and King George hero Edredon Bleu a winner on four of his five visits to the Somerset track.

“It’s a big day and it’s a testament to their trust in Wincanton to come over and we’re excited,” said clerk of the course Daniel Cooper.

“We heard rumours last week that it could be the case and when we raced on Saturday I asked Brendan Powell and he confirmed it was going to be here.

“It’s lovely and we will look forward to showing Henrietta we are just how she would remember us in the past and we’re a new team here now so it will be good to try to carry on that trust.

“It will be great to have Henrietta and Brendan’s presence here, they are two great figures in racing.”

But before Knight has the chance to enter the saddling boxes to prepare her runners for action, the course will have to pass an 8.30am inspection with Cooper concerned about the prospect of frost affecting areas of the course.

Cooper added: “At the moment (Thursday afternoon) I would be calling this 95 per cent raceable and there are three areas that are frozen in places, so I’m just hoping they improve, and if the forecast temperatures are to be believed, they will improve and we will be OK.

“My god it’s close but things are 95 per cent at Wincanton, but the concern is tonight it freezes again and we arrive to a problem again in the morning.

“I’m not able to do any more than that and it’s a completely precarious situation still, but things are much better now than when I walked the course this morning – I’m convinced it’s better.

“We are going to be having an 8.30am inspection and we want to see a bit of daylight and see what it looks like and if we have to push it back in the morning, we will carry on doing so if we think we will see improvement.

“Everyone wants to race and it is set to be a great day, but we will only do so if it is fit, so we keep our fingers crossed.”

All In You will head to Kempton on Saturday in a bid to replicate a neat Fontainebleau success as part of a renewed team for owner-jockey David Maxwell.

Maxwell owns a string of horses and rides on an amateur licence, with his most recent successes in the saddle including Joker De Mai in a Lingfield handicap, Queensbury Boy in a Chepstow bumper and All In You’s Fontainebleau win.

The latter horse is trained by French-based Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm and will now cross the Channel to contest a juvenile hurdle at Kempton after a neat victory on home turf in mid-December was added to a prior win on the Flat.

The four-year-old was purchased by French agent Guy Petit after his racecourse debut and changed hands and stables having previously been trained by Stephanie Nigge.

“I bought him privately, I can’t even remember how much I gave for him as I tend to blank it out of my mind as a distasteful experience!” said Maxwell.

“He’d won a Flat race and Guy reckoned he looked the business. Sure enough, when he won first time he was the business.

“He jumped straightforwardly and he’s got a bit of a turn of foot, he’s really nice.”

George and Zetterholm hit a significant career milestone at Kempton when their stable flag bearer Il Est Francais won the Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day, giving them a natural inclination to return to the track.

“I didn’t really have a plan, I just thought he was a nice horse and he went to Noel who said ‘let’s just run him’,” Maxwell said.

“I was probably going to bring him over here but then they ran him and he won, then Noel said ‘let’s send him to Kempton’ because Noel likes coming over to Kempton now for obvious reasons!

“Nothing has come out of that race in France yet so I don’t know if it was an egg and spoon race or if it was decent, but he did it well.

“We’ll see after we run him what sort of horse we have, he’s only a baby.”

All In You is one of a number of nice prospects Maxwell has sourced from the point-to-point field and the French circuit, bringing in younger horses as the older campaigners he is associated with hit their veteran years.

He said: “I’ve restocked, Noel Fehily and David Crosse have been buying Irish pointers for me and Guy Petit has been buying horses in France.

“They’re a nice bunch of young horses, you’ve just got to be patient with them and let them grow and mature and risk the urge to play with the shiny new toys.”

Seasoned chasers such as Bob And Co, Saint Calvados, Cat Tiger and Simply The Betts have been good servants for Maxwell in recent years, but the sad fate of the latter has affirmed his approach of enjoying his horses with few fixed plans.

He said: “I’ll just be led by them, you can’t make plans with horses and I’ll give you an example.

“I laid out a plan for the last 18 months that Simply The Betts was going to win the Foxhunters this year. A Cheltenham specialist, he’s a two-and-a-half-miler but with his age he’ll get the trip, he’s eligible for hunter chasing this year.

