I was momentarily distracted by Luke Littler hitting a nine-darter, but let’s get back to it …

Staying in Glasgow, and Rangers manager Philippe Clement has bemoaned the “crazy situation” that sees five players’ contracts run out in the summer. Rangers’ only new recruit this month so far is the on-loan Fábio Silva, with money tight at Ibrox.

Leon Balogun, Borna Barisic, John Lundstram, Ryan Jack and Kemar Roofe will all leave for free at the end of the season unless they sign new deals. “This season to have five players out of contract is crazy, because you throw away money,” Clement said.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has no intention of letting Matt O’Riley depart in January. The Denmark midfielder has been linked with La Liga title-chasers Girona, but Rodgers expects him to stay put after agreeing a new contract in September.

“Matt is really, really happy here. He signed a new deal, he has really progressed, he is into double figures now in goals, and his assists are there,” Rodgers said. “He is a brilliant professional. All he wants to do is improve and he can see that here.”

Sheffield United are in the market for a new centre-back – but a planned loan swoop for Mason Holgate has collapsed after Everton’s last-minute demand for a bigger fee.

Holgate is currently on loan at Southampton, but a switch to Bramall Lane had been all but agreed – until Everton requested a £250,000 loan fee to allow the 27-year-old to join a relegation rival until the end of the season.

Gonçalo Guedes has joined Villarreal from Wolves on loan until the end of the season. The winger had been back at Benfica since August, but has failed to make an impact at his former club.

Earlier today, Arsenal announced a contract extension for goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger – raising questions over a potential move for Mary Earps. The Manchester United manager, Marc Skinner, has had his say on the England keeper, who could still sign a new deal at United. Her current contract runs out this summer.

Skinner admitted that “I don’t think we’re any closer” to a resolution either way, “but conversations are continuing. Mary is giving [us] her unwavering focus. Her future will be decided in the next few months and she has given absolutely everything to Manchester United.”

United travel to league leaders Chelsea on Sunday as the WSL resumes after a winter break. As for Arsenal, Leah Williamson could return against Liverpool next week; Saturday’s game against Everton has come too soon for the Gunners captain as she recovers from an ACL injury.

A potential incoming at Chelsea – but it’s a returning loanee, rather than a new recruit. The Telegraph are reporting that midfielder Cesare Casadei could be recalled from his spell at Leicester to take up a first-team squad place.

“I’ve enjoyed watching Ivan Perisic play in the Premier League so I’m disappointed to see him Split,” writes Peter Oh. That’s it. The weekend’s here!

Time for some laid-back grooves and lukewarm transfer news. Owen Dodgson has joined Dundee on loan from Burnley!

Chris Wilder accepts that Sheffield United could accept a “decent” offer from Napoli for Anel Ahmedhodzic in this window, but has no concerns about the centre-back getting distracted. “He’s a really grounded individual. He loves playing for Sheffield United,” Wilder said.

“Speculation about a good player is a good thing, you want to be spoken about. I haven’t been told from above it’s a potential transfer. The player has to get his head down and carry on,” added Wilder, who is also “delighted” to have quickly added Ben Brereton Díaz on loan this month.

The former Blackburn striker is likely to start against West Ham on Sunday, and the Blades could add more signings soon, with a goalkeeper and centre-back wanted. Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham and Atlético keeper Ivo Grbic have both been linked with a move to Bramall Lane.

“For Henderson to say he never intended to hurt anyone, he’s merely conjuring Homer Simpson in the scene where he is standing in front of a pie,” writes Walter F. “Homer informs the pie that ‘I’m just gonna do this’ (closes eyes and makes large biting motions while walking forward) ‘and if you get eaten, it’s your own fault’.”

Would it be terribly gauche of me to plug this quiz? Yes, probably.

Afcon latest: Cape Verde lead Mozambique 3-0, and this lad should be on a few transfer radars this month. Yes, it’s that Bebé with a 40-yard rocket – although the keeper might feel he should have done better, as they say.

Earlier on, we mentioned that José Mourinho was heading for the manager’s job at Al Shabab. We wondered why exactly Mourinho would be in a hurry to join a mid-table Saudi Pro League. Well, it turns out their next game is a friendly on Wednesday against … Roma!

Mikel Arteta has played down the chances of Emile Smith Rowe leaving on loan this month. The underused Arsenal playmaker is on West Ham’s radar, but Arteta has said he plans to “give him minutes” in the coming months.

“I’m really happy with Emile,” the Arsenal manager said. “He’s in the right trajectory. Now, he’s settled, he’s training really well and you know I’m not going to talk about individual situations.

“Emile is Emile. We know he’s got incredible qualities and we’re really happy to have him. What he needs now is chances to put all the desire and quality that he has on the pitch. In order to do that we have to give him minutes.”

Alas, my short stint has come to an end. It’s back over to Niall McVeigh to see you through to your Friday night dinner. Cheers.

Some contract news from Chelsea’s women: Niamh Charles has signed a new deal, keeping her at the club for another three-and-a-half years.

An email on the Henderson saga (and more) from Justin Madson:

The more he talks the less I am inclined to hear what he says. “I just want to look forward now… I’ve never done anything to hurt anyone”. Just standard rich person apology: “I’m saying what my PR person says I have to and will pretend this never happened for the rest of my life.”

If he really cared, he’d give all that money away. This is embarrassing.

Also, AI won’t save football because other rich people will continue to overschedule games for advertising revenue. AI if anything will just make it easier to blame players’ physiques for their physical problems and ignore the root issue. Football world is really killing it this Friday.

In more Leeds news, Wilfried Gnonto continues to be linked with a move away. He’s been ruled out of the Whites’ game against Preston on Sunday with an injury, but West Ham are supposedly keen.

Leeds would like to sign Joe Rodon on a permanent deal from Tottenham if they can. That’s according to Daniel Farke, the manager speaking at a press conference today.

Rodon, 26, has been excellent for Leeds this season after a stop-start career since he swapped Swansea for Spurs in 2020.

Farke said: “We see him growing more and more into this club as a leader. I think he’s happy to be here.We would like him to stay a bit longer but for now it’s not an urgent topic. The next 12 days we have other topics to concentrate upon.”

Ángel Correa looks to be the latest player signing up for the Saudi Pro League, with Al Ittihad ‘locked in talks’ with Atlético Madrid for the forward.

It seems like Atléti already have a replacement in the works, in the shape of Moise Kean who continues to pinball around the substitute benches of Europe’s elite, like a modern day Alvaro Morata. Kean is heading on loan from Juventus.

From Berkshire to Piraeus.

Arteta adds that Arsenal will not be able to sign a striker this month, despite roughly 725,000 articles being printed suggesting they should, actually, sign one.

“No. But, first thing, that’s because I love the players that we have,” he parped.

Speaking of Emile Smith Rowe and Mikel Arteta was asked about the playmaker’s proposed loan exit at a press conference ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace.

Arteta – as ever – was his usual cryptic/guarded/spiky self as he fielded the question, giving as little away as possible (while keeping the prospect of a West Ham loan very much open):

I’m really happy with Emile. He’s in the right trajectory. He’s settled really well and you know I’m not going to talk about individual situations. Emile is Emile. We’re really happy to have him. He needs chances. What we have to do is give him minutes.

Thanks John. From Macclesfield to Stockport with that handover.

It’s all starting to happen, isn’t it? And it’s all seemingly involving English players: Henderson, Phillips, Trippier, Smith Rowe.

Right, after all that with Jordan Henderson, on with the rest of the news with Dominic Booth.

This transfer window feels like an injury window, too. Liverpool fans are keenly awaiting news of Mo Salah’s hamstring and consulting Dr Google on the prognosis.

Could AI be the cure for all ills?

For example, AI can quickly analyze blood, urine, sweat, sleep, diet and hydration to quickly tell backroom staff the overall condition of a player. During practice or matches, AI technology worn by players can reveal how much a player has run, how fatigued their muscles are, their biomechanical movements and how much oxygen is pumping through their blood. If this information is not to the team’s liking, a player can be pulled or benched before an injury gets worse. AI can help a player on their path to recovery by providing more accurate markers on when they’re able to return to the pitch.

Henderson on being booed when playing for England: ““I’m not going to sit here and say I haven’t been hurt but at the same time I understand it. I do care. People might think I don’t but I actually do care about other people. I do think a lot about how I treat people, I have respect for people and it does hurt. I totally respect their opinion and how they view me as a person so I had to take it on the chin. I never tried to hurt anybody, it was never my intention. If people feel a type of way towards me. All I can do is apologise. I’ve never done anything to hurt anybody.”

James Humphries gets in touch: “I sometimes wonder why the PR people don’t tell (eg) Henderson that if he can’t say sorry properly and mean it, he’s better off not saying anything. I mean, “if people feel that I upset them”? Now, why on earth would they feel that, eh?”

Henderson on whether he would advise against taking the Saudi money: “Definitely not. Everyone is different. There are big players there now loving every second and staying for long periods of time. You might get others who don’t settle or something happens in their private life and things change quickly.

“I’m not going to sit here and speak badly of the league or the clubs, I’ve got full respect for the opportunity I was given. Unfortunately it didn’t work out but that can happen in life.

