Image source, Getty Images

Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp has confirmed Middlesbrough have agreed a deal to sign Ryan Shotton, but the transfer will not go through until cover has been brought to St Andrew's.

"We have agreed terms with Middlesbrough," said Redknapp.

"But he will not be leaving until we have a replacement as we should have four central defenders on the books."

Shotton, 28, made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in Tuesday's goalless draw with Bolton.

He replaced the injured Michael Morrison from the bench, while Cheikh Ndoye also limped off to add to Blues' injury problems.

Phil Puddefoot: Syd Puddefoot was my fathers cousin. Played for West Ham and went on to manage Fenerbache and Galatasaray! ... and my father played in the 1927 French cup final!

Thomas Hingston: Len Puddlefoot played one game for Falkirk in 1921-1922 season and went on to coach....

All together now...."We all dream of a team of Puddefoots...!"

Stephen Riley: A Syd Puddefoot played for Blackburn Rovers in the 1928 FA Cup Final. My Grandad used to go on about it a lot.

Anymore sporting Puddefoot trivia?

#bbcsportsday

I just like saying the name to be honest....

Tom Williams: Why don't Chelsea and Arsenal just swap Costa and Sanchez? Both want to leave and both clubs get a good replacement.

Has Tom solved everything?

What other issues can we get him to sort out? Kevin Pietersen and the ECB?

Image source, Getty Images

The Sun say, external Chelsea are lining up a £50m move to sign Tottenham Hotspur and England full-back Danny Rose after the player angered Spurs by criticising the club's transfer and wage policies.

Meanwhile, Spurs have reached an agreement with Paris St-Germain defender Serge Aurier who was a target for Manchester United - that's according to reports in French publication L'Equipe. , external

Meanwhile, Chelsea are trying to sign Torino's Italy striker Andrea Belotti as a replacement for Diego Costa...

Image source, Getty Images

According to Goal,, external Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wants £150,000 a week to join Chelsea from Arsenal.

We all want £150,000 a week though don't we...

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

There is "no comparison" between the situations of strikers Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal and Diego Costa at Chelsea, says Gunners boss Arsene Wenger.

Sanchez, 28, is in the last year of his contract at Emirates Stadium and has yet to agree a new deal, while Costa has said he wants to leave the Blues.

Wenger, 67, has previously said Sanchez "respects" his decision to keep the Chile forward at Arsenal this season, despite reported interest from Manchester City, external and Paris St-Germain.

On Wednesday the Frenchman said Arsenal have not made any more progress on a new deal for Sanchez and were prepared for him to leave on a free transfer next summer.

Read more hereand stand by for a clip of this Wenger news conference.

....Moving on.

More Puddyfoots......

Puddynaggs: Wow. A Puddefoot! I married a Puddefoot and thinking the name was dying out became a Puddefoot-Knaggs. Silly.

Got to be related.....

Professor Puddefoot is back....

Phil Puddefoot: No, not as simple as that but it helped with the invincible aura (plus no zonal marking!)

Arsenal

Earlier, we told you that Arsene Wenger does not want to sell Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been linked with Chelsea.

Here's what he had to say in full.

Question: Are you adamant Oxlade-Chamberlein will be here at the end of the season?

Wenger: Yes.

Question: Why?

Wenger: I rate him highly and he is one of the players who is on his way up. Personally I want him to stay here for a long time. I am convinced that maybe he will be the English player in the next two or three years that everybody will look at.

Image source, Rex Features

Phil Puddefoot: Arsene not sure what qualities set 'The Invincibles' apart from today's team. How about height for a start - 11 players over 6 foot tall

Was it as simple as that Phil Puddefoot?

By the way, great name - a name like that belongs in The Leaky Cauldron...

(Harry Potter reference number one of the day - ✅)

Mark Lawrenson
Former Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 live

If Liverpool do go through next Wednesday to the group stage I think all the other teams will look at them and say 'we can beat these' because they will get lots and lots of chances.

Liverpool are very good at going forward but it is very much Jekyll and Hyde.

Image source, Getty Images

But what of the positives? Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold described scoring on his European debut for his boyhood club as "a dream".

The 18-year-old opened the scoring with a neat free-kick as the Reds won 2-1 at Hoffenheim in their Champions League play-off first leg.

"It is indescribable," Alexander-Arnold, who has been with the club since he was eight, told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It is special in so many ways."

Former Liverpool captain and current Reds academy coach Steven Gerrard had said in April: "Trent's going to be a beauty".

Mark Lawrenson
Former Liverpool defender on BBC Radio 5 live

If you look at Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren, they're not great organisers. They don't pull the full-backs in and they rarely communicate.

The reason why John Terry was so good for all those years was he performed consistently every week but he also got everybody else performing and organised.

Liverpool need a guy who is going to galvanise everyone and organise them and make people feel responsible for the man they are picking up.

He was standing his ground there wasn't he....

But what does Lawro have to say about Liverpool's defence last night?

HealthSpeak: Gylfi is an important if expensive signing for Everton but need striker to complete the jigsaw - Giroud the outstanding candidate.

But who replaces Gylfi at the Liberty?

Pat Nevin
Ex-Chelsea winger for 5 live Sport

I think Gylfi Sigurdsson is a fabulous player. Yes it's a stupid amount of money, but if he goes and gets you into the Champions League, well that will not seem like a daft amount of money.

There's a few of us out there who think this guy's extra special and can give you that one thing, that one piece of class that you need to make yourself different from the rest.

Sigurdsson gets a game wherever he goes and looks perfectly good in any team you put him in, he's a fabulous player and I think he single-handedly kept Swansea up last season.