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Jose Mourinho said he never even thought about taking Gareth Bale off during Tottenham's win over Wycombe as the manager heaped praise on a player still pushing to earn a more consistent role.

Bale scored Spurs' first goal of the 4-1 win, helping Mourinho's side erase an early 1-0 deficit in what started off as an FA Cup scare.

His finish was followed up by a goal from Harry Winks and two from Tanguy Ndombele within the final four minutes, sealing the victory.

The goal was Bale's third of the season as the winger made just his 12th appearance since joining on loan from Real Madrid this summer.

Bale has been on the periphery of Mourinho's team all season long, having appeared just four times in the Premier League this term.

Mourinho admitted on Sunday that Bale must earn his chances at more regular minutes, challenging the winger to impress.

And impress he did on Monday, with Mourinho highlighting Bale as a positive from Spurs' victory.

"It was good," he said of Bale's performance. "Some good movement. Some one and against ones, beating people, attacking people, creating chances. Of course, scoring a goal

"Apart from that I never felt he couldn't play the 90 minutes. I never felt that I needed to change him and that is good. Of course, the Championship [opponents] is a good, competitive level and the aggression is high and the intensity is good. So I'm happy.

"We had some good performances from the boys that started the game. Of course, Winks was man of the match, which is very much deserved because I thought he was very, very good in everything he did, apart from the goal.

"The goal is just a very small important detail but I'm happy because I think the attitude of the team was very professional and it's the kind of game that, even if we lose because we don't take chances and they score in the last minutes, let's say that I wouldn't be sad because it was a very professional performance."

Tottenham currently sit fifth in the Premier League ahead of Thursday's clash with Liverpool in north London. 

Major League Soccer announced on Monday that the league will play a full 34-game schedule, which will kick off on April 3.

The regular season will run from April through November 7, with the playoffs scheduled to begin November 19 and end with MLS Cup on December 11.

Also back on the schedule are the MLS All-Star Game, Campeones Cup and Leagues Cup during the late summer, while MLS clubs will also feature in the U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship and CONCACAF Champions League throughout 2021.

With the start of the 2021 season, MLS will see the introduction of the league's 27th club, Austin FC, which will compete in the Western Conference, making them the conference's 13th team compared to the East's 14.

Canadian clubs' scheduling remains up in the air due to travel restrictions between the U.S. and Canada. Last season, Canadian sides played their home games in the U.S. rather than in home markets.

Clubs will be permitted to open preseason training on February 22, six weeks prior to the opening weekend. In accordance with coronavirus protocol, players will be required to quarantine and train individually upon returning back to their clubs.

The start of the season had previously been earmarked for March, although there were discussions about pushing back the season in an effort to play more games in front of home fans.

Also threatening the start of the season was ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions, with the MLS and MLSPA still negotiating after last season's agreement was never ratified due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"MLS continues to meet with the Major League Soccer Players Association and players to discuss working together to put MLS on a secure footing given the unprecedented impact of Covid-19," the league said in a statement regarduing the CBA talks. 

"On Jan. 5 MLS presented the MLSPA with a proposal that committed to paying the players 100% of their salaries this year, in return for a two-year extension of the MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement. The MLSPA provided a response to the league’s proposal Jan. 23.

"Although no agreement has been reached, MLS is committed to meet as many times as necessary with the MLSPA in the coming days to finalize an agreement."

The league plans to release a complete schedule in the coming weeks.

Frank Lampard has said he is ‘disappointed’ to have been denied the chance to take Chelsea forward.

The Blues legend was axed by Chelsea on Monday, 18 months after being appointed following the club’s decision to part ways with Maurizio Sarri.

Despite his status as the club’s greatest goalscorer, Lampard was not immune from owner Roman Abramovich’s hire-and-fire style.

Chelsea topped the table earlier this season, but a poor run of form saw them slip to ninth in the Premier League - and resulted in Lampard's departure.

Abramovich issued a rare statement upon Lampard’s exit, saying he has “an excellent personal relationship” with his former manager and said he “will always be warmly welcomed back at Stamford Bridge.”

Lampard took to Instagram on Monday evening to break his silence.

“It has been a huge privilege and an honour to manage Chelsea, a club that has been a huge part of my life for so long,” Lampard wrote. 

