RULE CHANGE NEEDED: DANIEL FARKE RILED BY DONNARUMMA'S 'SMART MOVE.'
Leeds boss Farke was 'riled' by Donnarumma's tactical injury pause, which allowed Pep Guardiola to coach. Farke suggests changing football rules.
Farke was disappointed after the loss, and one instance really bothered him. Around the 60-minute mark, City's goalkeeper, Donnarumma, signalled for medical help. During this pause, City's manager, Guardiola, gathered his other ten players to give them new instructions because Leeds had adjusted their formation. Even though Leeds managed to tie the score, City ultimately won. Farke wasn't pleased with Donnarumma's actions. The German coach avoided criticising Guardiola directly but suggested that a rule change might be needed to prevent similar situations.
We all know why he went down, right? It's pretty obvious. If you want my opinion on why he went down, well, it was clear, Farke said. It's within the rules, and it's a smart move. Whether I agree with it in terms of fair play is another matter, and I'll leave it to the officials to figure out a solution. Since it's within the rules, I asked the fourth official if he could do something, but he said his hands were tied. If we don't teach our players about fair play and sportsmanship, and if we try to bend the rules by faking an injury to get an extra team talk, I don't personally like it. But if it's allowed, I can't really complain.
Farke added, I suggest that if this happens, any close call should favour the away team. And if the score is tied 2-2 after 90 minutes, I’d end the game rather than adding extra time. There are ways to stop this. The keeper went down for a reason; an outfield player would have to leave the field. I doubt the authorities will find a solution that promotes fair play. I am not criticising my colleague. It's not that Guardiola himself went down. If there’s time and it’s due to an injury, I would do the same. We have a great relationship, and Pep is the best manager on the planet. He’s great at adjusting tactics during a game; nobody does it better. I’m not criticising Pep at all. Everyone knows these things happen.
THE ALONSO FACTOR: WHY SPURS MUST AIM HIGHER TO SECURE XABI ALONSO'S TACTICAL GENIUS
Xabi Alonso is a free agent! Discover why Tottenham are being urged to swap Thomas Frank for the former Real Madrid manager.
Tottenham Hotspur are being pushed to swap out Thomas Frank for Xabi Alonso.
But if the club want Alonso, they’ll need to aim higher with their transfer targets.
Alonso’s available now—he just left his job as Real Madrid manager on Monday. Funny thing is, he’d only gone back to Madrid last summer, and here he is, out the door after just eight months.
His last game? A tough one. Real Madrid lost the Spanish Super Cup final to Barcelona. Not exactly the way you want to bow out. For now, Alvaro Arbeloa steps in as caretaker boss.
Alonso’s still a hot property, though. Look at what he did at Bayer Leverkusen—won the league and the cup and led them to their first Bundesliga title in an unbeaten season in 2023/24. Even with the rocky spell at Madrid—rumours of clashes with players like Vinicius Jr and some grumbling about his insistence on playing 4-4-2—clubs still want him.
Simon Jordan from talkSPORT thinks Alonso’s nearly perfect for Tottenham. In fact, he wants him there. Jordan says, “I’d like them to go for Alonso because these owners who’ve been unfairly criticising Daniel Levy deserve a reality check. If Alonso comes in, he won’t put up with any nonsense about signing players like Conor Gallagher. He’ll want the big names, the best players. And if you thought Antonio Conte was a headache for Levy, wait till you see Alonso in charge after what we saw at Real Madrid.”
Daniel Levy, the club’s long-time executive chairman, stepped down in September after 25 years. A big change, considering how long he ran things.
Now, Spurs are close to signing Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid for £35 million. He’s already agreed to a five-and-a-half-year deal, stretching to the summer of 2031.
This would be the eighth signing for Thomas Frank, who took over from Ange Postecoglou last summer. But the pressure is mounting. Frank’s already getting flak from fans—Spurs are 14th in the league, eight points away from the top four after 21 matches, and just got dumped out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa.
Still, the club is standing by Frank for now, letting him shape the squad his way.
THE WORLD CUP DREAM: WHY ERIC DIER IS EYEING A PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN
Eric Dier is back on the radar! Discover why Nuno Espirito Santo wants to bring the former Spurs star to West Ham this January.
Eric Dier has a shot to get back into the Premier League, but it’s not exactly a soft landing. If he joins West Ham, he’s diving straight into a relegation fight.
He spent ten years at Tottenham before heading to Bayern Munich on loan in January 2024, then made that move permanent by season’s end. Not long after, Dier signed for Monaco on a free ahead of the 2025/26 season. He hit the ground running in France—started eight out of Monaco’s first nine games and even wore the captain’s armband twice.
Then everything stopped. A hamstring injury, followed by calf trouble in October, cut his momentum short and kept him out for the rest of 2025. He didn’t play again until January 10, when he came off the bench in Monaco’s Coupe de France win over US Orleans.
Now, reports say West Ham want him. Like plenty of English players abroad, Dier apparently wants to come back home and push for a World Cup spot this year. The timing’s tricky, though. West Ham sit 18th in the league, seven points adrift of safety.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team hasn’t won a Premier League game since early November, when they edged Burnley 3-2. At least they finally snapped a ten-game winless streak in all competitions, scraping a 2-1 FA Cup victory over QPR last weekend.
After that game, Santo admitted he’s still “trying to rebalance the squad” and said they “still need bodies”—a clear hint at more signings in January.
If Dier joins, he’ll be the club’s third new arrival this window. Pablo already came in from Gil Vicente for £18.3m after bagging 10 goals in 13 Portuguese league games—Nuno’s first signing as coach. Then Taty Castellanos joined from Lazio for £21m, debuted the next day against Nottingham Forest, and wasted no time—he scored the winner against QPR in the FA Cup.
Dier and Santo already know each other pretty well from their Spurs days; Dier started 11 out of Santo’s 17 matches in charge. That history could give Dier a running start if he lands in East London.