Former Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang only returned to London in September to join Chelsea, but his time at Stamford Bridge could soon be up.

The Gabon international has scored three goals in 16 games but has only started four times in the Premier League under Blues boss Graham Potter.

Chelsea have been active in the January transfer window, already bringing in Joao Felix, Andrey Santos, Benoit Badiashile and David Datro Fofana.

TOP STORY – AUBA COULD EXIT CHELSEA FOR BARCELONA RETURN

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is eager to leave Chelsea and wants to return to Barcelona, reports Spanish newspaper Sport.

Aubameyang reportedly had interest from Atletico Madrid too, but FIFA rules state a player can only be registered for a maximum of three clubs in a season, but only play for two.

Any move for the Gabon international, who played for the Blaugrana earlier this season, could hinge on Atletico's interest in Barca's Memphis Depay. 

ROUND-UP

– Atletico Madrid are weighing up a move for Leicester City's Turkish defender Caglar Soyuncu, reports Italian journalist Matteo Moretto. Wolves are pushing to sign Brazilian centre-back Felipe from the Spanish club, according to the Daily Mail.

– Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters has interest from Manchester United and Chelsea, reports Talksport.

– The Sun reports Manchester United are also interested in World Cup stars Goncalo Ramos and Mohammed Kudus from Benfica and Ajax respectively.

– Foot Mercato reports Fiorentina's Moroccan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat would prefer to join Atletico Madrid instead of Liverpool or Tottenham. Fiorentina appear set to sell him for more than €50million after impressing at the World Cup.

– The Daily Mail says Marseille could receive a bid from Aston Villa for ex-Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi. New Villa boss Unai Emery worked with Guendouzi at Emirates Stadium.

– Leeds United have agreed a deal that could be worth up to £35.5million (€40m) to sign Hoffenheim forward Georginio Rutter, claims Sky in Germany.

Newcastle United reached the EFL Cup semi-finals for just the second time after Dan Burn and Joelinton scored in a 2-0 victory over Leicester City on Tuesday.

Eddie Howe's side were stunned by Sheffield Wednesday in Saturday's FA Cup loss but responded with a dominant showing to reach the EFL Cup last four for the first time since 1976.

Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward thwarted Newcastle for large parts in a one-sided contest at St. James' Park before Burn and Joelinton netted twice in the space of 12 second-half minutes.

Newcastle will await Wednesday's semi-final draw as they seek long-awaited silverware, while they remain in the hunt for an unlikely top-four finish in the Premier League amid a remarkable season.

Sean Longstaff should have fired Newcastle into a first-minute lead but inexplicably blasted Joe Willock's cross wide, before Bruno Guimaraes arrowed narrowly off target.

Ward showed rapid reflexes to push away Longstaff's drive as Howe's hosts continued in the ascendancy but without reward before the interval.

A fingertip stop by Ward pushed Joelinton's low attempt onto the left post just after the interval, while Burn headed a glorious chance over before the Leicester goalkeeper denied a stinging Longstaff effort.

Burn soon made amends by gliding inside and slotting a right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner to score his first goal for his boyhood club.

Joelinton added a second after racing onto Miguel Almiron's throughball and sliding beyond Ward, before Jamie Vardy missed two late opportunities in an otherwise toothless Leicester showing.

What does it mean? High-flying Magpies end quarter-final hoodoo

Despite falling to League One's Wednesday in the FA Cup, Newcastle continue to enjoy an incredible season, sitting third in the Premier League and still in with a chance of EFL Cup glory.

The Magpies had lost their last seven quarter-final ties in this competition since their run to the final in the 1975-76 campaign but ended that streak to earn further plaudits for the impressive Howe.

Manchester United defeated Charlton Athletic to reach the last four, while Manchester City – who visit Southampton on Wednesday – remain in the competition but Newcastle will fancy their chances after another memorable showing at home.