“Firstly, I would like to thank the fans for the incredible support that I have received for the last 18 months. I hope they know what that means to me."

When Lampard was appointed, Chelsea were the subject of a transfer ban and had seen Eden Hazard depart.

“When I took on this role I understood the challenges that lay ahead in a difficult time for the football club," he added.

“I am proud of the achievements that we made, and I am proud of the Academy players that have made their step into the first team and performed well. They are the future of the club.

"I am disappointed not to have had the time this season to take the club forward and bring it to the next level.

“I want to thank Mr Abramovich, the board, players, my coaching team and everyone at the club for their hard work and dedication, especially in these unprecedented and challenging times.

“I wish the club and the team every success in the future.”

Chelsea are set to act quickly to replace Lampard, with former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel poised to take the reins.

The 47-year-old Tuchel could be appointed this week, with his first game possibly being the meeting with Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday.

Jean-Michel Aulas has hinted that Dzsenifer Marozsan, Sarah Bouhaddi and Wendie Renard could leave Lyon for OL Reign in the future.

Both clubs are owned by OL Groupe, and the aim is for the US side to replicate the success of Lyon’s women’s team in France.

With Norwegian sensation Ada Hegerberg just one of the star names in the squad, Lyon have dominated the women’s game.

They have won the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the past five seasons, and have triumphed in the domestic championship every year since the 2006-07 campaign.

Lyon strengthened their squad on Monday with the arrivals of American forward Catarina Macario and Spanish midfielder Damaris Egurrola.

At the press conference, Aulas was asked about future plans and he confirmed changes could be in the pipeline to strengthen OL Reign and make them title contenders in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

Megan Rapinoe is the star name in the OL Reign squad, but the United States superstar could get some help from Lyon in the near future.

Revealing that some players have it written in their contracts that they can switch clubs to OL Reign, Aulas said: “Some players will go next year to help OL Reign win the title in the United States.

“It’s possible for one or two of them if they want to go and make the move.”

Aulas would not divulge the names of the players who have the clauses in their contracts, but L’Equipe is stating that German midfielder Marozsan, French goalkeeper Bouhaddi and French defender Renard have the options available to them.

The Lyon chief also confirmed that contract talks are underway with a number of players.

Superstar forward Hegerberg signed a new deal in December, and the likes of Griedge Mbock, Eugenie Le Sommer, Delphine Cascarino, Amandine Henry, Saki Kumagaia and Sakina Karchaoui could soon follow suit.

“I myself participated in the discussions last week,” Aulas said. “The objective is to ensure that at the end of January we are stabilised.”

Lyon have a fight on their hands on the domestic front this term. They trail Paris Saint-Germain by one point after 13 games of the campaign.

Ghana coach Abdul Karim Zito does not want to underrate any opposition after learning of his group stage opponents for the upcoming Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Mauritania.

A draw on Monday pitted the three-time champions against Morocco, Gambia and Tanzania in Group C of the youth championship which runs from February 14 to March 4.

The Black Satellites will open their campaign against Tanzania before facing Morocco on matchday two. A clash with Gambia is set to round up Ghana's group stage adventure.

"There is no small team in African football today. Every team is trying to lift their game to meet the modern trend of the game,” Zito told Footballmadeinghana.

“For me, it’s a tough group but we can sail through."

Ghana qualified for the U20 Afcon after reaching the final of the Wafu Zone B Cup of Nations in Benin last month.

At the sub-regional championship, the Black Satellites went on to win the trophy, beating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final.

"When I came back [from the tournament], I told my scouts I needed certain players and luckily for me, the [Ghana Premier] league is currently ongoing which will make it easy for us selecting the best to represent the country," Zito told Happy FM in a separate interview.

“We are going all out to make Ghana and West Africa proud because we are representing the sub-region. Our target is the ultimate prize."

Ordinarily, the upcoming African championship would have served as qualifiers for the Fifa U20 World Cup, with the four semi-finalists going on to represent the continent at the global gathering.

This year's Afcon will, however, be different from previous editions of the tournament as there will be no World Cup tickets up for grabs.

Late last year, Fifa announced the cancellation of the world tournament scheduled for Indonesia owing to health and safety concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ghana have set their sights on finishing among the top four in Mauritania to make a return for the World Cup, having failed to qualify for the competition since the 2015 championship in New Zealand.

