Champions League talking points with Ger McCarthy

Here's a full list of the ins and outs of the January transfer window.

Seamus Coleman successfully came through just under an hour of football at Goodison Park last night as he played his first competitive match since breaking his leg last March.

Chelsea were last night linked with a shock move for veteran Stoke City striker Peter Crouch after an ankle injury to Andy Carroll ruled out a January switch to Stamford Bridge for the West Ham target man.

Everton boss Sam Allardyce has revealed the club are close to sealing a deal for Besiktas striker Cenk Tosun.

The January transfer window has not yet opened and already a huge deal has been agreed, with Virgil van Dijk heading from Southampton to Liverpool for what is understood to be £75million, the highest price ever paid for a defender.

You can set your watch by the smarmy self-confidence of a Liverpool manager.

Real Madrid are said to be plotting a £150m move for Harry Kane next summer, according to the papers.

Talks over extending Mesut Ozil’s contract at Arsenal are “going in a positive way”, according to the agent of the German midfielder.

Champions League round-up... Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as holders Real Madrid secured a 3-1 win at Borussia Dortmund to maintain their 100% record in Champions League Group H.

The third red card only came in the 85th minute…

Tottenham’s Harry Kane is relishing the prospect of facing Real Madrid following a Champions League draw which also saw Chelsea handed a showdown with Diego Costa’s former club Atletico Madrid.

Liverpool 4 Hoffenheim 2 (Liverpool win 6-3 on agg): Liverpool overpowered Hoffenheim 4-2 at Anfield to ease into the Champions League group stages with a 6-3 aggregate play-off victory last night.

Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare is looking forward to the “massive challenge” of facing Atletico Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Manchester United will play Belgian side Anderlecht in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Twin attacks by a suicide bomber and a car bomber near an Istanbul football stadium have killed 38 people.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists Mamadou Sakho does not have to regain his trust after a difficult four months but may have a tough time finding his way back into the team.

Pep Guardiola will return to Barcelona with Manchester City after his new club were paired with the Catalan giants in the Champions League.

Zinedine Zidane has hinted that Real Madrid are still interested in signing the Manchester United target Paul Pogba, insisting “anything can happen”.

Northern Ireland 0 Germany 1: Defeat on the night for Northern Ireland but it was one that ended with history being written as Michael O’Neill’s side advanced to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 thanks to the heroics of Michael McGovern and a Turkish win in Lens.

Republic of Ireland Euro 2016 opponents Sweden and Italy began their build-up to this summer’s tournament with disappointing results on a busy night of international friendlies.

Liverpool and Chelsea target Alex Teixeira has reportedly told Shakhtar Donetsk that he wants to join Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

Swansea City 0 Arsenal 3<br>Joel Campbell was on the verge of leaving Arsenal in the summer after four, frustrating years at the Emirates. A switch to Besiktas had been planned and the 23-year-old Costa Rican international was poised to re-launch his career in Turkey.

Tottenham 2  Qarabag 1 Europa League Group J

Liverpool 0 West Ham 3: Buried amid the cacophany of West Ham’s first victory at Anfield in over half a century was the simple fact that several months of hard work and apparent improvement by Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers apparently dissipated in 90 traumatic minutes.

West Ham had their recent poor disciplinary record laid bare again on Thursday as both defender James Collins and manager Slaven Bilic were sent off in a 2-2 draw with Astra Giurgiu.

West Ham were left red-faced on Thursday night as their Europa League victory over FC Lusitans was over-shadowed by claims of a lack of respect from new Hammers boss Slaven Bilic.

Slaven Bilic is in no doubt he has joined a club going places after being named the new manager of West Ham on a three-year deal.

Jose Mourinho expects the summer transfer market to be “like Wall Street collapsing” as rivals attempt to reel in his Chelsea side.

Arsene Wenger accepts either Arsenal or Manchester United will have little option but to “deal with the consequences” of ending up in the Champions League qualifiers which can overshadow all pre-season preparations.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has opened talks with Turkish club Besiktas over a summer move, according to his agent.

FA Cup Quarter-Final

Liverpool 2, Man City 1:

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits their Europa League exit may yet prove to be a blessing in disguise.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers leapt to the defence of Dejan Lovren after the centre-back’s failure from the spot proved crucial in their defeat to Besiktas on penalties.