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Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has distanced himself from speculation he could replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid in the summer.

Ancelotti is under significant pressure in Madrid after an underwhelming start to the season, with club officials said to be prepared to accelerate their plans to hire Alonso this summer, rather than wait until Ancelotti’s contract expires in 2026.

It was reported earlier this week, however, that Ancelotti has already communicated his plan to step down as Madrid manager at the end of the season, freeing the Spanish side up to pursue Alonso.

Ahead of Leverkusen’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, Alonso was unsurprisingly quizzed on his thoughts about the speculation.

“Already questions on Real Madrid?” he laughed. “Time goes by but the affection remains.

“Our bond is very strong, that is clear, but my total focus is on Bayer Leverkusen now, that’s in my mind. I’m calm. I have enough things to worry about, it’s not on my mind right now.”

Like Ancelotti, Alonso’s contract with Leverkusen is due to expire in 2026 but he is widely expected to depart this summer in search of a new challenge. Madrid are known to be keen to hire Alonso eventually and are even thought to be looking to bring midfielder Florian Wirtz over with him.

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Barcelona and Real Madrid both drew away ties for next month’s Copa del Rey quarter-finals, with the Catalan giants up against relegation-battling Valencia while their Clasico rivals make the short trip across the Spanish capital to Leganes.

Both Spanish giants racked up five goals in their round-of-16 victories, but they enjoyed and endured wildly contrasting performances. While Barcelona convincingly thrashed Real Betis 5-1, Madrid were forced to extra time by Celta Vigo and needed a late brace from Endrick to eventually secure a 5-2 win.

Atletico Madrid breezed past Elche and have been paired with city rivals Getafe in the quarters.

The final tie in the last eight pits Real Sociedad against Osasuna. La Real’s fearsome Basque rivals Athletic Club are the defending Copa del Rey champions, but were knocked out of the competition last week by none other than Osasuna.

There is no time to lose for the Spanish federation when it comes to the scheduling of the Copa del Rey. The quarter-finals are set to be held during the first midweek of February, with ties spread across 4, 5 and 6.

These fixtures come just a week after the final round of league phase matches in the new-fangled Champions League format.

Barcelona are all but guaranteed of a spot in the competition’s last 16, while Atletico are well placed to make it into the knockout stages. Real Madrid, by comparison, have plenty of work to do to ensure that they are still in Europe’s premier club competition by the time the Copa del Rey quarter-finals roll around.

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Arsenal and Manchester City are both reportedly interesting in signing Rosenborg teenager Sverre Nypan.

The Norwegian prodigy has predictably been compared to his compatriot Martin Odegaard, who also caught the eye in his nation’s top flight while he was still a teenager before moving to Real Madrid and later Arsenal. Nypan is yet to play with the Gunners’ skipper for Norway’s senior side, but has been capped at under-21 level despite only turning 18 in December.

Nypan was an undisputed regular in Rosenborg’s midfield throughout the 2024 season, racking up an impressive eight goals – a tally only one of his teammates could better across the campaign – alongside seven assists as he was crowned the Best Young Player in Norway’s top flight.

The Telegraph report that Arsenal are interested in the buccaneering teen, while Norwegian outlet TV2 claim that Manchester City are sniffing around the midfielder, who is thought to be valued in the region of £10-11m.

Nypan has been attracting interest from Europe’s elite ever since he made his top-flight debut for Rosenborg in November 2022 as a 15-year-old. Unlike Odegaard, who was also mixing it in the Eliteserien before his 16th birthday, Nypan turned down advances from multiple continental giants, with Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain all thought to have been interested.

As Rosenborg’s director of football Mikael Dorsin reluctantly admitted, it appears that Nypan may finally move on this month. “We have Sverre here as long as he is here, and then we will see what happens,” the former Sweden international told TV2 this month. “We are happy for the time we get to have him here and we understand that there is a lot of interest around him.”

Arsenal have reportedly lined up a £51m move Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer, while Manchester City are mulling over a bid for their former player Douglas Luiz in search of central reinforcements. Both of those options have far more experience and are naturally more defensively minded than Nypan.

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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are continuing to show interest in signing Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid, reports claim.

The 24-year-old, who finished runner-up to Rodri in last year’s Ballon d’Or vote and was later crowned Best FIFA Men’s Player, was reported to be a transfer target for the cash-rich Saudi Pro League last summer.