Berry Ladies earned the second win of the season after defeating Soccer Intellectuals Ladies 3-1 in the southern zone on Sunday.

Continuing from the opening day's 3-2 victory over Immigrations Ladies, Felicity Asante's hat-trick was all Mercy Tagoe's side required to claim the three points despite Adina Akpo's opener from Intellectuals.

Akpo gave the hosts the lead from the spot in the 18th minute but Asante levelled matters from the spot nine minutes later before putting them in front for the first time on the half-hour mark.

After the break, Asante completed her treble of the match eight minutes into the second half to guarantee the win for the visitors.

The result means Berry Ladies now have six points from two matches and Abigail Tutuwaah was named the Player of the Match for her impressive contribution in the colours of Berry.

Earlier on Friday, Northern Ladies suffered their first loss of the season, at home against Kumasi Sports Academy Ladies after a 1-0 defeat at the Aliu Mahama Stadium in Tamale.

The solitary effort of Joyce Asamoah in the 29th minute was all the visitors needed to claim the maximum points in the northern zone.

Kerrie Mccarthy claimed the Player of the Match prize following her superb form for Charles Anokye Frimpong's ladies.

On Saturday in Kumasi, Prisons Ladies secured their first triumph of the campaign following a 1-0 victory over Ashtown Ladies.

Abigail Tutuwaah's 51st-minute strike ensured the visitors bounced back from a 1-0 defeat to Supreme Ladies, at WESCO Park.

On the same day, Supreme Ladies earned a second win of the season following a 1-0 victory at home over Fabulous Ladies.

Gearing up from a 1-0 opening day win at Prison Ladies, Supreme subdued their local rivals Fabulous thanks to Sandra Owusu Ansah's 74th minute superb finish in the northern zone tie at the Okese Park. 

Elsewhere, Ampem Darkoa Ladies defeated Pearl Pia Ladies 2-0 at the Ohene Ameyaw Park in a grudge match that ensured between the U17 women's coach Baba Nuhu and his assistant Nana Adarkwa.

A first-half brace from Ophelia Serwaa Amponsah gave Ampem Darkoa Ladies their maiden win of the season at home.

At McDan Town Park, Immigration Ladies were forced to a 0-0 draw at home by champions Hasaacas Ladies on Saturday.

The Immigration were searching for their first win of the season after a 3-2 defeat to Berry Ladies but needed to subdue holders Hasaacas, who pipped Lady Strikers 2-1 last week.

However, Immigration does have goalkeeper Patricia Mantey to thank for her great saves as they shared the spoils with Hasaacas.

While Lady Strikers celebrated their first win of the season after a 5-4 triumph over Thunder Queens at Tema Community School Park. 

The Strikers had suffered a 2-1 defeat at home to Hasaacas Ladies last week and fought hard to subdue Thunder Queens, who forced Police Ladies a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season.

Elizabeth Oppong opened the scoring for Thunder Queens in the 13th minute before Gifty Dwamena doubled the lead from the spot 11 minute. 

Lady Strikers, however, began their fightback and fortunately pulled one back through Catherine Arthur from the spot in the 36th minute before Suzzy Dede Teye levelled three minutes later.

Having squandered their two-goal lead, Sarah Inkoom struck in the 42nd minute to help the visitors back in front before the break.

After the restart, the Strikers recovered their two-goal advantage when Gifty Addai added a fourth of the match in the 49th minute.

The hosts, however, crawled back into the contest when Vivian Konadu netted a few moments later to reduce the deficit.

In a quick response, Arthur fired home a fifth and winner for the visitors, with her brace of the day in the 59th minute but Esther Moffat's effort 10 minutes later could not deny Strikers' the win.

AS Monaco outcast Henry Onyekuru has returned to Galatasaray on a six-month loan that elapses at the end of the season, with an option to buy.

Thanks to his awe-inspiring performance for Eupen where he finished the 2016-17 Belgian First Division A season as joint top-scorer with 22 goals, the winger was signed for Everton for a fee worth £7 million.

Nevertheless, he was sent to Anderlecht owing to his failure to get a work permit which would have seen him realise his ambition of playing in the Premier League.

After completing spells in Belgium and Galatasaray - where he won the 2018-19 Turkish Super Lig title, he was sold permanently to Ligue 1 giants Monaco. There he had struggled to find his feet at Stade Louis II and has been restricted to just four league games for Niko Kovac’s side.

