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Liverpool have reportedly opened talks this week to sign a key reinforcement who Arne Slot loves ahead of Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2026.

Slot urges Liverpool to "remain humble"

Sunday’s 2-0 victory against West Ham United simply cannot be a false dawn for Liverpool or record signing Alexander Isak. After a disastrous run of form, the Reds must make it back-to-back victories by defeating Sunderland this evening.

Anything but three points would only spark further concerns about Slot’s tenure, as reports continue to suggest potential managerial candidates such as Ange Postecoglou.

Ahead of Liverpool’s clash against the Black Cats, Slot told reporters: “The challenge now will be to build on this win. We do not get to believe that a corner has been turned or that a recovery is under way.

“We have to remain humble, work hard and continue to fight. If we do this then maybe we can continue taking the small steps forward that are very much required.

“I would like to welcome Regis Le Bris, his players and staff as well as the supporters and directors of Sunderland to Anfield for tonight’s game. What they have done in the Premier League already this season reflects incredibly well on all at the club having earned promotion back in May.”

FSG could see £75m bid accepted to sign Liverpool their best LW since Mane

Liverpool are in the market for a left-sided winger this winter.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Dec 3, 2025

It’s been the type of run that sparks serious questions about the January transfer window and the need for reinforcements – particularly on the defensive front. As things stand, Liverpool have just two senior centre-backs available, but have been linked with moves for the likes of Castello Lukeba and, of course, Marc Guehi.

Liverpool open talks to sign Marc Guehi

According to TeamTalk, Liverpool have now opened talks to sign Guehi this week in an attempt to get their deal back on track and land their No.1 defensive target ahead of Real Madrid.

The Reds came within hours of signing the Crystal Palace star in the summer, only for the Eagles to pull the plug on the deal at the death. Now, they’re attempting to jump ahead of the chasing pack by making their move as early as the January transfer window.

Those at Anfield are reportedly willing to offer a deal worth around £30m next month, whilst others wait in line to secure Guehi’s signature as a free agent in the summer.

Not even Slot could hide Liverpool’s admiration for Guehi when they missed out on his signature in the summer, telling reporters: “It would be ridiculous if I were to deny we were close to signing him.

“That is so out in the open. These things happen in football. We would have liked to have signed him, of course. If we feel we can strengthen the team, we never hesitate to do so.”

Whether Crystal Palace willingly part with their defender, who was described as a “monster in defence” by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi, remains to be seen, however.

Liverpool star is now very quickly becoming "the next Diaz" at Anfield

The rich got richer Tuesday morning when the Dodgers signed Edwin Díaz, the top reliever on the market, to a three-year, $69 million contract. Díaz had opted out of the final two years of his contract with the Mets last month, and though New York reportedly offered him a three-year, $66 million deal to retain his services, Díaz elected to join the two-time defending World Series champions.

Dodgers Swiping Edwin Díaz Fixes Their Biggest Issue

Tom Verducci: Money doesn’t buy championships, but it sure helps to get out from mistakes. After dropping $72 million on closer Tanner Scott in January, a move that has yet to pay dividends, the Dodgers pivoted to the best closer in baseball, Edwin Díaz, at $69 million. Scott, who signed for four years with deferred money, posted a 4.74 ERA and missed the final three postseason rounds on the IL.

Last offseason, the Dodgers dropped $107 million on free agents Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates, but wound up scrambling to convert Roki Sasaki to closer for the postseason. The Dodgers clinched the past two World Series with a starter coming out of the bullpen: Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The addition of Díaz ends those days of scrambling to figure out an endgame.

Díaz opted out of two years and $38 million remaining on his five-year, $102-million record contract with the Mets. The Dodgers added one year and $31 million to what he had left on the table, setting a new standard for closers at $23 million per year.

Díaz turns 32 in March and is building a Hall of Fame résumé: 253 saves, three All-Star teams, a strikeout rate of 14.5 per nine innings and remarkable consistency.

Edwin Díaz’s Refusal of Mets’ Offer Should Sting New York

Will Laws: The Mets offered Edwin Díaz a three-year, $66 million contract, according to the ’s Joel Sherman. That’s just $1 million less per year than what the accomplished closer signed for with the Dodgers on Tuesday.

That information certainly paints the picture that Díaz was happy to leave New York for Los Angeles. Considering how early it is in the offseason and Mets owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets, it’s hard to believe the Mets wouldn’t have matched the Dodgers’ offer.

