Tuesday’s briefing: Strand Larsen headlines quiet deadline day

Crystal Palace were busy on the final day of the transfer window as Jorgen Strand Larsen arrived from Wolves for a club-record fee while Jean-Philippe Mateta’s immediate future remains at Selhurst Park.

Arsenal were unable to replace Mikel Merino on deadline day after finding out he will miss the remainder of the season.

Burnley took one step closer to relegation after they failed to register a shot on target in a heavy defeat at Sunderland.

Crystal Palace completed the club-record signing of Norway forward Strand Larsen from Wolves on a four-and-a-half-year deal for £48million.

Palace made a move for Strand Larsen after they granted Jean-Philippe Mateta’s wish to leave the club in this winter transfer window – but the France international’s proposed switch to Serie A giants AC Milan fell through.

It did not stop Palace from making the biggest deal of deadline day. Strand Larsen scored 14 goals for Wolves in 2024-25 and though he has yet to score a league goal from open play this season, he will hope his fortunes can change to help pull Palace away from the bottom three.

Strand Larsen said: “I’m really excited to come to Crystal Palace. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. I’m here to bring energy and goals, and to try to do my best for the club.”

Mikel Arteta admitted Arsenal were “actively looking at options” to replace Mikel Merino in the closing hours of the window but were unable to bring in a replacement.

Merino is set to be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a fractured right foot which requires surgery and Arteta admitted he did not want to take any chances by leaving a hole in his already strong squad.

Arsenal will look to book their place in the Carabao Cup final with a win over Chelsea in Tuesday’s second leg of the semi-final at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal already hold a 3-2 lead, but it remains to be seen who will play in the absence of Merino.

Ahead of the transfer deadline, Arteta said: “When you lose a big player like this with four months to go, and all the competitions to play for, you need to look and we need to do everything we possibly can to see if a player is available, and if not, we keep what we have.”

Habib Diarra inspired Sunderland to a comfortable 3-0 win over Burnley as they extended their unbeaten Premier League home record on Monday night.

On his first start since returning from Africa Cup of Nations glory with Senegal, Diarra’s effort deflected off Axel Tuanzebe for an own goal to send the Black Cats ahead and before the break he scored his first goal for the club.

Chemsdine Talbi’s brilliant top-corner finish wrapped up three points as Sunderland extended their impressive unbeaten record at the Stadium of Light to 12 league games.

As a result they climbed to eighth in the table while Burnley are now 15 Premier League games without a win and remain second-bottom, now 11 points adrift of safety.

Cristiano Ronaldo was absent for Al Nassr’s Saudi Pro League match on Monday amid reports he has fallen out with key figures over the club’s transfer activity.

The 40-year-old Portugal forward had featured in every previous league game this season but was not named in Jorge Jesus’ starting XI or on the bench for Monday’s 1-0 triumph at Al Riyadh.

Reports have suggested Ronaldo is unhappy with the running of the club by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which also owns rivals Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, amid concerns that other teams have been given preferential treatment in the transfer market.

Al Nassr have signed only 21-year-old Iraq midfielder Hayder Abdulkareem and Saudi Arabia striker Abdullah AlHamdan in the winter window and it was announced later on Monday that Al Hilal had secured the signature of France great Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad, having also added defender Pablo Mari to their ranks last month.

Arsenal host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup second leg with a 3-2 first-leg lead as both sides look to become the first team to book their spot at the Wembley showpiece.

There are a handful of games on across the EFL including a key clash at the bottom of the Championship between Blackburn and Sheffield Wednesday while Ipswich and Hull look to keep their promotion hopes alive against Portsmouth and Watford respectively and Sheffield United host Oxford.