He will now hope to rediscover his best form in familiar surroundings, with Gala president Mustafa Cengiz delighted to see ‘the son of the house’ retrace his steps after a tortuous period in France.

"Someone said something, you know, the son of the hand, the son of the house. I swear to God, I think Onyekuru is the son of the house,” Cengiz told the club website.

“For the third time, he insisted on asking for us thanks to Onyekuru, even though there were many teams who wanted him and it cost a lot to the club he came from.

“He didn't even look back on offers from other teams in Turkey or abroad. We thank him very much for his feelings of belonging and loyalty in this context. It's a stance. He didn't prefer money. He preferred his love."

For the 23-year-old, he is hoping to stay for a longer period with the 22-time Turkish league kings, while owing to give his all.

"First of all, I am very happy to be here again. I want to have a season where we can achieve the goals of the club, with plenty of goals and make everyone proud,” said the Super Eagle.

“I'm hoping to stay here longer. I spoke to our president, vice president and technical director, and they expressed their confidence in me. As always, I'm willing to give 100 percent.

“As I said before, my goal is to achieve more success with the club, win more trophies and make our fans proud. Hopefully, we will win both the league and the Turkish Cup."

He will wear jersey no. 7 in Fatih Terim’s squad and could be in line to make his debut on Friday against Gaziantep FK.

Renowned Ghanaian coach Bashir Hayford has lamented the nation's absence from the ongoing African Nation Championship in Cameroon.

Ghana, two-time finalists, are missing from the sixth edition of the tournament after failing to go past neighbours Burkina Faso during the qualifying series.

It is the third straight time the home-based Black Stars have failed to qualify for the competition.

"Ghana as a country does not set targets for the Chan tournament and that’s why we are always struggling to qualify," Hayford, currently head coach of Ghana Premier League side Legon Cities, told Hot FM.

"Football is a very different game where the team will have to be together for a certain period of time before competing but what do we see here in Ghana, sometimes two weeks preparations and this is not helping our teams at all, most especially our national teams."

Ghana finished as runners-up at the inaugural competition in Cote d'Ivoire in 2009, losing to DR Congo in the final.

After a group stage exit at the following edition in Sudan, the Black Stars bounced back once again, reaching their second final in three events at the 2014 gathering in South Africa.

Their second attempt to win a final, though, ended in disappointment one more time as they succumbed to Libya in a penalty shoot-out.

“I’m very surprised Ghana did not qualify for the Chan competition. For me, that is very strange. I believe Ghana has quality players to play in that competition," Hearts of Oak head coach Kosta Papic recently said on Ghana's absence from the showpiece in Cameroon.

After three straight appearances at Chan, Ghana missed out on the competition for the first time in 2016 when they lost out to Cote d'Ivoire on away goals rule after a 2-2 score on aggregate during the qualifiers. 

After their inability to make the tournament in Rwanda, the Black Stars saw disappointment in the race to Morocco 2018 after a 4-3 aggregate loss to Burkina Faso.

In the qualifiers for the ongoing championship in Cameroon, Ghana lost to Burkina Faso for the second straight time, this time by a 1-0 aggregate defeat.

The Black Stars will hope to make a return for the next edition of the competition in Algeria next year. 

West Ham are leading the race to sign Jesse Lingard on loan for the rest of the season, although the Manchester United attacker still does not know where he will be playing the remainder of the campaign.

Lingard has made just two starts for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side this season and has failed to play a single minute in the league during the current campaign, having fallen down the pecking order. 

It is understood Solskjaer was keen to keep the 28-year-old at Old Trafford as he wants a big squad as they attempt to compete for three trophies. However, after conversations between the pair, the United manager reluctantly agreed to let Lingard leave on loan.

It is understood a number of clubs have registered their interest, including Sheffield United, West Brom and various clubs abroad, but West Ham lead the race and Lingard would prefer to stay in the Premier League. 

However, while David Moyes’ side are the current favourites to land the 28-year-old, it is understood that, despite progress with Solskjaer last week, talks are still ongoing and Lingard is no clearer as to where he will be for the rest of the campaign and is hoping for a breakthrough this week.

"Jesse trained this morning, he wasn’t in the squad," Solskjaer said after Lingard was left out of the FA Cup clash to face Liverpool. “So, of course, he wants to play football, we will have to see and I will sit down with Jesse and make a decision on what we're going to do.

