Liverpool

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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot had high praise for midfielder Curtis Jones following his England call-up by interim manager Lee Carsley.

"He has a lot of qualities on the ball," said Slot. "He is never afraid to do something special with it, but sometimes he touches the ball a bit too much in my opinion because he is so confident.

"But confidence is an important tool. He has an incredibly hard work rate and we trust him in defence. He is complete. For him now, it is all about consistency. The best players turn up every three days and that is what he has got to show."

Jones has made 12 appearances in all competitions for the Reds this season, scoring once and providing four assists.

Slot however, batted away suggestions that he has made a significant contribution to Jones' positive trajectory.

"It is not me - it is since he became a father and I had nothing to do with that!" he joked. "You never know if that plays a part or not.

"Since then [the birth of his child] he has been putting great performances in. In pre-season, I thought he was outstanding and he is outstanding again now.

"In general, it probably has to do with how the team plays because every player that comes in has a good performance. That says a lot about the quality of the team and how they play together."

With both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto currently vying for the number nine position in the side, Everton boss Sean Dyche has been discussing the competition between the two strikers.

Calvert-Lewin has started all 10 Premier League games so far, while Beto has come on as a substitute in six of those.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Diogo Jota is on track to return after the international break but Slot would not say what the injury is that has sidelined him in recent weeks.

• On keeping everyone grounded following Liverpool's almost-perfect start: "I’m not trying to manage expectations in the squad because we don’t talk about it. The only expectation I have is that they put in the effort every day and they have done that. Usually with that results come as well."

• He added his players are "not getting carried away by being top of the league" because it is not an unfamiliar position for the club and is still early in the season.

• However, he hopes fans will continue to be excited by their position in the Premier League and Europe because that comes across in the general atmosphere in games.

• He noted that since Curtis Jones became a father "he has been putting in great performances" but joked "I had nothing to do with that!"

• More from Slot on Jones: "In general, it has to do with how the team plays because every player that comes in has a good performance, so that says a lot about the quality of the team and how they play together."

• He also commented on the improvement in Luis Diaz this season: "I have no clue why, but maybe it is because the team provides a lot of chances for these players. If they are in a promising situation, then they can score a goal."

• On the contest between Andy Robertson and Konstantinos Tsimikas at left-back: "My line-ups tell you what I think about this. We have two brilliant full-backs and we play many, many games. There are multiple reasons why the full-backs and midfield are rotated but it is also to do with the quality of the players. I have two very good players."

• Despite managers often changing their usual style to face Liverpool, Slot "does not expect" Unai Emery to adapt his formation for their trip to Anfield.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Liverpool will end an early season test of their trophy-winning credentials against Aston Villa on Saturday and, so far, they are passing with flying colours.

The Reds faced a run of seven testing games in 21 days since the last international break and, in the Premier League, have sandwiched a draw at Arsenal in between wins against Chelsea and Brighton to go top of the table.

Impressively, those results have come among victories against RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen as the Anfield club have moved top of the new-look Champions League table. They have also progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating Brighton.

In all competitions, Liverpool have 14 wins from their opening 16 games under new manager Arne Slot. You could say, if a former shirt sponsor of the club did starts to the season then it might look like the sort the Reds have enjoyed to this campaign.

Slot will be talking to the media at 09:00 GMT this morning prior to the Villa game which precedes the final international break of 2024.

And, despite a dream start to his tenure, it is unlikely the Dutchman will be getting carried away.

If anything, he might take a similar view to Xabi Alonso.

Following his Leverkusen side’s defeat by Liverpool on Tuesday, ex-Reds midfielder Alonso was asked about his former club's prospects in 2024-25 and said: "It’s looking a promising season - but we are still in November”.

Slot has had to deal with constant questions about the futures of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk, who are out of contract in the summer.

We’ll see if there is anything else to say on the issue.

