With just over three weeks to run before the Jan. 31 deadline, the Premier League clubs have been quiet so far during the transfer window.

So far, Liverpool have been the only club to make a significant move by completing the £7.25m deal for FC Salzburg attacking midfielder/forward Takumi Minamino. Yet with the race for trophies and Champions League qualification taking shape, a January signing could prove transformative for some clubs.

Liverpool remain on course to win the Premier League title and retain the Champions League while Leicester, Manchester City and Chelsea are sitting pretty in the European positions. Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal still have ground to make up, so what should the top clubs be targeting first to make a difference this month?

LIVERPOOL: Nothing

Liverpool were smart and decisive to wrap up the Minamino deal ahead of the transfer window. The Japan forward, who made his debut in the FA Cup win against Everton, adds attacking quality and depth to Jurgen Klopp's squad, while they got him at a bargain price by triggering his £7.25m release clause at FC Salzburg.

Considering Liverpool are 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League, there would be little value in the club making more signings this month. 'If it isn't broken, don't fix it,' would be the obvious mantra at Anfield.

LEICESTER: A proven striker

Brendan Rodgers has exceeded all expectations at the King Power Stadium by putting Leicester on course for a return to the Champions League, four years on from the club's unforgettable Premier League title-winning campaign. With a 14-point cushion between them in second and Manchester United in fifth, Leicester are well-placed to clinch Champions League qualification. But a quick look at their stats this season highlights the big weakness that could see it all unravel if Jamie Vardy gets injured.

The former England striker has hit 17 goals in 19 league games so far this season, but Leicester have no other player who has reached double figures, with their next highest scorer being midfielder James Maddison (six). If Vardy stays fit, Leicester will cruise into the Champions League, but signing a proven striker this month would give them a much-needed insurance policy.

MAN CITY: A central defender

Manchester City sit 14 points behind Liverpool, having played one more game, and much of that can be put down to the defensive problems that have plagued the defending champions all season. Pep Guardiola wanted a new centre-back to fill the gap left by Vincent Kompany's departure to Anderlecht last summer, but with City unable to sign a foreign defender (due to having already filled its quota of non-British players), he was left with limited options and one of them, Harry Maguire, ended up becoming the world's most expensive defender when he joined Manchester United from Leicester for £85m. Aymeric Laporte's knee ligament injury in August then proved disastrous, leaving Guardiola without the defensive pairing which guided City to the title.

Despite Laporte being close to a return to action this month, the unreliability of John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi has made a new centre-back a must this month. Once again there are few obvious options, but City have the money to find the right man.

CHELSEA: A box-to-box midfielder

N'Golo Kante is arguably the best defensive midfielder in the world, the France international boasting much more to his game than destructive qualities, but Chelsea are still too lightweight in the heart of the pitch. Manager Frank Lampard has money to spend this month following the lifting of Chelsea's two-window transfer ban and he needs reinforcements in every department to add experience to the club's emerging young stars. But if he can find a younger version of himself -- a box-to-box goal scoring midfielder -- Lampard would potentially spend all of his budget on that crucial addition to his squad.

A player like Man City star Kevin De Bruyne would be the perfect foil for Kante, but that is a sore subject at Chelsea considering that they let the Belgian midfielder leave earlier in his career.

MAN UNITED: A quality midfielder

The easy answer would be to suggest that Manchester United need help all over the pitch because of the state of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side. Injuries and loss of form are biting hard into what was already a weak squad populated by too many young and inexperienced players. But while United do need reinforcements in every position, the most pressing area is midfield. Even with a fit Paul Pogba -- and that has been a rarity this season -- United lack quality and depth in midfield. But if they find an experienced midfielder capable of bringing maturity, energy, organisation, creativity and goals to the team, it could be the difference between a top-four finish and missing out.

United basically need a modern-day version of Roy Keane, but it may need three players to do the job of one. If they can seal a deal for Ajax's Donny van de Beek, as sources told ESPN they are trying to, they would at least solve the problem of goals, energy and creativity.

TOTTENHAM: A backup striker

Harry Kane's hamstring injury, which will keep the England striker out until April, has made it even more important for Spurs to sign a striker this month. But attacking reinforcements were needed even before Kane succumbed to his latest setback.