Terrific Trippier

As has been the case for much of the season, Kieran Trippier was central to the majority of Newcastle's attacking play as the right-back delivered another creative masterclass.

Linking up with Almiron on the right flank, Trippier created a game-leading five chances and was a constant nuisance for Leicester left-back Luke Thomas.

Ward efforts in vain

Leicester had not conceded in the EFL Cup until Burn's strike, with Brendan Rodgers' side defeating Stockport County, Newport County and MK Dons without their net being breached.

In truth, the Foxes were fortunate to be in the contest for so long at Newcastle, given the excellent Ward – who has come under scrutiny for some Premier League performances this term – made seven saves.

What's next?

Newcastle return to Premier League action at home to Fulham on Sunday, while Leicester visit rivals Nottingham Forest the day before.

Chelsea's struggles and riches mean they are going to be busy during the January transfer window.

The Blues, who face Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday, are currently 10th in the Premier League as they continue to adjust to head coach Graham Potter.

Chelsea have already signed Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana and Andrey Santos this month, while also being heavily linked with Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez, but they may have another World Cup finalist in their sights.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA KEEN ON THURAM IN JANUARY

Chelsea have commenced discussions with Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach about a move for French forward Marcus Thuram, reports Fabrizio Romano.

Thuram's Gladbach contract expires at the end of this season and he is not planning on extending the deal.

Chelsea and Gladbach will hold further talks in the coming days to discuss conditions and a price tag for the 25-year-old in January.

ROUND-UP

– Negotiations between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United on a Joao Felix loan deal are ramping up, with the Spanish club demanding a £9.5million (€10.8m) loan fee and a commitment to buy for £70m (€79.4m), according to the Sunday Mirror.

– FootMercato claims Manchester United are exploring a deal to sign Wout Weghorst on loan. The 30-year-old Dutch striker is currently on loan at Besiktas from Burnley, with an £8.8m (€10m) buy option in the deal.

– Tottenham are interested in signing Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford as a long-term replacement for veteran Hugo Lloris, claims the Sunday Mirror.

– Napoli have made an opening bid worth €15m plus add-ons for Azzedine Ounahi from French club Angers, claims 90min. Ounahi impressed with Morocco at the World Cup and has also been linked with Leicester City .

– The Sun reports that Crystal Palace will rival Everton in pursuit of Aston Villa striker Danny Ings in January.

– Arsenal are monitoring Tammy Abraham's situation at Roma, claims La Repubblica.

– The Athletic reports that ex-Everton and Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has a verbal agreement to take over as Portugal head coach.

Alisson warned Liverpool cannot make excuses for their below-par performance against Leicester City as they target an improvement at Brentford.

Two calamitous own goals from Wout Faes gifted the Reds a 2-1 victory over the Foxes at Anfield on Friday – their fourth consecutive win in the Premier League.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men were criticised for their display, having fallen behind to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's early goal and looked vulnerable at the back.

Liverpool have an opportunity to move ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham when they visit the Brentford Community Stadium on Monday, and Alisson goalkeeper knows they need to do better.

"The only thing we could take from Friday was the win and the effort we put on the pitch," the Brazil international told LFC TV.

"But there's a lot of space to improve. Looking at the performance, we have to do a lot better if the ambition is to keep achieving the goals that we have in front of us.

"We have high expectations and the supporters have high expectations about us. 

"Liverpool is a huge club which will always try to fight for titles and to be there at the top all the time. We have to do more, but we know that.

"We cannot rely on excuses. It was only the second game we have played after the World Cup. The players who had time off used that to prepare themselves. The ones who went to the World Cup could train and then rest to prepare for this moment.

"It's going to be a really important moment of the season now and we have to focus. We have to do better.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of mentality. It's not that easy to change it but we can do that for sure."

Liverpool have scored three or more goals in each of their past five meetings with the Bees.

The Reds have only scored three or more goals in six consecutive games against the same opponent once, versus Fulham between 1986 and 2000.

