Premier League LIVE: Crystal Palace reach a verbal agreement for Strand Larsen, Mateta priced at £40 million, while Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest feature in Europa League action.

All six Premier League clubs were in action during a dramatic night of Champions League football on Wednesday.

Arsenal wrapped up the league phase with a perfect record after defeating Kairat Almaty, while fellow London sides Chelsea and Tottenham also booked automatic qualification thanks to wins of their own.
Liverpool and Manchester City joined them in the next round after overcoming Qarabag and Galatasaray respectively, but Newcastle fell to PSG and must now navigate the knockout play-offs.

Attention now turns to the Europa League this evening, with Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest both featuring in a full round of fixtures, live on talkSPORT.

‘He wanted to return home’

Lucas Paquetá is closing in on an official exit from West Ham.
talkSPORT understands talks with Flamengo began on December 23, continued over Christmas, and were finalised yesterday, with the midfielder set to move for £36million.

West Ham confirmed on Wednesday that Paquetá had been given permission to travel to Brazil to complete the transfer. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has since addressed the situation.

“It’s not official yet, but as a club we’ve allowed him to go and have his medical,” Espirito Santo said. “I think we’ll reach a solution everyone was aware of and comfortable with.”

He added: “Lucas made it clear he wanted to go back home. We expect the medical to be completed and everything to become official. Let’s wait and see.”

The West Ham boss continued: “For me, Lucas is a special player and a special person. He’s a number 10 — I’ve said that many times. From the club’s point of view, things could have been handled differently, but circumstances are what they are.

“He wanted to return to Brazil, he had an offer, and now we move forward. We wish him nothing but the best.”