Spurs have shown in the past that they are capable of winning games without their talisman -- they qualified for last season's Champions League final despite Kane being injured for the final two months of the campaign -- but, as Jose Mourinho pointed out this week, neither Lucas Moura nor Son Heung-Min are strikers in the true sense, even though they both have the ability to score goals.

Signing another striker would give Mourinho and Spurs a much-needed option, but crucially he would also enable Kane to be rested more often in the future. The 26-year-old rarely sits games out, but he also spends too much time on the sidelines because of injury. A striker to share the burden of games and goals would help everybody at Tottenham.

ARSENAL: A reliable defender

Mikel Arteta is enjoying a bounce as Arsenal's new manager after failing to win his first three games in charge, but he faces a difficult challenge to sustain the feelgood factor and improved results. He should be able to rely on Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to continue to score goals and in midfield, Arsenal are showing signs of being a harder working, more cohesive unit than under Unai Emery.

But Arsenal still look unconvincing at the back and Arteta needs to find at least one reliable defender this window after the season-ending injury to Calum Chambers. David Luiz is always one game away from a defensive catastrophe, while Sokratis is not quick enough to cope with the Premier League. Rob Holding remains a good prospect, but Arsenal need a centre-back they can rely on to be fit and influential. And they don't have that right now.

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler has been fined $35,000 and Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren was fined $25,000 for their roles in an altercation during Wednesday's game in Indianapolis.

During the 122-108 Heat win, Butler and Warren exchanged bumps, words and gestures, leading to the Pacers forward's ejection. Butler then blew kisses to Warren, who responded by flipping off the Heat star.

NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe announced the fines Friday. Along with the altercation, Butler's fine was also for "escalating the incident on social media postgame," and Warren's was for making an obscene gesture after he was ejected.

Butler posted a photo on Instagram of the Heat's schedule with the next Pacers game on March 20 circled and Warren tagged.

View this post on Instagram

@t.warren1 don't be mad you can't guard me. we will see what you about in March.

A post shared by Jimmy Butler (@jimmybutler) on Jan 8, 2020 at 7:15pm PST

Butler also said after the game that Warren couldn't guard him, and Butler called him "trash."

After Thursday's practice, Warren told reporters he didn't really remember the Butler altercation and was "just caught in the moment."

Newcastle Falcons' Johnny Williams is ready to return to rugby union just four months after his final round of chemotherapy for testicular cancer.

The 23-year-old centre, who last played in June for England, will feature for a Newcastle Falcons XV on Saturday.

Williams missed the World Cup during treatment, and only returned to Falcons first-team training in November.

"We are just glad for him as a person that he is healthy and overcoming the challenge," boss Dean Richards said.

"He is at his happiest when he is on a rugby field, so for him to be able to get out there again must be a really good feeling.

"From the club's point of view it's obviously great to have another outstanding player fit and available for selection, but more than anything we're just glad that a degree of normality is returning to Johnny's life after what has clearly been a very difficult time."

Williams joined the Falcons in May 2018, and scored five tries in 12 Premiership games during his maiden season for the club.

Automatic relegation and withdrawal of titles are "absolutely a possibility" for future salary cap breaches, says Premiership Rugby's new boss.

Darren Childs acknowledged that the league is experiencing a "watershed moment" following the Saracens scandal.

The Premiership and European champions were docked 35 points and fined £5.36m for breaching the cap over the past three seasons.

But the regulations did not allow for retrospective action.

Childs, who was appointed chief executive of Premiership Rugby in September, has not ruled out major changes in light of an ongoing independent review of the rules.

"It is absolutely a possibility that for serious breaches in the future it could include things like relegation and withdrawal of titles and other things that currently the regulations don't allow us to do," he told BBC Sport.

In his first interview since taking the helm of the league, Childs added: "We have to make sure that we don't do this again or end up in this position again whether it's through ambiguity or whether it has been deliberate."

While he would not be drawn into giving updates on the review being carried out by ex-City minister Lord Myners, he insisted that he has been given an "open brief" and that nothing is off the table.

Childs, who was previously chief executive of UKTV, insisted he has not been frustrated by the salary cap dominating his first four months in the role.

Instead, he says he has "relished" the opportunity to put in place regulations that are the "global gold standard' and will "last for the next 10 years".