"So far, he’s been the ultimate professional, trained well with a small group this morning that were not in the squad. I will sit down and see if anything comes up. I'm very happy to have him around us as I know he could have played today and done well."

Lingard has made over 200 appearances for the club, having joined when he was just seven years old.

United triggered an extension in his contract just before Christmas which means his current deal runs until the end of 2022 season. He is highly regarded at Old Trafford but with playing time limited, he has been seeking an exit.

United are expecting a quiet last week of the window in terms of incomings but there are possibilities of a couple of outgoings, with Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo struggling for any game time.  

Uganda national team head coach Johnathan McKinstry has termed their final Group C match against Morocco in the African Nations Championship as a cup final given the high stakes it carries.

They need to win against the reigning champions if they have to book a place in the quarter-finals and McKinstry is hopeful they can beat the odds and advance.

Uganda’s loss to Togo in the second group game complicated their chances of earning a first-ever place in the knockout stage of Chan.

“We are into the last 48 hours before we play Morocco,” McKinstry is quoted as saying by the Fufa website.

“We are looking to create that cup final mentality. We need to go out and play the game. There is no next game at the moment. This is a cup final.

“We shall have a couple of new things because Morocco bring different challenges. We have asked the players to put in more effort, work rate and intelligence as they did in the second half against Togo.

“We have told them there is no quarter-final for the team until they play and get a result on Tuesday. We want to write a story for ourselves, the country and everyone back home.

“The odds are against us but we believe it is possible.”

Since they qualified for the tournament meant for players doing trade within their local leagues, McKinstry stressed the need to advance into the knockout stage and break the jinx that has been their story since they debuted in Chan.

On his part, goalkeeper Charles Lukwago said they are positive ahead of the decisive game against the Atlas Lions.

“We are positive and our targets set at the beginning of this campaign are still alive,” the KCCA FC goalkeeper and the captain said.

“We shall remain competitive as we head into the final game against Morocco. I know the challenge ahead but it all goes down to a positive mentality from my teammates when we walk on to the pitch.

“We want to create a great atmosphere.”

Uganda opened the competition with a draw against Rwanda before they stumbled against the Sparrowhawks. The Rwanda and Togo encounter is also carrying high stakes as none of the Group C’s team has sealed a place in the knockout phase.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has described his West Brom counterpart Sam Allardyce as a genius.

The two teams lock horns in the Premier League on Tuesday, and Guardiola is expecting a tough test for his side who can go top of the table with a win.

In stark contrast, the Baggies are scrambling for points in a bid to get themselves out of the relegation spaces.

In Allardyce, West Brom have a manager who is well versed in fighting relegation battles and was set a task of keeping the club up when he replaced Slaven Bilic in December.

Guardiola feels it is difficult to take the reins in the middle of a season, adding that he has huge admiration for the work Allardyce has done throughout his career.

"It is not easy to take over a team during the season, but against Wolves, Liverpool, other clubs, he got good results,” Guardiola told Sky Sports . “Sam Allardyce is a genius to take these teams when everyone believes it is over and get results.”

Since his appointment on December 16 , Allardyce’s West Brom have had some mixed results. They were thrashed 5-0 and 4-0 by Leeds and Arsenal respectively, but also beat Wolves and got a draw against Liverpool.

Guardiola feels those positive results are an indicator of the work Allardyce can do and feels they will boost the players’ confidence.

"The results give you an incredible boost, an incredible confidence,” Guardiola said. “What is first - do results make you play good, or do you play good if you get results? I think both are connected.

"We are just at the end of January, so it is just West Brom, trying to analyse them and make a good game to get another victory."

A win would propel City to the top of table, above Manchester United, but Guardiola feels it is too early in the season to be focused on the standings.

“The leader is United,” he said. “They are top of the league. The moment we have all games together we will see.

"Now we are not top of the league and the difference [to] third, fourth, fifth and sixth is so close, so narrow. But I didn't look at the table much when we were 12th and eight or nine points behind the leaders, and now is the same.”

The January transfer window is one of the most entertaining parts of the season for football fans as clubs sign new players and supporters get excited to see what these new arrivals can add.

Similarly, in FIFA 21 the January transfer window also opens up new possibilities for teams in Online Seasons and FIFA Ultimate Team.