Trent Alexander-Arnold says he has "not helped myself in certain situations" this season but the Liverpool full-back vowed to keep working on the defensive side of his game.

Alexander-Arnold has often come under the microscope for his defensive abilities as much as his offensive capabilities throughout his career.

His mixed form amid a tough campaign for Liverpool saw questions over his inclusion in England's World Cup squad, but the 24-year-old impressed during his side's ragged 2-1 win over Leicester City on Friday.

Speaking afterwards, Alexander-Arnold said he feels his defensive capabilities have been overly focused on.

"Part of me thinks there's been a lot of spotlight on [my defending]," he told Sky Sports. "I think that was due to the World Cup coming up.

"People think that if I'm not playing then it is because of that reason and then people hone in on that.

"Some of it, I've not helped myself in certain situations. I'll hold my hands up to that.

"In certain situations I could have been better, but it is a part of my game I do try to work on, and I focus on to try and help the team win games.

"Sometimes you are up against a world-class winger, and he is going to get the better of you, but there have been times when I could have done better."

Jurgen Klopp praised Alexander-Arnold for his effort after a pair of Wout Faes own goals gifted Liverpool victory at Anfield, with the first deflected off the wing-back's cross.

The Reds next travel to Brentford on Monday, having now strung together a four-game winning streak to keep the pressure up on the top four.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp singled out Trent Alexander-Arnold for praise following a strong defensive display on Harvey Barnes in the 2-1 win over Leicester City on Friday.

The Reds secured their fourth straight league win to move within two points of fourth-placed Tottenham as they bid to rescue their campaign after a sluggish start.

Two own goals from Wout Faes late in the first half earned Liverpool the points after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had raced through the middle of the Reds' defence to open the scoring in the fourth minute.

Alexander-Arnold, who has had a mixed season, won praise from Klopp as the Reds held off the Foxes, quelling the threat of Barnes down Leicester's left side.

"Really good, and not the first time," Klopp told reporters. "It was really good, very helpful and very important in these moments. Very, very helpful.

"I think everybody knows how good Harvey Barnes is in these moments and Trent did exceptionally well. We had a few good performances, really good performances but the majority were not on top of their game, let me say it like this, and that's why this can happen.

"Now we have just two days [before facing Brentford on Monday] and we don't know exactly who can go again and stuff like this."

Klopp may have two immediate headaches with full-back Andy Robertson substituted just past the hour with an injury concern, while Harvey Elliott went off late too.

The German revealed that the Scottish defender had actually been hurt in the warm-up but still opted to start him.

"Funnily enough, Harvey, before the game, injured Robbo a little bit," Klopp said.

"In our warm-up game, he hit him with a knee at the hip, so it was a dead leg. He could play but then at one point the muscle closed and he couldn't play on.

"Harvey got a knock, which was quite painful, but when you see the situation because it is clear that's painful, but that's it, I think."

Virgil van Dijk felt Liverpool got away with being "very poor" in a 2-1 Premier League victory over Leicester City at Anfield.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall took advantage of some slack Reds defending to give the Foxes an early lead, but Wout Faes gifted the Reds a fourth consecutive win on Friday.

The Leicester centre-back scored two first-half own goals to give Jurgen Klopp's side a victory that moves them just two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Liverpool were not at their fluent best, with Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah wasteful in front of goal.

Reds centre-back Van Dijk offered a frank assessment of the performance in their final match of 2022, which was watched by new signing Cody Gakpo on Merseyside.

The Netherlands defender told Sky Sports: "We were very poor today but it's just good to get the three points, very important to win these type of games, that's the positive.

"Now we have to recover, improve and prepare for Brentford [on Monday]. We tried to get in the game, it wasn't good enough and we all know that. There are plenty of things we have to improve."

He added: "At times we were maybe too quick and then we lose the ball and it’s a bit too open, and they can play, but we have to take the three points and on to the next one."