“I’ve got a really good relationship with Stevie [Gerrard], he’s been brilliant over the six months and I’m delighted he’s got the contract extension. It’s been a difficult period but he was brilliant with me and he’s been brilliant for the club and I’m sure that will continue. Our relationship has always been strong and always will be strong.”

Henderson on England and ‘Gareth’: “I’m in contact with Gareth regularly as I have been many years and that hasn’t changed, like he is with all the players, you know how close he is to the lads. He understands the situation.”

Henderson is reciprocal towards Al-Ettifaq, saying he made lifelong friends there: ““I think a lot of people would like me to sit here and criticise the Saudi League and everything that went along with that. But that’s certainly not the case and something I am not going to do.

“I have full respect for the league, for any fans of the club, for the people over there who really made me feel welcome. Unfortunately sometimes these things in life just don’t work out. In football and in life in general. I made a decision.”

More Henderson: “It was a very much a football decision. Of course I have to make the decision based on what’s best for me and my family as well.

“The decision to come here was a football decision. Like I said before it’s a huge opportunity for me personally. I cannot fault Ajax for the faith they have shown me and the opportunity they have given me to come to this great football club.

“I just want to get going. I am excited to be here. I want to get going, get training and get playing to show them what I can do.”

Q: “How good are you?”

”We’ll have to wait and see. I’m ready to play as soon as possible but I’ve got work permits and that to wait on.”

Jordan Henderson is in the room, looking relaxed in a beige jerkin. They’re in the Ajax press conference room, and helpfully speaking in English. The first question comes from “de Volkskrant, the Guardian of Holland”.

”Why Ajax?”

Jordan Henderson is to speak soon at his Ajax unveiling. This could be interesting.

Swaps corner.

1) Markus Scherer: “Arthur for Miralem Pjanic looked good on the books!” Ahem.

2) Dylan Kenny: “Great job as always. On your subject of swaps, and proof that sometimes they do work surely most Villa fans of a certain vintage will recall the Milan Baros/John Carew swap fondly. One potentially brilliant but often underwhelming forward who never really gave the impression that he loved being here; swapped for the Norse/Gambian Titan who became a Cult hero with one of the best fan songs ever (to the tune of “Que sera, sera”).”

Always thought John Carew could have been T-Rex’s Metal Guru. (Actually, it was old boss/old mate Mike With who came up with that one, as a man of Norse blood himself. Hi, Mike.)

Crystal Palace transfer news is, well, a little underwhelming though hope should not be given up completely. Roy Hodgson: “No update on any players at the moment. I know Doug Freedman and Steve Parish are working hard to bring a couple of players into the squad.”

Has Dougie become Doug?

West Ham active in the transfer market. Could they spring this window open?

City want a £7m loan fee for Phillips, who has failed to make an impact since leaving Leeds in the summer of 2022. West Ham are reluctant to pay that and are in negotiations over the fee. Phillips, who has not started a Premier League game this season, also has interest from Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Juventus, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona.

The hope is that City’s demands will lower as the transfer window draws to a close. Phillips is not part of Pep Guardiola’s plans and his place in England’s squad for Euro 2024 will be under threat if he spends the rest of the season on the sidelines. City are poised to announce the signing of the Argentinian prospect Claudio Echeverri from River Plate. Chelsea wanted the 18-year-old attacking midfielder.

On swap deals, Ruairi McEvot gets in touch: “William Gallas plus 5M for Ashley Cole, Chelsea to Arsenal worked out very well for one side. Maybe if Eduardo hadn’t suffered the injury, Gallas not thrown a hissy fit and Arsenal not capitulated for the rest of the 07/08 season it might have been satisfactory business around.”

My memory is Gallas being hailed as a success until the sitting on the St Andrews pitch thing. He was later OK for Spurs when they went deep in the Champions League. Does that further scar his worth?

Some good old transfer speculation for you, via Talksport.

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe is attracting interest from West Ham, talkSPORT understands. The Hammers are open to signing Smith Rowe, who has struggled for game time since the start of last season, on a six-month loan.

Could be a good move for a player who could end up being the Martin Hayes of his day; a star at the start but to the fringes when it comes to the business end of things. The Croydon Bergkamp, was it?

That is a shock. Those fantasies of Newcastle and a Chelsea return dying on the vine. Still, there’s always José calling out MBS for lack of transfer funds to look forward to. If we’re talking star power then Mourinho in, Henderson out is good for the Pro League.

And on that bombshell, I’ll hand over to John Brewin for the next couple of hours.

Stepping away from the transfer market for a moment, and Saudi news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat is reporting that José Mourinho is close to becoming the new manager of Al-Shabab. Mourinho, who was sacked by Roma earlier this week, has reportedly held an hour-long video meeting with the club’s sporting director, Domenico Teti.

