Premier League news & transfer latest

SMS Message: Re: Adam, 13:45. Klopp had a reputation as one of the best managers in the game and got to the Europa League final in his first season and Champions League final in his second, whilst securing a top 4 finish. Clear progression. Lampard has no experience and Chelsea have made no progress during his time in charge. from Woolfgang Hombre

Re: Adam, 13:45. Klopp had a reputation as one of the best managers in the game and got to the Europa League final in his first season and Champions League final in his second, whilst securing a top 4 finish. Clear progression. Lampard has no experience and Chelsea have made no progress during his time in charge.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes the "strong backing" he has received from the Manchester United hierarchy has been justified by his side's recent improvement.

Solskjaer has faced heavy criticism in spells during his two years in charge. In November, it was widely reported he was on the brink of the sack but United won a key game at Everton and now sit second in the Premier League.

"Hopefully I have proved I can help the club going forwards," said Solskjaer.

"Personally I have felt very strong backing and leadership from the club, which has made the journey that we've been on - ups and downs - clear. We have always had a long-term view on it."

And finally from Burnley boss Sean Dyche, whose side are four points above the bottom three after losing 1-0 at West Ham on Saturday.

"We are not a million miles away," he said. "West Ham was an interesting one because we had more possession and created some chances. There were a lot of good things.

"We got some wins and draws in that nice little run we had [in December] and we had a tough situation at Leeds [1-0 defeat], which wasn't our performance."

SMS Message: Lampard's Chelsea is overrated and inconsistent. Lots of money spent on average players. OGS has managed to improve Man Utd with less money. from Neal, Newry

Lampard's Chelsea is overrated and inconsistent. Lots of money spent on average players. OGS has managed to improve Man Utd with less money.

Burnley boss Sean Dyche said that left-back Charlie Taylor is back in contention for the Clarets after missing the last two league games with a thigh problem.

"We gave him an extra few days from the last game, he is back in the thinking," said Dyche.

"The hardest job is to get them all Premier League fit because that comes when you get out and play."

Richard: A few weeks ago, Chelsea were flying high and in the title race. Now Frank is under pressure? A few weeks ago, Man United were 15th and Ole was under pressure. Now we're in a title race? People need to realise things are rarely as good or as bad as they seem.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Burnley have today been linked with Norwegian striker Joshua King, who played for Bournemouth in Tuesday's Championship defeat at Derby.

But, true to form, the Clarets' boss Sean Dyche made it quite clear he wouldn't be giving anything away during today's news conference.

"There's nothing I can share on anything to do with any players coming in, I never have shared anything," he said. "I don't know why you think I am going to share it now but I won't be sharing anything at all.

"I still think we need a bit of freshness, we needed that last window," Dyche added. "I think we need freshness and talent, people who can move us forward, but we have a talented, balanced group.

"We are working with the new ownership defining roles and the organisational point of view [regarding transfers]. It is very difficult at the moment with Covid. We are working behind the scenes to see if and when anything can be done."

The Premier League has confirmed that all fixtures from Saturday, 30 January, to the last weekend of February will be shown live in the UK.

Matches will continue to be shown via the existing services of broadcast partners Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video and BBC.

Details of all broadcast selections will be announced later on Wednesday, along with early additional selections.

"The Premier League and its clubs are committed to an accessible solution for fans," reads a league statement. "These plans have been made with the cooperation of our broadcast partners, working with us to deliver these additional matches while stadiums are missing the supporters who are such an integral part of the game."

Sokratis Papastathopoulos has left Arsenal after agreeing to end his contract six months early.

Manager Mikel Arteta left the defender, 32, out of his Premier League and Europa League squads for this season.

The Greek, whose deal was due to expire at the end of this season, joined in 2018 from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund and made 69 appearances.

SMS Message: Response to Alan, Horsham (12:38): Cross out "Brendan Rodgers" and replace with "Claudio Ranieri" and that could be a quote from 2015/16. Why don't people ever learn? from Chris, High Wycombe

Response to Alan, Horsham (12:38): Cross out "Brendan Rodgers" and replace with "Claudio Ranieri" and that could be a quote from 2015/16. Why don't people ever learn?

SMS Message: Re Alan, Horsham - that's harsh. Leicester's squad has better quality this season. We've beaten many of the top 6 and have players returning from injury. Let us dream...we have an outside chance of winning it with luck and keeping Vardy fit. from Sanj, Leicester

Re Alan, Horsham - that's harsh. Leicester's squad has better quality this season. We've beaten many of the top 6 and have players returning from injury. Let us dream...we have an outside chance of winning it with luck and keeping Vardy fit.