"I genuinely hope that the message is coming out loud and clear from Premiership Rugby that we are really serious about enforcing regulations," he said.

"In the last couple of months we have made a number of tough decisions that needed to be made, it is important to send the message that we will continue to make those where they are required.

"We have taken decisive action over breaches from prior seasons and it does genuinely feel, with what has been going on with Saracens, that this really can be seen as a watershed moment for the league. It is a very important time."

JAMAICA, Va. – With several special event dates already released prior to the holidays, Virginia Motor Speedway officials have confirmed the remainder of the track’s schedule.

It will mark the 51st season of action at the half-mile speed plant in Jamaica, Va.

The schedule includes 11 nights of weekly racing action, the return of 410 sprint cars with the April 16 Thursday Night Thunder featuring the All Star Circuit of Champions and Tony Stewart and two Ultimate Super Late Model sanctioned events – the May 30, $20,000-to-win King of the Commonwealth and the Aug. 1, $20,000-to-win 44th annual USA 100.

The $3,000-to-win Prelude to the World Championship for FASTRAK Pro Late Models, the return of the $51,000 to win FASTRAK World Championship presented by James River Equipment weekend and two mud bogs at the facility’s state-of-the-art 200 mud bog pit will also be featured during the year.

The 2020 season will open on Saturday, April 4 with Dirt Series Championship weekly racing action, featuring a full program that will include the Victory Lap Pro Late Models, Truckin Thunder Sportsman, Budweiser Modified, and Collision One Limited Stock divisions.

The Dirt Series Champion weekly racing season will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 5, with the crowning of the speedway’s champions in each division.

2020 Virginia Motor Speedway Schedule

April 4 – Opening Day
April 16 – All Star Circuit of Champions
April 25 – Weekly Racing Program
May 2 – Mud Mayhem Mud Bog
May 16 – Weekly Racing Program
May 30 – Ultimate Super Late Models (King of the Commonwealth)
June 6 – Weekly Racing Program
June 13 – Weekly Racing Program
June 27 – Weekly Racing Program
July 11 – Weekly Racing Program
July 18 – Weekly Racing Program
Aug. 1 – Ultimate Super Late Models (USA 100)
Aug. 22 – FASTRAK Prelude to the World Championship
Sept. 5 – Weekly Racing Points Finale
Sept. 18-19 – FASTRAK World Championship
Oct. 3 – Run-A-Muck Mud Bog

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – American Flat Track officials have announced the list of teams and riders for the inaugural year of AFT SuperTwins competition.

The AFT SuperTwins class represents a unity of the elite teams and most-skilled athletes who compete at every round of American Flat Track competition. At every event, 18 of the top riders in the sport will grid up for the AFT SuperTwins Main Event.

The list of teams selected for competition in the AFT SuperTwins class is as follows:

BriggsAuto.com Racing – Davis Fisher – No. 67 Indian FTR750
Coolbeth-Nila Racing – Sammy Halbert – No. 69 Indian FTR750
Estenson Racing – JD Beach – No. 95 Yamaha MT-07 DT
Estenson Racing – Kolby Carlile – No. 36 Yamaha MT-07 DT
Harley-Davidson / Vance & Hines – Dalton Gauthier – No. 79 Harley-Davidson XG750R
Harley-Davidson / Vance & Hines – Jarod Vanderkooi – No. 20 Harley-Davidson XG750R
HCRR Racing / Ben Evans Racing – Jay Maloney – No. 12 Indian FTR750
HCRR Racing / Ben Evans Racing – Brandon Robinson – No. 44 Indian FTR750
Indian Motorcycle – Briar Bauman – No. 1 Indian FTR750
Indian Motorcycle – Bronson Bauman – No. 37 Indian FTR750
Indian Motorcycle / Rogers Racing – Jared Mees – No. 9 Indian FTR750
RJ Performance Racing – Robert Pearson – No. 27 Indian FTR750
Roof Systems of Dallas, Texas – Dan Bromley – No. 62 Indian FTR750
Roof Systems of Dallas, Texas –  Brandon Price – No. 92 Indian FTR750
Vance & Hines / Howerton Motorsports – Bryan Smith – No. 4 Harley-Davidson XG750R

The following teams have been approved as Wildcard Teams. A limited number of entries remain.