“He was going to go to Kelso next week to open his account in a hunter chase and he died last week from colic, we did all we could for him.

“It’s a microcosm of life and sadly it happens. That’s why you can’t really plan, you’ve just got to enjoy it and keep smiling.

“We’ll hopefully stay happy, stay healthy and win some races, that’s the plan, and just keep enjoying it.”

Colin Graves has apologised “personally and unreservedly” to those who experienced racism at Yorkshire after the club’s board approved a loan offer that paves the way for his controversial return as chair.

But Azeem Rafiq, the former spinner turned whistleblower whose revelations lie at the heart of the scandal that has engulfed the club in recent years, has already rejected Graves’ attempts to say sorry.

Rafiq believes the acceptance of Graves’ proposals, described by Yorkshire as the only viable offer left to tackle a crippling financial situation that involves debts of almost £15million to the Graves family trust, shows the game has failed to tackle its discrimination problem.

Graves is set to resume the role he left in 2015, when he became chair of the England and Wales Cricket Board, when Yorkshire members vote at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for February 2.

The 75-year-old has offered an initial £1million, with another £4m of backing promised over a five-month period, provided members ratify him as chair and agree to bring allies Phillip Hodson, Sanjay Patel and Sanjeev Gandhi on to a much-changed board.

Those currently in charge of the club have recommended the deal but it is a divisive move considering the racism scandal partially took place during Graves’ first stint in charge.

Graves has attempted to row back from his previous bullish approach, apologising fully to those who suffered racism and adding that he “profoundly regrets” comments last summer that appeared to explain away the issue as “banter”.

Rafiq, for one, says that is not enough.

“It’s not something I accept. It’s got to be further than just words,” he told the PA news agency.

“We’ve seen a lot of grand apologies and I’ve believed them – not any more. Be careful what you wish for is what I say, not just to Yorkshire members, but to cricket.

“This is a clear message to me, to other people that have been abused, to south Asians, to people of colour, that cricket is not a place for you. Actions speak louder than words and at the first point of challenge the game has shown exactly what it is, which is institutionally, systemically, racist.

“It’s not my club (anymore). Even after everything that’s happened – driven out of the country, attacked, abused, still I was like ‘I have got pride in this (county) cap’. I no longer do and I am contemplating what to do with it.”

Graves’ statement, which accompanied news that his emergency funding offer had been accepted at board level, read: “I apologise personally and unreservedly to anyone who experienced any form of racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

“Discrimination or abuse based on race, ethnicity or any other protected characteristic is not and never will be acceptable. I profoundly regret some of the language I used when asked about the events that took place when I was chairman, at a time when I was no longer at the club. I understand and sympathise with those who regarded my comments as dismissive or uncaring.

“I am determined to do whatever is required to ensure Yorkshire County Cricket Club continues to reflect the communities it represents.”

Graves went on to make it clear he and his backers accepted the findings of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) and would uphold its recommendations.

The ECB, which recently stepped in to provide Yorkshire with financial support in the form of cash advances, welcomed Graves’ apology but warned it would keep a close eye on the club’s conduct.

“Considerable work has been carried out at Yorkshire – and across cricket more widely – in recent years to tackle discrimination and make the game more inclusive, and it is vital this continues,” read a statement from the governing body.

“We welcome Colin Graves’ commitment to continue this work, his unreserved apology and acceptance of the findings of the ICEC. These words must be put into action if Yorkshire members approve this deal.

“In addition, the ECB continues to exercise its ongoing role of ensuring effective oversight of governance across the wider game. There are also significant powers which can be used to hold Yorkshire County Cricket Club to account if it does not continue with the progress and reform we have seen over the last few years.”

The threat of suspending Headingley’s right to host international cricket was previously imposed in 2021 and lifted the following year following sweeping changes by previous chair Lord Kamlesh Patel.

Graves has been invited to appear in front of the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) select committee, with chair, Caroline Dinenage MP, warning her group would be “watching closely” amid concerns that his comeback “risks undermining what progress has been made so far”.

One of Graves closest allies, and another former Yorkshire chair, Robin Smith offered a more optimistic take.