Liverpool are preparing a £50m bid for Real Madrid's 24-year-old France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

The Reds will rival Manchester United, Arsenal and Juventus for 24-year-old Lille striker Jonathan David. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian), external

Arsenal have held talks with the agents of Sporting forward Geovany Quenda, with the 17-year-old also on the radar of Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City and Liverpool. (Teamtalk), external

Finally, Liverpool and Bayern Munich have been told by Eintracht Frankfurt they will need to pay upwards of £50m to prise 25-year-old Egypt striker Omar Marmoush away from the club. (Fussball News - in German), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

Manchester United are set to reignite their interest in £70m-rated Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, with the Merseyside club unable to afford a new contract for the 22-year-old England international. (Mail - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

In his news conference on Thursday, Everton boss Sean Dyche spoke about how defender Jarrad Branthwaite can get back into the side and spend more time on the pitch.

The centre-back, who was injured at the start of the season, has started once and made two substitute appearances in the Premier League.

Image source, Getty Images

England interim boss Lee Carsley says Curtis Jones is a player he "highly rates" after calling up the Liverpool midfielder for the Uefa Nations League matches with Greece and Republic of Ireland on 14 and 17 November.

The games will be an opportunity for Jones to make his England debut, having withdrawn from the squad in October and being cut from Gareth Southgate's provisional selection for Euro 2024 after receiving his first call-up in the summer.

"Curtis is an all-round player, plays in various positions and is a player that I highly rate," Carsley said after making the announcement.

"He will be one of the best players I have worked with in terms of his ability. I think he has shown a really consistent level of playing every week now, most weeks especially, at a high level.

"He has shown he can score goals and assist, a player that I've had a lot of success with working in the past and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Everton boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at West Ham (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He is hopeful Iliman Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Doucoure will be available for the trip to East London.

• Meanwhile, Albania striker Armando Broja has not taken part in any contact training and "has just been getting a feel for the ball" again. Dyche added Broja "will need a games plan" before he is fully available for selection.

• He said striker Beto "is chomping at the bit" to play and "the margins are getting tighter" between him and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

• On how he will decide who gets to start: "Strikers are always looked at by their stats by fans but the management team tend to look behind that and at the overall picture. I am slightly more tolerant of a striker because it is a very tough role."

• He said Calvert-Lewin "has had chances and not scored", conceding the 27-year-old's consistency is "up and down."

• On Beto's goal being ruled out for offside against Southampton: "A toe is a toe. Where do you draw the line? You have to draw it somewhere. I’m not going to cry on that. If you’re offside, you’re offside."

• However, Beto "has been effective" and is "learning all the time" when he does get game time.

• On opponents West Ham: "They have a new manager trying to instil his thoughts. They’ve spent a lot of money over the last few seasons and like any manager, he’s trying to find a formula. They have a lot of good players."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Image source, PA Media

England interim manager Lee Carsley has named a 26-man squad for the upcoming Nations League games against Greece and Republic of Ireland.

Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall and Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis have received their first call-ups to the senior side, with Saints' Aaron Ramsdale one of three goalkeepers selected.

The only other uncapped player in the squad is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, while there is no place for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers.

These will be Carsley's final two matches in charge before Thomas Tuchel becomes Gareth Southgate's full-time successor from 1 January.

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Southampton).

Defenders: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Taylor Harwood-Bellis (Southampton).

Midfielders: Conor Gallagher (Atletico Madrid), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Angel Gomes (Lille), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Curtis Jones (Liverpool).

Forwards: Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham).

Image source, Getty Images

I do not think the ongoing speculation on the contracts of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah or Virgil van Dijk will upset the title challenge.

It seems late to be negotiating contracts considering their previous length of deals but they do all seem comfortable at the club.

They will not get to the end of the season not knowing what they are going to do. Plus, if Liverpool are in a position to win silverware at the end of this campaign, it will not make much difference about what they decide to do.