Liverpool head into 2023 in sixth spot with momentum after a disappointing start to the season.

Wout Faes scored two own goals as Liverpool came from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1 at Anfield.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall capitalised on poor defending to give Liverpool an early lead but Jurgen Klopp's side were gifted a fourth consecutive Premier League win by Faes.

The defender inexplicably hit the target at the wrong end twice in the first half on Friday to put Liverpool in front.

Liverpool were not at their fluent best, but moved just two points behind fourth-placed Tottenham with a win from their final match of 2022, with new signing Cody Gakpo watching on.

Dewsbury-Hall caught the Reds napping in the fourth minute, bursting through the middle unchallenged into a huge hole at the heart of the back four appeared and beating Alisson with a composed left-foot finish.

Leicester continued to look dangerous after Jamie Vardy replaced the injured Patson Daka, but Faes gifted Liverpool an equaliser when he attempted to deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross, only to slice the ball over Danny Ward into the far corner.

Matters went from bad to worse for Faes on the stroke of half-time as he calamitously lashed the ball into his own net after Darwin Nunez's effort hit the post and rebounded into his path.

Jordan Henderson fired just wide early in the second half and Mohamed Salah struck off target after he was brilliantly set up by the dangerous Nunez.

Harvey Barnes almost equalised at the culmination of a fine run before an unmarked Dewsbury-Hall made a mess of a header in an increasingly open contest.

Nunez and Salah squandered further chances to extend Liverpool’s lead yet it mattered not, as Faes proved to be Liverpool's unlikely match-winner.

James Maddison has seen a specialist after suffering another knee injury on his return from the World Cup, Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers revealed.

Maddison sustained an injury in Leicester's final Premier League game before Qatar 2022 at West Ham last month, but he was still named in Gareth Southgate's squad for the tournament.

Only Erling Haaland (21), Harry Kane (14), Ivan Toney (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (12) have bettered Maddison's tally of 11 goal involvements in the Premier League this term, but he was one of just four unused England outfielders in Qatar.

Having been strongly linked with a January move to Newcastle United, Maddison sat out Leicester's 3-0 Boxing Day defeat to the Magpies with another injury, which will require specialist treatment.

Speaking at a press conference to preview Friday's Premier League trip to Liverpool, Rodgers said: "He won't be available for the game. 

"He was with Mark [Waller], our doctor, getting some specialist advice in London. I'll wait to hear from them later on.

"He hasn't trained with the squad. He was clearly getting treatment out [in Qatar] and the England medical team deemed him okay to train.

"He was available for games [for England]. He's come back here, looked to do some work, and then felt a pain in a different part of his knee."

Leicester produced a dire display in Maddison's absence against Newcastle, conceding three first-half goals in a home Premier League game for the first time since doing so against Manchester United in September 2003.

The 13th-placed Foxes are four points clear of the Premier League's bottom three ahead of Friday's game at Anfield, where they are winless in their past 11 top-flight visits (D2 L9).

The Premier League is back, and in many ways, it felt like it never left.

A number of teams picked up where they left off for the World Cup in Monday's action, with leaders Arsenal securing a win against West Ham, though having to come from behind to do so.

Tottenham repeated their party trick of recovering from losing positions, though had to settle for a point at Brentford as Harry Kane kept up his superb Boxing Day record.

Liverpool came back with a hard-fought win at Aston Villa, with teenager Stefan Bajcetic scoring his first goal for the club, while Newcastle United blew away Leicester City in the first half at the King Power Stadium.

Stats Perform takes a closer look at some of the more interesting stats from the day.

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham: Gunners keep up record to fighting back against Hammers

Arsenal went in 1-0 down at Emirates Stadium at half-time after Said Benrahma's penalty, but came from behind thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah. It made it the eighth time they have come from behind to beat West Ham in the Premier League, more than they have against any other opponent.