Burnley go into Thursday's game in 17th place - four points above the relegation zone - after losing to Manchester United and West Ham, yet their win over Sheffield United over the festive period means they've earned the same number of points as Liverpool over their last four league games - three.

Sean Dyche is aware what the defending champions are capable of though. After all, they're unbeaten at home in the league in 68 games - a run stretching back to Crystal Palace's win at Anfield way back in April 2017.

"They're a really strong outfit," said the Clarets' boss. "Anfield is a very tough place to go and they are a top, top side."

SMS Message: When Manchester United struggled to score last season, before Bruno Fernandes arrived, we at least stopped conceding. Lampard can't even get Chelsea to stop doing that. from Dom

When Manchester United struggled to score last season, before Bruno Fernandes arrived, we at least stopped conceding. Lampard can't even get Chelsea to stop doing that.

And finally from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, here's his thoughts on Thursday's opponents: "When you look at Burnley's goal difference, it says they don't concede a lot. It's a proper fight against Burnley, [because of the way they] defend second balls and their intensity.

"Ben Mee is a very important player for them. They have a settled line-up, with James Tarkowski, Nick Pope and Ben Mee the heart of the team.

"Sean [Dyche] is always able to squeeze really good performances out of a squad that isn't the biggest. They deal with it very well and we have to face it."

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

SMS Message: If anyone thinks Chelsea was going to compete against City and Liverpool for the title they are crazy! New Manager and New Squad, this will all take time to gel together. Yes we should be competing for top 4. I say give Lampard another Season. Like Liverpool did Klopp. Be patient for once Chelsea. from Adam Adair

If anyone thinks Chelsea was going to compete against City and Liverpool for the title they are crazy! New Manager and New Squad, this will all take time to gel together. Yes we should be competing for top 4. I say give Lampard another Season. Like Liverpool did Klopp. Be patient for once Chelsea.

If Liverpool are to retain their title, boss Jurgen Klopp said they now have to play "close to perfection. There is no perfect season, it is just dealing with the situation and the amount of games. All the teams had a dip here and there. Some sorted it. I understand the need to talk about it but we can't change it in a minute.

"The day is 24 hours and we think about a lot of stuff. Most of the things the public thinks of we do as well but we have to be calm. It's no catastrophe, just not perfect. We need to be as good as we can be.

"I think I heard somewhere I have to rebuild this team," he added. "The world is a crazy place now and not just because of the pandemic. No-one has time anymore. We have to change this by playing, not talking."

On Liverpool's lack of goals, Jurgen Klopp added: "It's about the whole team. Goals are not flying in, so we have to work on it. We will score again.

"Look at John Stones at Manchester City, he scores three and you cannot explain it. We need to stay calm, greedy and make good decisions, and the situation will change. That is it."

Klopp also said that "no-one is fatigued. We are as fresh as possible. No team can defend for a whole game. Other teams know what we're doing, they knew last year but it was difficult to defend. We have to finish the chances off better. Teams defend with all they have, we know that."

Jugen Klopp has also provided a fitness update before Thursday's game at Burnley.

He said: "Joel Matip is in full training and we'll make a decision. He's trained as normal.

"Diogo Jota is a few weeks away. It will not be next game or two. He needs time. How much I miss him is not important, I am not allowed to miss him! He is not there and we [must] deal with it."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Liverpool have slipped to fourth in the table having failed to score in their last three league games while Roberto Firmino hasn't scored in five in all competitions.

The Brazilian forward has scored just five goals all season but asked if he is worried about his and the team's form, Jurgen Klopp said: "We didn't score a lot, that doesn't mean our performances have dropped. It's not always about our approach, it's about the other team's too.

"We know we are not where we want to be but the reasons are not too important. We just fight. People get unhappy with performances when results are not there. You can win the game with one lucky strike. We have to play our football to a high level. In the final third we haven't."

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Manchester United recently replaced Liverpool at the top of the table, before Leicester hit the summit on Tuesday, and Manchester City will do so if they beat Aston Villa later - but could then be replaced by United after that!

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had this to say on the Premier League title race: "It changes all the time because it's so close. That makes it a different title race this year. We have to be ready. I know that in this business, only results count. But you need performances before the result. The last one was good [0-0 against United]."