They are still here. They do not seem too worried about the future and are just focusing on the present.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Match of the Day's Stephen Warnock explains shows how Arne Slot's half-time rejig in midfield changed the game in Liverpool's 4-0 victory over Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Watch the full Champions League show on BBC iPlayer

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter at Finch Farm

Everton boss Brian Sorensen has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Women's Super League game against Crystal Palace (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Katja Snoeijs is a "question mark" says Sorensen. She has been dealing with a leg injury for "quite a while" and saw a specialist. She is due to train on Thursday and Friday and the club will assess her afterwards.

• Karen Holmgaard will miss Sunday's match, while Sara Holmgaard is progressing well and could be involved.

• Sorensen says the continuing injury issues have had an impact on their season but they are "not worried" about their position in the table.

• He admits this is an important period for Everton with games they believe they can win coming up.

• Sorensen added: "We had two games this season out of six that we were not at our best. The rest we were good. We should always say we could have had more [points] but they are not there and that’s the reality. Now we have three winnable games coming up."

• He says the squad knows the club's current situation - where they are waiting approval for a takeover and the injury pile-up - is "not ideal" but they know the "reality" is to continue to work with the resources they have available.

• On Crystal Palace's performances this season, Sorensen says: "They have been solid and look well-coached, organised and they try to utilise their strengths. We will have to be at our best on Sunday, that’s for sure."

Image source, Getty Images

Everton fan Matt Dillon says Sean Dyche's side are "underachieving" this season and need to adapt in order to pick up points.

The Blues travel to West Ham on Saturday sitting 16th in the Premier League on nine points after 10 games.

"We have got to start winning games and pushing up the league," Dillon told BBC Radio Merseyside. "Whoever steps on to the pitch has got to step it up.

"Beto grafts every game. He is very unorthodox but at the moment he is certainly more of a goal threat than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

"Whether Dyche thinks that is another thing.

"Is having two up top the way for us to go now for the rest of the season? Well, our attacking play is better when we do, even if it is Michael Keane and someone else!

"We need to have a level of dominance in games to be able to dictate play so this game is massive for the club and Dyche.

"I don't think he has got that much longer in the job. I don't think he can adapt his tactics and style of play but other top managers can.

"Our players are not world-beaters by any means but for the level of players we have we are underachieving. We should be mid-table."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Josh Sexton
Fan writer

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Mohamed Salah made himself the hero once again for Liverpool at Anfield this past weekend and in doing so moved himself up to eighth on the Premier League’s all-time top scorers list. It was a trademark strike that served as another reminder of what The Egyptian King can contribute, even in what many are viewing as the twilight of his career.

Whatever the aforementioned 'many' think, eyes and minds are being cast towards those that sign the cheques and contracts at the club with a clear message - Salah must stay.

It is unthinkable to consider the idea that a player with nine goals and seven assists in 15 appearances so far this season is one that can just walk away from the club for free. Not to mention the cautionary tales littered throughout the Premier League in recent times.

Look at Manchester United spending all that money on Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, Arsenal throwing the kitchen sink at Kai Havertz and Chelsea hanging their hopes on Nicolas Jackson, all of whom have proven so far that it is hard to just go out and buy goals - without even mentioning Liverpool’s own outlay.

There is obviously more nuance to any contract negotiation than simply suggesting that the club should do "everything" to get a player to stay, but those in charge of making those decisions would do well to convince fans that securing Salah for the next few years would be a bad investment.

Not to mention the fact that the player himself continues to go above and beyond to publicly state his love for Liverpool - on social media, television and to anybody who asks about his change in hairstyle over summer.

No matter what happens, this decision will be another that defines the legacy of the club’s ownership.

I just hope they fall on the right side of history this time.

Find more from Josh Sexton at The Anfield Wrap, external

It was another special Champions League night at Anfield on Tuesday as Liverpool thrashed Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen 4-0.

Luis Diaz scored a second-half hat-trick to help the Reds maintain their flawless start to the competition.