Hammers boss David Moyes has now lost 15 Premier League away games against Arsenal, equalling Harry Redknapp for the most away defeats against a specific opponent in the competition (15 vs Manchester United).

In the presence of Arsene Wenger for the first time since he left the club, the Gunners won their 10th consecutive Premier League home game, the first time they have managed that since April 2019, while this is the first time they have done so while scoring two or more goals each time since November 2017.

Saka seems to enjoy his Christmas, as he has scored in three consecutive Boxing Day games (also 2020 vs Chelsea and 2021 vs Norwich City), the first Arsenal player to do so since Thierry Henry between 2002 and 2004.

Today was the second time Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard has provided two assists in a single Premier League game, with the other coming on Boxing Day last season against Norwich.

Brentford 2-2 Tottenham: Kane puts penalty woe bee-hind him

Following on from his agonising penalty miss in England's World Cup quarter-final loss to France, Kane kept his composure to plant a header past David Raya as Spurs came from 2-0 down to earn a point on Monday.

Kane has now scored more Premier League goals on Boxing Day than any other player in the competition's history (10), finding the net in all seven of his appearances on December 26, while he has also scored against all 32 teams that he has faced in the Premier League – the best such 100 per cent record of any player.

One thing that will concern boss Antonio Conte is that Spurs have conceded the opening goal in each of their last six Premier League matches; their longest run of conceding first in the competition since April 2014 under Tim Sherwood (also six). They have also conceded two or more goals in six consecutive league games for the first time since May 2003.

Brentford are now winless in their last 14 meetings with Spurs in all competitions (D5 L9), since a 2-0 home win in the second tier in March 1948.

Ivan Toney scored the second for the Bees, making him the first English player to register 30 goal involvements (23 goals, 7 assists) in his first 50 Premier League appearances since Jamie Vardy in 2015 (also 30).

Leicester City 0-3 Newcastle United: Almiron continues to fly

It was a fast start by Eddie Howe's men, going 2-0 up against Leicester inside seven minutes – the earliest they had been 2-0 up in a Premier League game since January 2007 (seventh minute v Aston Villa). In fact, it was the earliest a Premier League team had been 2-0 up on Boxing Day since 2010 (Manchester City v Newcastle, after five mins).

Leicester conceded three goals in the first half of a home league game for the first time since September 2003 against Manchester United.

Miguel Almiron picked up where he left off with a superb strike, and has now scored nine goals in 16 games in the Premier League this season, as many as he had scored in his previous four campaigns in the competition combined (nine in 110 appearances).

Newcastle have won six in a row in the Premier League for the first time since 2012 under Alan Pardew. In fact, the Magpies have won 21 Premier League matches in 2022, their most in a single year since 1995, when they won 23.

Howe is only the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a single year (21 in 2022 so far), after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994 and 23 in 1995 with Newcastle) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996 with Liverpool).

Aston Villa 1-3 Liverpool: Robertson provides historic assist

It has not been the best campaign so far for Liverpool, but despite a World Cup being sandwiched in between, this made it three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since winning their final three games of last season.

Mohamed Salah both scored and assisted in the win, taking his totals to 125 goals and 50 assists for the club in the Premier League. The Egyptian is only the second player with 50+ goals and 50+ assists for the club in the competition, along with Steven Gerrard (120 goals, 92 assists).

Andrew Robertson provided the ball for Salah's fifth-minute opener, his 54th Premier League assist, making him the all-time leading assister among defenders in Premier League history, one more than Leighton Baines (53), while 10 of his assists have come for Salah, with only Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane providing more for him (12 times each).

Bajcetic came off the bench to seal the win, scoring his first Premier League goal for Liverpool aged 18 years and 65 days, making him their third-youngest Premier League scorer, behind only Michael Owen (17y 143d) and Raheem Sterling (17y 317d). Bajcetic is also the second-youngest Spaniard to score in the competition, behind only Cesc Fabregas in 2004 (17y 113d).