Three years ago, Díaz re-signed with the Mets on a five-year, $102 million deal—then the richest-ever deal for a reliever. Since then, the Mets have missed the playoffs twice and lost in the NLCS to the Dodgers, who have won the last two World Series.

It’s hard not to take Díaz’s decision as a referendum on how he perceives them as contenders.

Dodgers Once Again Sign the Market’s Top Reliever

Nick Selbe: If at first you don't succeed, spend, spend again. That's apparently the strategy Andrew Friedman & Co. are adopting in addressing their glaring need in the bullpen, signing Díaz to a $69 million deal one winter after giving $72 million to Tanner Scott. Scott was a disappointment in his first year with Los Angeles, leading the league with 10 blown saves and failing to make a single postseason appearance.

The Dodgers will hope Díaz can do what Scott couldn't: make ninth-inning leads a foregone conclusion. The former Met can be erratic year-to-year—he's alternated between ERAs in sub-2.00 range to mid-3.00 or worse over the past eight seasons—but possesses elite swing-and-miss stuff every contender craves in high-leverage situations.

Not many teams would green light spending $141 million for two relief pitchers in consecutive years, but the back-to-back champs aren't like any other organization.

He delivered a masterclass in control and seam movement, dominating without taking a wicket and proving that perfection in bowling isn’t always measured by numbers

Sidharth Monga23-Oct-2025One of the idiosyncrasies of cricket is that not all new balls are the same. Sometimes you can end up with a bum ball that doesn’t swing. Sometimes you get a good one that hoops. So the choice is given to the bowling team. They pick out a new ball (two in ODIs) from a box of new balls. Usually the experienced fast bowler in a side does so. They look for balls that feel “small” in their hand. Which, you can imagine, might be a problem when Josh Hazlewood chooses the ball.Every ball seems small in Hazlewood’s hands. And he lets it go so beautifully from his high release point that if there is any seam movement available from the pitch, he is certain to get it. You give him some moisture in the pitch to work with, and you get the kind of spell for ages that Hazlewood delivered in Adelaide.Related

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It is not often that you watch a close match where the result margin is two wickets, and your lasting memory of the day is the work of a bowler who didn’t take any wicket. And yet, if rain or some other circumstance had ended the game at the 38th over of the first innings, the organisers would be justified in refusing any refunds because Hazlewood’s 10 overs for 29 runs had already been worth the gatemoney.Forty-three of the 60 deliveries were dots, 21 times he beat the bat, got the edge on six occasions, but was just not lucky enough to get a wicket. In an ODI that eventually featured runs at well over five an over, batters were in control only 55% of the time when facing Hazlewood. And he didn’t bowl to the tail. Fifteen of those 21 plays and misses were defensive shots.It is just his luck that Rohit Sharma comes out to play the only format he now plays for the first time in seven months and in front of him is Hazlewood on early-season Australian pitches with bounce and moisture. After getting done in in Perth, Rohit decided to give himself some time in Adelaide. He even played out two successive maidens from Hazlewood. It didn’t matter, though, how much time he gave himself. Hazlewood was not leaving the good length outside off with subtle changes in release. Some balls nipped away, some jagged back in. Even the ones that went straight on were so accurate you couldn’t take liberties with them.Like a fine machine, Hazlewood kept going on and on for seven overs with the new ball. Poor Rohit faced 31 of those 42 deliveries. Shreyas Iyer faced nine, and even in that brief period he was made to dance and fumble for the ball.Not once did Hazlewood go searching. He was happy to keep bowling the good length and wait for the wicket. If he didn’t get it, he was at least creating chances for the bowlers at the other end.After Hazlewood’s first spell was over and the movement settled down, Rohit and Iyer displayed their quality in scoring half-centuries. The vexing part, though, is that when Hazlewood came back for his second spell in the 34th over, the ball started nipping around again. It started to look small in his hands again. The high release, the high vertical speed, and whatever juice was still available was extracted again.On another day, Hazlewood could have easily walked away with a five-for with a performance of this quality. Somewhere in a deep sadistic corner of his heart, you wonder if he enjoys such tormenting of helpless batters just as much as he does taking wickets. Especially in limited-overs cricket, where these tight overs still have a significant impact on the wickets others get and the overall score.