England defender set for Newcastle United medical, Wolves sign Japan international as Liverpool training ground temporarily closed

Trippier is set to join Newcastle United after a £12million fee plus add-ons was agreed in principle.

The England international is expected on Tyneside for a medical to become Newcastle’s first signing of the January transfer window.

Trippier was absent from Altetico Madrid training on Tuesday morning following a transfer offer from Newcastle.

Newcastle hope to be busy this month as they look to bolster their squad ahead of a battle against the drop in the second half of the season.

And Trippier would signal the first piece of the jigsaw, a high profile signing to improve Newcastle’s defence.

Wolves have signed Japan international Hayao Kawabe from Grasshoppers.

The midfielder has penned a three-and-a-half-year deal at Molineux to become the club’s first ever Japanese player.

He is expected to return to Switzerland at the end of January to complete the season on loan at Grasshoppers.

Kawabe has impressed in the Swiss Super League after joining from Sanfrecce Hiroshima last summer and has made 18 appearances, scoring four goals and assisting three.

Covid outbreak at Liverpool forces temporary training ground closure

Liverpool’s assistant manager Pep Lijnders has become the latest positive Covid-19 case at the club, throwing their Carabao Cup semi-final at Arsenal into further doubt.

With manager Jurgen Klopp and three players – Alisson Becker, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino – already isolating, Lijnders, who took charge of the team for Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea, recorded a positive test late on Tuesday night.

That was after Liverpool had made a submission to the EFL to postpone Thursday’s first-leg clash at the Emirates after further positive cases among the squad and other player availability issues linked to illness and injury.

The club cancelled training on Tuesday and have been advised to temporarily shut the first-team training centre at Kirkby and it is understood it is likely to remain closed for at least 48 hours.

That decision was made after consulting with relevant public health authorities following further suspected positive cases overnight and this morning in addition to Lijnders.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor