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The worst January transfers every year since the winter window started | Simon Burnton

Some got roughed up by Gary Neville, others had an obsession with Twitter, but from Michael Ricketts to Oumar Niasse, these players all have a dismal January transfer in commonAt 11.30pm on the first ever January transfer deadline day, Middlesbrough sealed the signing of the striker who was intended to revolutionise their team. “I was stuck in a rut at Bolton, training was the same all the time, things weren’t going the way I planned,” he revealed. “Hopefully that’s going to change here.” It didn’t change there: at the end of the following season, 18 months, 12 league starts and three goals after his arrival, he left for Leeds on a free transfer. Related: Premier League’s fear of the drop...

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Celtic reap reward of Moussa Dembélé’s rendezvous with Brendan Rodgers | David Hytner

Since being persuaded to move to Glasgow at a meeting in London, the young French striker has created a real buzz with his goalscoring exploitsHad things worked out differently, Moussa Dembélé would have worn the white of Tottenham Hotspur and be preparing for the club’s Champions League tie against CSKA Moscow at Wembley on Wednesday night. There would also have been the thing about the name clash.How would he and Mousa Dembélé have been differentiated? “I will go to another club, then,” the Tottenham and Belgium midfielder with the single S had joked in April. “Or, they’ll need to find a nickname for him. We’ll see …” Related: Celtic end Manchester City’s winning run with thrilling Champions League draw Continue...

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Foreign ownership of English football clubs may chip away at game’s core | Richard Williams

Leicester’s Thai owners have been a success but there are others who have suffered with owners who do not have a club’s best interests at heartOn the eve of the home match against Crystal Palace last weekend, the players and staff of Leicester City interrupted their final training session to stand in a circle and observe a minute’s silence in memory of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, whose 70-year reign had ended with his death a few days earlier. The following day, on the pitch at their stadium, they posed for a rather unusual pre-match team picture. Front and centre, held by their captain, Wes Morgan, was a large gold‑framed photograph of the monarch. The players were wearing black armbands....

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