Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has described his assistant coach Chris Davies – who Swansea City want as their new boss – as an “outstanding individual”.

Davies is a leading candidate to succeed Michael Duff as Swans head coach, but the Championship club have had an approach rejected by Spurs.

The former Celtic assistant boss joined Tottenham’s staff when Postecoglou was appointed manager earlier this year.

READ MORE: Davies yet to make Swans decision – Postecoglou

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson regrets calling the club’s supporters “spoiled” after they jeered his players off the pitch in midweek.

Hodgson said fans had been “spoiled here in recent times”, but apologised before Saturday’s visit of Liverpool.

“I am distressed by my comments and choice of word, which I bitterly regret,” he said.

Palace suffered a third consecutive loss at Selhurst Park as they were beaten by Bournemouth, and they have not won on home turf since a 3-2 victory over Wolves on 3 September.

An object was also thrown at Hodgson from the crowd as he made his way towards the tunnel after the defeat to Andoni Iraola’s side.

The 76-year-old added of the fans: “I would be devastated if they didn’t think I appreciated them.

“I can understand their frustration so I owe them an apology because they’ve been so good to me during my five years at the club.

“Everyone came to the game thinking we’d get some points on the board, so to have that hope taken away by a combination of things is hard.

“We didn’t play nearly as close as we wanted to do, but it’s gone now and we have to get over it.”

Federico Gatti scored the only goal as Juventus edged defending champions Napoli to move top of Serie A.

Napoli had the better of the first half but couldn’t make their chances count.

Victor Osimhen had the opportunity to equalise but was unable to capitalise on Wojciech Szczesny’s poor kick.

The win moves Juventus one point clear of Inter Milan at the top of the table.

Napoli, meanwhile, remain fifth.

Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund are working on a swap deal which would see England winger Jadon Sancho, 23, return to the Bundesliga club – with 24-year-old Netherlands forward Donyell Malen heading in the opposite direction. (Sport Bild – in German)

Chelsea are prepared to pay whatever it takes to sign striker 24-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen from Napoli in January. (Football Transfers)

Manchester United are willing to sell 31-year-old Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen in the January transfer window. (Football Insider)

United and Liverpool have joined a host of top clubs who are targeting Fulham’s Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha. (TeamTalk)

However, Bayern Munich are unlikely to make another approach for the 28-year-old Palhinha in January. (Sky Sports Germany – in German).

Tottenham will consider selling Brazil forward Richarlison, 26, in January amid interest from Saudi Arabia. (Football Insider)

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has played down suggestions that the club will look to replace injured defender Joel Matip in the January transfer window. (Mirror)

Former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui is open to replacing under-pressure Steve Cooper as Nottingham Forest manager having recently rejected a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. (Talksport)

Aston Villa’s French midfielder Morgan Sanson, 29, wants to make his loan move to OGC Nice a permanent one. (Get France Football News)

Barcelona want £12.8m (15m euros) from Bayern Munich for France defender Clement Lenglet, with the 28-year-old interested in a move to Germany if Aston Villa are willing to cut short his loan deal given his lack of game time for the West Midlands club. (Sport – in Spanish)

West Ham are open to offers for Maxwel Cornet, 27, with the club ready to cut their losses on the Ivory Coast winger 15 months into his five-year contract. (Talksport)

AC Milan and Napoli face competition from several Premier League clubs for the signature of Monza’s Italian goalkeeper Michele di Gregorio, 26. (Tuttomercatoweb – in Italian)

Manchester United are set to battle Manchester City for the signature of Lille’s French defender Leny Yoro, 18. (Mirror)

Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth is a target for Manchester United to head up their new footballing department under Sir Jim Ratcliffe. (90min)

Barcelona are keen to sign Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, 26, in January with the Nigerian international’s Foxes contract set to expire next summer. (Sport – in Spanish)

Cristiano Ronaldo marked the 1,200th professional match of his career by scoring one goal and assisting another for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo thanked all those who have helped him reach the landmark – but added that he was “not done yet”.

The Portugal forward is the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer with 16 goals in 15 games this season.

Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton is acknowledged as holding the record for the most competitive professional appearances in the men’s game with 1,387.

The Saudi Pro League confirmed on social media that Ronaldo had reached the milestone and the player later posted on Instagram: “Three more points! Thankful to all my team-mates who helped me reach my 1,200th match. What a ride, but we’re not done yet.”

Ronaldo also marked his 1,000th senior appearance with a goal in February 2020, scoring for Juventus in Serie A.

In June, he became the first men’s player to make 200 international appearances when he featured for Portugal against Iceland, and he is also the top international goal scorer with 128 goals.

Among his club career appearance records, Ronaldo tops the list for all-time appearances in the Champions League (183), in which he represented Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

He also became the first player in history to score 800 top-level career goals when he surpassed that total playing for Manchester United in December 2021 and has since breached the 850-goal mark.

Al-Nassr remain second in the table, seven points behind leaders Al-Hilal.

How Ronaldo reached 1,200 games

• Sporting – 31 games
• Manchester United – 346 games
• Real Madrid – 438 games
• Juventus – 134 games
• Al Nassr – 46 games
• Portugal – 205 games

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said the onus is on Jadon Sancho to do what is required to facilitate his return to the club’s first-team squad.

Ten Hag said at the time he had been excluded because his training performances were below standard.

“He knows what he has to do, it is up to him,” Ten Hag said.

Ten Hag said Sancho, who joined United from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund for £73m in July 2021, must buy into the ethos he has created at the club.

The Dutchman has been determined to improve discipline at United since his arrival in Old Trafford 18 months ago.

When asked at news conference if Sancho’s time was up amid talk of a move away in January, Ten Hag said: “What will happen there, he knows what he has to do, if he wants to return it is up to him.

“It is about a culture and every player has to match certain standards and it was about that.”

United said in a statement in September that Sancho would be on a “personal training programme away from the first team”.

The statement added that the decision was made “pending resolution of a squad discipline issue”.

Last season, Sancho spent three months battling physical and mental issues, with Ten Hag at one point saying the England international was not fit enough to play.

Sancho has scored 24 goals in 92 appearances for United but has not featured since 3-2 home win over Nottingham Forest on 26 August.

Sixth-placed United host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.

Callum O’Hare scored his first Coventry City goals in more than 19 months as the Sky Blues comfortably beat Wayne Rooney’s Birmingham City at the CBS Arena.

He then dribbled his way sideways across the box before slamming home the clinching second goal on 77 minutes.

It was a fifth successive away defeat for Blues boss Rooney, whose side have picked up just five points from his nine games in charge – and have not earned a single point on their travels since 19 August, two months prior to his appointment.

Although Blues were weakened at the back by injuries, it could have been worse but for a string of saves by keeper John Ruddy.

More to follow.

Football Focus’ Alex Scott sits down with Harry Maguire to discuss his recent form for Manchester United and what it means to be named November’s Premier League player of the month.

Watch Football Focus at 12:00 GMT on Saturday, 8 December on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app.

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Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes says women are used to “systemic misogyny”, following comments made by ex-footballer Joey Barton on X criticising women working in the men’s game.

READ MORE: Emma Hayes says women are used to ‘systemic misogyny’ following comments

The Women’s Super League returns following the international break as the league’s top two sides face off on Sunday.

Meanwhile, managers juggle the return of players from representing their respective nations and could Everton be forced to play with one defender?

Here are the key talking points before the weekend’s fixtures.

‘You don’t want to miss this game’

Jonas Eidevall’s Arsenal take on six-time WSL winners Chelsea on Sunday in what could ultimately be a crucial match in the title race.

Should Emma Hayes’ side secure victory they will have created a six-point gap between themselves and closest rivals Arsenal.

But a win for the Gunners at an almost sold-out Emirates could peg back Chelsea’s charge for a fifth consecutive title.

“We’re 2,000 tickets short of being sold out so let’s push – you don’t want to miss this game,” said Eidevall.

Both managers were keen to downplay the significance of the contest with Eidevall saying “the performance is always the focus” and Hayes said it is “business as usual” for her side.

“You can’t approach any game as bigger or smaller than another, you have to approach everything in exactly the same way,” said Hayes.

“Arsenal are an unbelievable counter attacking team. They are a team that have been together for a long period of time. They are a top team.”

Chelsea will be boosted by the return of Norway midfielder Guro Reiten, who was last season’s top assist-maker but has been out since October with an ankle injury.

Quick turnaround for England players after ‘difficult’ few days

It is a tight turnaround for players returning from international duty and getting back to club football, with England failing to reach the Nations League semi-final and, in turn, missing out on qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics on behalf of Team GB on Tuesday.

England beat Scotland 6-0 in their final group match but it was not by a sufficient goal margin to progress to the finals ahead of the Netherlands, who beat Belgium 4-0.

Manchester City host Aston Villa on Saturday at 12:30 GMT and manager Gareth Taylor said it had been a “difficult couple of days” for the England players.

“It impacted a lot of our players one way or the other,” said Taylor.

“I spoke to them about the experience and what they were feeling because it was really tough to watch.

“It’s obviously really disappointing that the players won’t be making the Olympics. That’s football and it’s really fine margins.”

Aston Villa manager Carla Ward said she had spoken to England and Villa striker Rachel Daly who was “gutted” about the result.

“Rach is a passionate person that takes a lot of pride in playing for her country,” said Ward.

“Of course it’s going to hurt but it’s not just Rach – if you forget the Olympics we’ve had an awful lot of players away playing for their countries and it’s different emotions you always have to manage when they come back in.”

One at the back?

Football managers like to try new things to get the best out of their team but when injury strikes it can be difficult to come up with solutions.

Everton boss Brian Sorensen was already dealing with injury problems before the international break with midfielder Lucy Hope and defender Elise Stenevik out with long-term injuries.

Now, several players have returned from representing their countries with fresh injury concerns, leaving the Danish boss questioning what formation he will have to play on Sunday when his side face West Ham.

“We have one defender basically,” said Sorensen. “It’s very frustrating. You’ll probably see a new formation – maybe a 1-6-3 formation and we’ll see how that goes,” he joked.

Denmark defender Katrine Veje rolled her ankle while playing in the Nations League while experienced midfielder Justine Vanhaevermaet came off with a foot injury while playing for Belgium, with both set to be out until after Christmas.

“It’s a significant amount of players we don’t have available. It is what it is. We have to deal with it,” said Sorensen.