He told PA: “The proposal from Colin Graves is the only one on the table. Fortunately, it happens to be a rather good one.

“The proposal comes from people of proven integrity and experience, notably Colin Graves himself, who, for the second time, has been willing to come to Yorkshire’s aid in its hour of desperate need.”

Former Ivory Coast star Sol Bamba admits the Africa Cup of Nations hosts need to prove their worth.

The ex-Cardiff and Leeds defender believes the team have fallen short at the tournament too many times.

The hosts, who open the tournament against Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan on Saturday, have only won the competition twice, the last coming in 2015.

Final defeats in 2008 and 2012, with Bamba playing in their penalty loss to Zambia 12 years ago, still hurt and the 38-year-old knows it is time for the squad to step up.

“Have we done enough? We know we haven’t because we should have won at least two more Africa Cup of Nations, definitely,” he told the PA news agency.

“Losing in 2012 was huge because we hadn’t won it since 1992. So we were absolutely desperate.

“We had what people called a golden generation with top players. We went as favourites, didn’t concede a goal and we ended up losing. The disappointment was absolutely huge. We talk about it between ourselves, we felt we missed a trick.

“Now we have top players playing in Europe but the difference of handling pressure in Europe and hosting a tournament in Africa is different.

“The expectation will be huge. In Africa it’s more than football. The first game will be massive. For Ivory Coast, though, winning games is not enough, you have to play a certain way.”

Manager Jean-Louis Gasset has omitted Galatasaray’s Wilfried Zaha for the tournament and Bamba hopes he does not regret the decision.

“It’s controversial because he’s a top player,” said Bamba, who earned 46 caps for his country.

“When you’re a top player you have to be picked for the national team. The manager said it was for the balance of the team, that they’ve got too many right-footed players on the wing.

“For me, this is an excuse. When you’re a manager you need to pick your best players and it is your job to make them perform at the highest level.

“The most important thing is he doesn’t really gel with the group, he keeps himself to himself. You also have to pick a team according to the dynamic of the group.

“The fans know it’s the main reason he’s not been picked. They had better have a good tournament otherwise everyone will be on his (Gasset’s) back.”

Seven-time champions Egypt, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah spearheading their challenge, face Mozambique in Group B on Sunday and Senegal start their title defence against Gambia in Group C on Monday.

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Senegal, with Tottenham midfielder Pape Sarr, are favourites with the final due to be held on February 11 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, leaving Premier League clubs waiting to see when their stars will return.

Ghana, coached by former Newcastle and Brighton boss Chris Hughton, boast West Ham’s in form Mohamed Kudus and Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew.

Arsenal will be without Thomas Partey (Ghana) and Mohamed Elneny (Egypt) while Nottingham Forest will miss seven players, including Cheikhou Kouyate and Serge Aurier, in a blow to new boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

Manchester United have Andre Onana (Cameroon), Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco) and Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast) away.

Chelsea have recalled David Fofana from his loan at Union Berlin.

The 21-year-old striker featured 17 times for the Bundesliga side including four matches in the club’s debut Champions League campaign, scoring twice in total.

Having arrived at Stamford Bridge for £10.9million from Norwegian outfit Molde in January 2023, he made three Premier League appearances under former boss Graham Potter last season before agreeing what was due to be a 12-month switch to Germany.

He returns early to west London with the club currently lacking in attacking options, with Nicolas Jackson away representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations and Christopher Nkunku having missed the last two games with a hip injury.

Armando Broja has been the only recognised striker available to manager Mauricio Pochettino in recent weeks but has scored just twice this season since recovering from an ACL injury.

Union have endured a difficult campaign after finishing fourth last time, losing nine games in a row which led to the sacking of manager Urs Fischer in November.

They were eliminated in the group stages of the Champions League, collecting two points from their six games.

Meanwhile goalkeeper Jamie Cumming has joined League One promotion hopefuls Oxford on loan for the rest of the season.

The 24-year-old, who has not played a senior competitive game for the Blues, spent 2022-23 on loan at MK Dons where he won player of the year.

Chief executive Darren Eales has admitted even Newcastle could not resist a “£1billion” bid for one of their biggest names after reporting a loss of £73.4million.