Based in Riyadh, Al-Shabab are currently a middling 11th of 18 teams in the Saudi Pro League table. Their squad is not packed with superstars, with Yannick Carrasco their biggest name. Defenders Iago and Romain Saïss, winger Habib Diallo and veteran midfielder Éver Banega are also on the club’s books.

What about poor old Kalvin Phillips? Well, Sky are reporting that no fewer than six clubs are keen on the Manchester City outcast – including European giants Atlético Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus.

It’s West Ham who currently lead the way, though, having reportedly opened talks over a move, with Crystal Palace and Newcastle also interested. City would prefer to sell the midfielder this month, but a loan deal may be a more likely solution.

I’m intrigued by that Newcastle story – who doesn’t love a good swap deal? – although surely Kimmich would cost a few quid in addition to Trippier’s value.

Much like the Faithful, I’m basing this on not much evidence, but I feel like swap deals rarely work out well – Ibrahimovic/Eto’o and Sánchez/Mkhitaryan being two high-profile examples. Has your club ever pulled off a successful swap? Get in touch and let me know.

Some transfer news from the WSL: Tottenham have added their fourth new face this month after completing a loan move for Amanda Nildén on Thursday. The Swedish defender arrives from Juventus with an option to make the move permanent in summer.

Meanwhile, Arsenal goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger has signed a new contract with the club. While the length of the new deal has not been disclosed, the Gunners publicly backing the Austrian as “our number one” suggests a move for Mary Earps may be on the back burner, for now at least.

Nuno Espírito Santo takes his Nottingham Forest side to Brentford tomorrow, but has also cast an eye ahead to the end of the transfer window – warning “anything can happen” as he seeks to trim his side’s oversized squad.

You have to realise this is a difficult window to operate in because normally the targets you really want are not available,” Nuno said. “The players who are available are not in a happy moment where they are … We have to be really careful. What you want is sometimes not what you get.”

Forest have been hit by injuries and Afcon absences this month. Anthony Elanga (thigh), Morgan Gibbs-White (abdomen), Felipe (knee) and Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) are all still unavailable, while Willy Boly, Serge Aurier, Ola Aina, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Moussa Niakhaté and Ibrahim Sangaré are away on international duty.

“Spent a lot of time last night with my friends in Liverpool looking at sizzle reels of Feynoord’s defender David Hancko,” writes Kev McCready. “His agent has confirmed both Liverpool and PSG have been in touch, but Feynoord don’t want to sell until summer.

“I like him, can play left back or left centre-half, but his tacking can be a little Skrtelesque. The rest of the evening was spent Googling ‘recovering from a hamstring injury’ after the Egypt game. Not long before the Bakayoko/Mbappé rumours start up again. About half eleven, usually.”

Could Kieran Trippier join the growing English contingent at Bayern Munich? Reports today in the Telegraph suggest that Thomas Tuchel is keen to bring in the Newcastle full-back, having already added Eric Dier this month and Harry Kane last summer.

Jürgen Klopp has expressed concern over Mohamed Salah, after the Liverpool forward went off with an apparent injury in Egypt’s draw with Ghana last night. “We don’t know anything,” Klopp told reporters. “I spoke to him last night. They are doing an assessment right now, then we will know more.

“In the moment it was a shock,” the Liverpool manager added. “It looks like he was hit by something, then he went down. We know how rarely Mo goes off, so there is definitely something.”

Despite not playing a competitive game since May, Ivan Toney has been one of this window’s most-discussed players – and reiterated his desire to join “a big club competing for trophies” earlier this week. Toney is free to play again after his eight-month ban, and Thomas Frank has confirmed he will captain Brentford against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

“He [Toney] is buzzing,” Frank told reporters earlier today. “He’s very committed and excited. He can’t wait. He will start tomorrow and he will lead the team out as Christian [Nørgaard] is injured.”

Jordan Henderson completed his move to Ajax last night after making a dramatic exit from Saudi club Al-Ettifaq. Here’s what he had to say about his new club:

“It’s been a difficult year or so for the club, both on and off the field, but that’s the same for me in the past six months. So hopefully we can help each other come together and try to be as successful as possible in the near future.

“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, crazy few days, but I’m just so excited now to be here, to start a new chapter … and I’m just so excited to be here and part of this club. Once I knew that there was an opportunity, I was really overwhelmed that this opportunity was there for me. It was something that I wanted to try and make happen.”

Could Manchester United pounce for Jarrad Branthwaite? Will City cough up for Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz? Find out more in Friday’s Rumour Mill …

Another young winger in the sights of a top-four contender is Middlesbrough’s Morgan Rogers, who is a key January target for Aston Villa. As Ben Fisher reports, Villa have seen a first bid rejected for Rogers, who began his career at West Brom before joining Manchester City’s academy.