Another youth prospect, Ben Doak, came off the bench for Liverpool to make his Premier League debut aged 17 years and 45 days, becoming the youngest ever Scottish player in the competition's history, overtaking Nigel Quashie in 1995 for Queens Park Rangers (17 years, 163 days).

Shay Given sees no reason why high-flying Newcastle United cannot dream of Premier League glory following their victory over Leicester City.

The Magpies climbed to second in the table – four points behind leaders Arsenal – after a commanding 3-0 win at the King Power Stadium thanks to goals from Chris Wood, Miguel Almiron and Joelinton.

Newcastle have now recorded six successive Premier League victories for the first time since doing so on the way to a fifth-placed finish under Alan Pardew 10 years ago.

With one game remaining in 2022, Newcastle have won 21 matches this calendar year, their most since 23 wins in 1995. They finished second in 1995-96.

Former goalkeeper Given, who racked up 462 appearances at St James' Park between 1997 and 2009, believes his former club can genuinely challenge for a first top-flight title since 1927, highlighting opponents Leicester's fairytale success in 2016 as an example.

The 46-year-old told Amazon Prime Video: "Can Newcastle compete to win the league? Leicester did it a few years back, why can't Newcastle dream of it? Why not?"

Eddie Howe became the third English manager to win more than 20 Premier League matches in a single year after Kevin Keegan (24 in 1994, 23 in 1995) and Roy Evans (22 in 1996).

But the Magpies coach is eager to keep his players focused on the short term.

"Internally, it's [about keeping] expectations in check, not putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves," he said. "Let's just go into the next game and try to win it, try to execute our game plan as well as we have in previous games.

"Everyone else no doubt will talk and build things up. We can't control it. Let people do it, as long as we're internally focused on what we have to do to perform well.

Wood, who opened the scoring from the penalty spot, concurred: "It's way too early to even think about that, but [the fans] can go on and dream.

"They're enjoying it, and we just want to put on a show for them and show what we can do. It's a great start." 

Joelinton, who sealed the points, added to BBC Sport: "We have to go game by game, and let's see what we can achieve at the end of the season."

Chelsea have reportedly made Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile their top defensive target in the January transfer window.

They have been strongly linked with RB Leipzig and Croatia standout Josko Gvardiol, but Fabrizio Romano believes Chelsea will have to break the record for the most expensive transfer fee paid for a defender to get a deal done.

Instead, the Stamford Bridge club are said to have pivoted to 21-year-old Monaco powerhouse Badiashile, who stands at six-foot-four and has racked up 106 club appearances since debuting at the age of 17.

Badiashile also earned his first senior caps for France this year, playing a full 90 minutes in UEFA Nations League fixtures in September against Austria and Denmark before ultimately missing out on the World Cup squad.

With just over 18 months remaining on his contract, Monaco will need to decide if they can tie him down up long term, otherwise it may be time to cash-in.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA TARGET YOUNG MONACO TALENT

According to The Athletic, Badiashile is a player who has been on the Premier League radar for some time, noting a £22million bid from Manchester United back in 2020.

The report claims Badiashile was in no rush to leave back then as he was already a first-team regular, but he has since opened up to the idea of moving on to take the next step of his career.

Chelsea are said to be preparing a £35m offer for the man who has experience playing in a back-three, which would be less than half of the potential asking price for Gvardiol.

ROUND-UP

– Fichajes is reporting Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has no interest in retaining Argentinian World Cup hero Emiliano Martinez, and would prefer to replace him with Sevilla and Morocco star Yassine Bounou for a fee in the range of £40m.

– Chelsea are in the best position to land 23-year-old West Ham midfielder Declan Rice as he enters the final 18 months of his contract, per The Athletic.

– Journalist Nicolo Schira is reporting Atletico Madrid have agreed to personal terms with 26-year-old Leicester City centre-back Caglar Soyuncu, and he could be allowed to join the club in January despite his contract not expiring until the end of the season.