People also often wait until after the transfer window closes (this season it will happen on February 1) to begin new challenges in Career Mode so that all the teams have their new squads for the rest of the season.

The January transfer period also results in some players getting upgraded ratings at their new clubs as part of the annual Ratings Refresh.

When are January transfers added to Online Seasons?

The online database for FIFA 21 is constantly updated with squad changes, dynamic ratings adjustments and other edits throughout the season.

This means that players who change clubs in real life will find their equivalent updated within a matter of days in FIFA 21.

When you start FIFA 21 or attempt to play online, you will see that a new squad update must be downloaded before you can continue.

These updates contain the latest transfer moves and other changes, meaning that real-life transfers will be processed very quickly in FIFA 21 for Online Seasons and Career Mode.

When are January transfers added to FIFA Ultimate Team?

The FIFA Ultimate Team database is updated less often than the Online Seasons database, but still gets regular updates as new players are added to FUT for Team of the Week, Squad Building Challenges and other promotions.

Additionally, roster changes are made on a semi-regular basis as transfers and loans happen.

During the month of January and into February, the latest transfers are added to the game, meaning players are usually added to their new clubs within a week or two after their real-life transfers.

Transfer updates are made in batches during January, rather than individually like in Online Seasons and Career Mode. So it may take up to two weeks before players are assigned to their new clubs.

When players are given new clubs, the previous version is removed from packs, which usually sees their price rise as they become more rare.

Will players get upgraded on FIFA 21 after the January transfers?

After the transfer window closes on February 1, the last batches of transfer updates will be made in Ultimate Team.

After this, EA Sports will do its annual Ratings Refresh, which sees the best-performing players from the season so far receive overall ratings boosts to their base cards.

Last season's Ratings Refresh saw players like Erling Haaland and Bruno Fernandes get upgraded and players like Jack Grealish and Gio Reyna could see their scores receive a bump in FIFA 21.

The Ratings Refresh usually begins in mid-February, so is likely to start on February 11 this year.

Will there be Ones to Watch players for January transfers?

Ones to Watch cards are awarded to players who have changed clubs and upgrade automatically every time that player is included in Team of the Week or gets a Man of the Match item.

At the start of the season, new Ones to Watch (OTW) cards were released, including players like new Chelsea signing Timo Werner and Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez.

In previous editions, additional OTW players were released after the January transfer window, but this did not happen in FIFA 20, so there is a doubt that it will return for FIFA 21.

Instead, EA Sports released Headliners cards which update automatically like OTW cards, but are for existing high-performing players rather than new arrivals at clubs.

It was almost a year ago that Odion Ighalo made the Deadline Day switch in January to join dream club Manchester United till the end of the season.

The enforced coronavirus break, however, led to an extension of the striker’s loan from Shanghai Shenhua, which ultimately proved to be the 31-year-old’s undoing.

Admittedly, rejecting the offer to stay at the club he’s loved almost all his life was probably never going to happen but, despite staying an extra six months with the Red Devils, lockdown in March was the worst thing that could have happened to the Nigerian.

Marcus Rashford’s return from injury post-lockdown and Man United’s top four chase meant Ole Gunnar Solskjaer relied heavily on nearly the same side for the majority of games in their run-in, with Ighalo’s minutes taking a significant hit.

While the 1999 Champions League winner admired and respected the West African frontman, there was a suggestion he never really trusted him to lead the line for the really important games, evidenced by that run of games at the backend of last season, the FA Cup semi-final snub vs Chelsea and eventual short-term acquisition of Edinson Cavani in the previous window.

The upshot of the aforementioned has seen the ex-Nigeria international feature for nine Premier League minutes while seeing even less time in the Champions League this term. He started twice in the EFL Cup against Luton Town and Brighton & Hove Albion but was dropped totally in subsequent rounds against Everton and Manchester City when the opponents posed a greater threat.

Even though his last start came way back in September, Ighalo seemingly has no hard feelings and remains honoured to have represented the club in the last year.

"It was a good one and a tough one. Before I came to United, I never thought I would play," the frontman told ESPN, reflecting on his time at the Theatre of Dreams. "I remember the night my agent called me to tell me Manchester United wanted me, it was 10 pm-11 pm Shanghai Time. I was under my bed naked; I didn't sleep until daybreak.

