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.

The joys of Cardiff on a Monday night in October.

You’ll remember the bottle of gin from Friday. The hipsterish Brooklyn Gin with the hand-cracked juniper berries and freshly cut citrus peels. The seal remains unbroken.

James McClean sent the Republic of Ireland into a World Cup play-off as Wales' hopes of qualification were ended by a 1-0 defeat in Cardiff.

Here's what we learned from Ireland's win over Wales.

James McClean sent the Republic of Ireland into a World Cup play-off as Wales' hopes of qualification were ended by a 1-0 defeat in Cardiff.

Wales teenager Ben Woodburn has been backed to “thrive” and fill the huge void left by Gareth Bale’s World Cup absence.

Wales suffered a blow to their hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup when Gareth Bale was ruled out of the final two qualifiers.

The Republic of Ireland have received a big boost with the news that Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales final two World Cup qualifiers.

Chris Coleman insists England Under-20 international David Brooks deserves his Wales call despite acknowledging that it "will cause ripples the other side of the bridge".

Leicester 2 Liverpool 0: Leicester punished wasteful Liverpool to clinch a 2-0 win and dump the Reds out of the Carabao Cup.

Any honest assessment of Martin O’Neill’s stewardship of the Irish team has to begin with the acknowledgement that he has not been dealt a great hand in terms of the quality of the players at his disposal, writes Liam Brady.

Wales struck twice in the final 10 minutes to record a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Moldova and boost their World Cup qualification hopes.

Here are the lessons we've learned after Ireland's 1-0 loss to Serbia.

Chris Coleman savoured a night to remember for Welsh football as Liverpool teenager Ben Woodburn made a dream international debut.d.

Ben Woodburn kept Wales' World Cup qualification hopes alive with a dream debut winner against Austria.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is happy to be bringing a lead back to Anfield for the second leg of their Champions League play-off against Hoffenheim despite another late defensive lapse.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah will bring the speed he needs to make the squad more effective.

It is believed negotiations over his contract at Stamford Bridge faltered over his concerns about a lack of playing time.

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane was a double winner at the club's end of season awards ceremony.

Premier League talking points

Stoke City 1 Liverpool 2: Liverpool’s Champions League challenge is taking their players to their absolute limits — but manager Jurgen Klopp admitted he played his ‘get out of jail’ card at Stoke City.

I’m not getting through this season mentally unscathed, by the looks of things.

Injuries and illness threaten to derail Liverpool’s bid for Champions League football after Sadio Mane was ruled out for the rest of the season and Philippe Coutinho has taken unwell.

Wales manager Chris Coleman has revealed he considered playing for Ireland but his Irish father Paddy told him to pledge his future to Wales.

Liverpool consolidated fourth spot in the Premier League with a come-from-behind 2-1 home victory over Burnley.

Former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler is confident the club’s newly-crowned youngest goalscorer Ben Woodburn will not be allowed to let his new-found fame go to his head.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

Liverpool 2 Leeds 0: Ben Woodburn had a grin as big as the Mersey as he left the pitch, the youngest goalscorer in Liverpool’s long and illustrious history.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists they can handle the absence of injured playmaker Philippe Coutinho, beginning against Leeds United tonight.

Liverpool had a late injury scare around new centre-back Joel Matip in a comfortable 2-0 friendly win over Championship side Wigan at the DW Stadium yesterday.