– Atletico will allow Joao Felix to join a Premier League club on loan in January if their financial demands are met, per the Mirror.

– According to Teamtalk, Liverpool and Tottenham are included in the Premier League sides prepared to offer a contract to 27-year-old Inter centre-back Milan Skriniar for when he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Brendan Rodgers anticipates Leicester City will rebuff any offers tabled for James Maddison in the January transfer window.

The England international has been a standout performer for the Foxes this term, and has been their brightest light amid a poor 2022-23 campaign to date.

Maddison was crucial to the pre-break revival enjoyed by Leicester, earning a recall to the Three Lions fold and a spot in Gareth Southgate's World Cup squad too.

His rising stock, therefore, is likely to attract bids during the new year, but Rodgers expects the club to keep hold of their man and knock back any approaches.

"I've been given no indication that we have to do anything with James in January," he stated. "He's someone I want to keep here.

"When you have good players, it's a good sign. They'll always be coveted by other teams. That's OK, I'm confident those players will be here. My focus is on improving the squad. That's what I want to do."

Maddison himself is only just returning to action with Leicester following a post-Qatar 2022 breather, after England were edged by ultimate finalists France in the last eight.

Speaking at the World Darts Championship as a guest of Sky Sports, the 26-year-old acknowledged Southgate's men felt they could go the distance, while hailing the squad the latter has put together.

"The World Cup came to a disappointing end, in the end," he added. "There was a real feel we were going to go all the way and win it, to be honest. It wasn't to be - we lost to a very good France side.

"The group's so good. I've had a few years out of the squad, so there's a few faces I didn't know. It's quite a young group, so it was easy to transition back in.

"It's such an easy group to go into and be yourself, express yourself. That's why, even though I didn't get any minutes, when we went out, I was devastated. You build up such a bond."

Claudio Ranieri has been unveiled as the new coach of Cagliari, with the former Leicester City manager returning to his former club for a second stint.

The 71-year-old was previously in charge of the Serie B side between 1988 and 1991, guiding them from the third to the first tier with consecutive promotions.

Ranieri, who was dismissed by Watford in January after just three months in charge, reunites with his old team three decades after his previous spell, with the team down in the bottom half of the second tier.

He succeeds Fabio Liverani, who was sacked following a 2-1 defeat to Palermo last week, and will take charge on January 1 on a contract that runs to June 2025.

"Cagliari is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with Claudio Ranieri who will take over the technical leadership of the first team," read a club statement.

"Now the return to the Rossoblu, where it all began, to write a new chapter in history. Welcome back Mister, it's nice to hug you again!"

Ranieri, best known for Leicester's stunning Premier League title success, has only coached more games with Chelsea and Fiorentina than he has Cagliari, where he remains a cherished figure.

Manchester United will host third-tier Charlton Athletic in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, while Manchester City face Southampton after eliminating last season's winners Liverpool.

Goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford saw United beat Championship leaders Burnley at Old Trafford on Wednesday, and another home tie will await the Red Devils in the last eight.

League One Charlton are the only non-Premier League side remaining in the competition after the Addicks won a penalty shoot-out to upset Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.

United boss Erik ten Hag is looking to end a five-year trophy drought for the club, who have not claimed any major silverware since Jose Mourinho led them to Europa League and EFL Cup glory in 2017.

Meanwhile, United's rivals City will visit Southampton after overcoming Liverpool in a thrilling fourth-round tie on Thursday, with Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake scoring in a 3-2 victory.

City have won the trophy in five of the past seven seasons and will equal Liverpool as the most successful club in EFL Cup history if they win their ninth title this term.

Newcastle United will host Leicester City in another all-Premier League tie after overcoming Eddie Howe's former club Bournemouth on Tuesday, while Wolves visit fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest. 

The ties will be played in the week commencing January 9, following the third round of the FA Cup.