"I'm fulfilled as a football player, if I don't achieve anything from now when I finish my career I am fulfilled.”

The forward’s next move has been mooted, especially as he now enters the final week of his time in Manchester. A move to the MLS has done the rounds but there are some Premier League teams rumoured to be interested.

While he hasn’t played consistently since June, the ex-Watford man did show in his run-outs before the lockdown he’s by no means done yet and still has goals in him, in spite of his advanced years.

So, which PL sides could consider the retired Super Eagle?

Chris Wilder’s side have struggled for goals all season and will theoretically be helped by someone of Ighalo’s quality in the penalty area.

The Blades are the joint-lowest scorers in the league with 10 but are underperforming their expected goals of 18.4, largely due to not having the quality or enough end product in the attacking third.

Signing Rhian Brewster from Liverpool hasn’t helped in any way, so Wilder could look to the more experienced Ighalo to poach some goals in the second half of the campaign as Sheffield aim to avoid relegation.

Rumours of a move for Sevilla frontman Youssef En-Nesyri have circulated recently but it remains to be seen if it’ll be done this month.

Fears over the Morocco forward not bedding in straight away could lead David Moyes to a proven Premier League forward in Ighalo, due to his familiarity with football in England.

The seventh-placed Hammers could secure their highest domestic finish since moving to the London Stadium, and an experienced, largely dependable Ighalo could help their cause.

In a similar way to the Blades, Fulham’s position isn’t a fair reflection of their performances this season.

Scott Parker’s troops sit third-bottom in the table despite mostly playing well and showing tremendous growth since their opening 3-0 defeat by Arsenal at Craven Cottage.

Since that reverse, the Cottagers have largely tightened up at the back and have found the right balance in midfield, but still struggle for goals when it matters.

Before recent back-to-back defeats by Chelsea and Man United, they played out five successive draws which may have ended in wins had they had a capable goal scorer.

Ighalo ticks that box, somewhat, and a short-term deal should be considered by the West Londoners.

In truth, an argument can be made for almost every side in the bottom five to strike a short-term deal with the Nigerian due to his finishing ability but whether they swoop for the West African remains to be seen.

Ighalo seems to have unfinished business in the Premier League, though, and Nigerians will hope he sticks around for a while longer, especially after the underwhelming finish to his dream United spell.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for Aston Villa playmaker Jack Grealish, but Gabriel Agbonlahor doubts that a transfer to Emirates Stadium would appeal to the 25-year-old even if the Gunners could afford him.

Questions are being asked of whether those in north London would be able to find the funds required to complete such a transfer.

Ever since the days of Arsene Wenger’s iconic reign, Arsenal have favoured a frugal approach to recruitment.

Big money has been splashed at times, with Nicolas Pepe costing a club-record £72 million ($99m) fee, but the Gunners have tended to steer clear of lavish signings.

They would need to break the bank in order to land Grealish, with the England international signing a new long-term contract at Villa prior to the 2020-21 campaign getting underway.

It has been suggested that a nine-figure sum will be required to free him from that deal, with few clubs able to dig that deep – particularly as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause financial uncertainty.

Agbonlahor is not convinced that Arsenal could afford to be rivalling the likes of Manchester neighbours United and City if a scramble for Grealish’s signature is sparked.

He also believes that the fall from grace endured by the Gunners in recent times would work against them in any bid to lure another talented midfielder onto their books.

“There are so many clubs out there that would love to have him,” former Villa striker Agbonlahor told talkSPORT of the club’s much-coveted captain.

“Have Arsenal even got the money if they wanted to get him?

“I think the way Arsenal are at the moment, where they are in the league, their last 10 years, for me they aren’t one of the top six teams in the league.

“Even if they did have the money, I don’t think he’d choose to go to Arsenal anyway. That’s a shame with Arsenal’s big history in football.”

Mikel Arteta has been urged to join the clamour for Grealish’s signature if an exit door does open up at Villa Park, with former Gunners star Gilberto Silva telling the Invisible Wall Show: “Grealish, amazing. It seems like he could be a player that Arsenal missed.

“With his ability, he was one of the guys in the middle who can play beautiful football. He controls the ball, assists and can score goals.

“He is slightly different from Dennis Bergkamp, but he could be somebody for the future at Arsenal.”