Khaled Al Issa, a director at Al Ahli, later confirmed that his club had been interested in signing Vinicius after allowing Allan Saint-Maximin to join Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce – but that “something unexpected happened” that forced the Saudi giants to pursue a deal for Brentford striker Ivan Toney instead.

ESPN report that contact was re-established with Vinicius’ representatives by PIF in December, largely to show the Brazilian that he remains one of their top priorities.

“There isn’t anything at all,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said at the time in regards to Vinicius potentially leaving. “Of course speculation doesn’t affect [Vinicius]. He’s here, he wants to be here. He wants to do his best and help Real Madrid.

“We have our project and we continue in that. We have a squad of great quality. We’ve lost important players and we’ve brought in others who have to adapt. We have to work to maintain the atmosphere, and the commitment, which was the key last year.”

Vinicius played a starring role in Madrid winning a record-extending 15th Champions League crown last May, while his 15 La Liga goals helped the club secure a 36th title ahead of Clasico rivals Barcelona.

He spoke of his desire to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu in the coming years during his FIFA Men’s Best Player award speech, and is regarded by the Spanish giants to be a cornerstone of the club’s future alongside Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Vinicius was named La Liga Player of the Month in November and then picked up the FIFA Intercontinental Cup Golden Ball and Player of the Tournament awards in December after helping Real Madrid beat Pachuca in the final of FIFA’s version of the Club World Cup.

As for the Saudi Pro League, they continue to boast marquee names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, and are keen to land Mohamed Salah on a free transfer this summer with his contract at Premier League leaders Liverpool up.

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Having finally hit their stride under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea are enduring a miserable period at the beginning of the new year.

The problems began during the end of December as Chelsea slumped to surprise defeats against Fulham and Ipswich Town, with subsequent Premier League draws with Crystal Palace and Bournemouth hardly raising confidence levels. They have the chance to rediscover their form against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night.

Chelsea are not inundated with injuries at present but Enzo Maresca has warned that Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are all doubts for the visit of Wolves. The Italian has admitted that none of the four trained on Friday, although they are still in contention to feature.

Here is how how Chelsea could line up against Wolves.

GK: Robert Sanchez – Despite regular mistakes, Sanchez seemingly still has the backing of Maresca. The Spaniard’s distribution was questionable yet again during the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth midweek and he was beaten too easily at his near post by Antoine Semenyo.

RB: Reece James – The Cobham graduate rescued Chelsea with a 95th-minute free kick on Tuesday evening and could be in line for a first Premier League start since the draw at Old Trafford in early November.

CB: Trevoh Chalobah – Having been recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, Chalobah could be immediately chucked into the starting lineup against Wolves. Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana are injured, Tosin Adarabioyo is out of favour and Josh Acheampong struggled against Bournemouth.

CB: Levi Colwill – Despite being a doubt for Monday, Colwill should feature if remotely fit given Chelsea’s centre-back woes. The likes of Adarabioyo and the versatile Renato Veiga can replace him if needed.

LB: Marc Cucurella – The Spaniard was at the heart of controversy involving Bournemouth’s David Brooks on Tuesday and will be keen for a less eventful evening against Wolves.

DM: Moises Caicedo – Caicedo was initially used at right-back against Bournemouth but was restored to defensive midfield during the second half. That’s where he should start on Monday against his South American counterparts Joao Gomes and Andre.

DM: Enzo Fernandez – While also a doubt for Monday, Fernandez will be needed given the absence of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and question marks over Lavia’s fitness.

RW: Pedro Neto – Noni Madueke scored a hat-trick in the fixture earlier in the season but it could be former Wolves star Neto who is given the nod. The energetic Portuguese has impressed when called upon since his summer switch.

AM: Cole Palmer – Palmer will be assessed closer to kick-off after receiving some rough treatment from Bournemouth midweek. He’s another who will be guaranteed a starting berth if deemed fit enough to feature.

LW: Jadon Sancho – Sancho completed more dribbles than any other player against the Cherries and his direct approach could unnerve a Wolves side lacking in confidence. The Old Gold have conceded eight in their last three league games.

ST: Nicolas Jackson – The Senegalese striker looked like the Jackson of old midweek, spurning several glorious opportunities. He did provide an assist for Palmer’s effort but failed to score despite an expected goals total of 1.11.

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