The Magpies, who are 80 per cent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are considered one of the world’s richest football clubs, but like all their Premier League counterparts they have to operate within profit and sustainability rules.

Sporting director Dan Ashworth has insisted in the past that spending £200m a year on players – Amanda Staveley’s consortium has invested in excess of £400m in the squad since completing its takeover in October 2021 – is unsustainable, prompting speculation that the likes of Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes or Alexander Isak could be sold to fund future recruitment.

Asked about that possibility as he discussed the club’s financial figures for the year ending June 30, 2023, Eales said: “It’s difficult to hypothesise, but if we’re offered £1billion for one of those players, then no one could argue against that making sense.

“Any decision we make will always be against the backdrop of the medium to long-term benefit for the club. It’s difficult to say specifically on certain players, but I can say that, if we’re going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players.”

Newcastle’s rise since Staveley and her partners – the Ripon-based financier is understood to have reduced her 10 per cent personal stake in the club, but she and the Reuben Brothers still control the remaining 20 per cent of the shares between them – took charge at St James’ Park has been spectacular.

They inherited a side sitting in 19th place in the table and having appointed Eddie Howe as their new head coach, saw him guide them to safety in comfort by the end of the 2021-22 season, and then a fourth-placed finish and Champions League qualification 12 months later with a trip to the Carabao Cup final along the way.

The latest figures, which show a loss after tax of £73.4m, but also how the club have grown off the pitch – turnover increased by £70.3m (39 per cent) from £180m to £250.3m, while an operating loss of £26.4m was transformed into a profit of £20.1m.

However, increased player amortisation costs – the way transfer fees are spread across the length of contracts – rose to £89.3m, contributing to the overall deficit, but one which falls within permitted limits.

The documents also reveal the club have loaned Staveley more than £1.2m “in respect of certain legal fees” which are unspecified.

The results do not include projected revenue of at least £37m from the club’s involvement in this season’s Champions League, nor income from new sponsorship deals with Sela and Adidas, and efforts to increase commercial revenue are ongoing with an expansion of the stadium one possibility.

Eales said: “To put it into perspective, we want to be a top-six sustainable club and Tottenham’s latest accounts available, (total revenue) was £440m. We are at £250m, so there is a big step even to the lower end of the top six.

“We have also seen that Manchester City are £710m in revenue in their latest accounts. There is a long way to go in growing those revenues.”

Eales, who signalled the club’s intention to retain the services of Ashworth amid reported interest from Manchester United, indicated that significant investment during the “difficult” January transfer window is unlikely, but insisted there were no plans to loan players from the Saudi Arabian clubs in which PIF holds controlling interests.

He also confirmed Howe’s centrality to the project amid speculation over his future during a testing series of results as 2023 drew to a close.

Eales said: “There’s no doubt we have had that real progression on the pitch and Eddie is a huge, integral part of that. We hope he is going to be with us for many years to come.”

Jonjo O’Neill has not given up hope of getting Monbeg Genius back on track in time to contest the Randox Grand National, despite being forced to miss another big-race engagement at Warwick this weekend.

Last seen finishing third in the in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in early December, the eight-year-old is the 14-1 co-favourite with Paddy Power for the Aintree spectacular alongside last year’s first and third, Corach Rambler and Gaillard Du Mesnil.

However, a minor setback led to him not taking up his place as ante-post favourite for the Welsh Grand National over the festive period and he will also miss Saturday’s Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase.

“He doesn’t run on Saturday, he’s still not right, he’s not recovered,” O’Neill said at Catterick on Thursday.

“He’ll be all right, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to run. He hasn’t done any work, so he won’t be running for a little while I’d say.”

The Jackdaws Castle trainer admits he will need to get another run and potentially another win into his charge to ensure he makes the cut for what will be a 34-runner National for the first time this year.

He added: “He still could be a Grand National horse, it’s a few months away. That is still in the back of our minds obviously, but he needs to come right first. There’s no point running them if they’re not right.

“He will have to run before then (Aintree), he probably needs to win to get into the weights now the field has been cut down.

“If he can’t go there, he could go for the Scottish National or Midlands National or something like that. He has plenty of time, but he’s a horse for those races.”