Happy Trail Racing – Jeffrey Carver Jr. – No. 23 Indian FTR750
Larry Pegram Racing – Larry Pegram – No. 72 Indian FTR750
Rackley Keeran Racing – Andrew Luker – No. 11 Indian FTR750

JONESTOWN, Pa. – Brock Zearfoss will contest the full All Star Circuit of Champions schedule again this year, part of a massive 109-race schedule for the Pennsylvania driver.

Zearfoss will pilot the Brock Zearfoss Racing No. 3z sprint car once again as he throws his hat back into the ring for an All Star title.

All Star commitments will send the familiar No. 3z to 55 events in 11 states, with 17 of those 55 races awarding a minimum of $6,000 to win.

In addition to his full-time status with Tony Stewart’s All Stars, Zearfoss will also join the World of Outlaws on an occasional basis and participate in select 360 sprint car showstoppers, such as the King of 360s at East Bay Raceway Park and 360 Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, as well.

Zearfoss will even join the Pennsylvania Posse on an on-and-off again basis, most notably during Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek.

Including two rounds of open practice, Zearfoss will ignite 2020 with 12 straight nights of action, beginning with five consecutive nights of All Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws competition at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., from Feb. 5-9.

Zearfoss’ Florida campaign will continue immediately following his Volusia visit, as East Bay Raceway Park hosts the All Star Circuit of Champions on Feb. 10-11.

Open practice on Wednesday, Feb. 12, will act as a slight breather for the former Port Royal Speedway champion before three days of King of 360s action opens at East Bay on Feb. 13.

Fans should note that Zearfoss’ plans for the month of March are subject to change, as the truck route may be altered to fit in World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competition in Texas and Arizona on March 13-14 and March 21-22, respectively.

“We have a lot on our plate, but we are ready for it,” said Zearfoss, who was a three-time All Star feature winner in 2019. “To have the opportunity to put together a schedule like this says so much about my team and our partners. Shane and Tye are the hardest working crew in the pit area, and my partners continue to believe in me and what we are trying to achieve. I wouldn’t be in this position without them.

“I’m excited to see what the new year brings us.”

Other marquee events on Zearfoss’ 2020 slate include Let’s Race Two and Kings Royal weekends at Eldora Speedway, Lernerville Speedway’s Silver Cup, the Brad Doty Classic at Attica Raceway Park, the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, Port Royal Speedway’s Labor Day Classic, the National Open at Williams Grove Speedway, and the season-ending World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Stephane Peterhansel raced to victory in Friday’s Dakar Rally stage while Carlos Sainz further extended his overall lead.

Peterhansel bested fellow Mini buggy driver Sainz by one minute and 21 seconds during the 477 kilometer stage. Nasser Al-Attiyah finished third in the stage and now trails Sainz for the overall lead by nearly eight minutes.

Ricky Brabec took top honors in the motorcycle class for the second time this year, allowing him to extend his lead at the top of the class. The American now holds a more than 20 minute lead over Pablo Quintanilla in the class rankings.

In the truck class, defending Dakar champion Eduard Nikolaev retired from the event due to persistent mechanical issues in his truck. The Russian had won the last three Dakar Rally events in the Truck class prior to his exit on Friday.

Meanwhile, Kamaz driver Andrey Karginov claimed the stage victory on Friday to extended his lead in the class to nearly 20 minutes over Anton Shibalov.

The SxS class saw Gerard Farres win the stage while Francisco Lopez and Casey Currie continue to battle for the class lead. Lopez finished second, one minute behind Farres, to take the class lead from Sergey Karyakin.

Currie now trails Lopez by 10 minutes, with Karayakin 20 minutes behind after entering the day as the division leader.

Simon Vitse topped the quad class on Friday, but Ignacio Casale continues to easily lead the class by nearly 40 minutes over Vitse.

Saturday is a rest day, with the Dakar Rally set to continue on Sunday.

CONCORD, N.C. — With 2019 history and a new year looming large in the windscreen, it feels like there are big changes coming.

Sure, there have been major changes in the sport over the past 40 years — 32 of which I’ve chronicled on these pages. Drivers have risen, peaked and retired. Series have done the same and the shifting sands of time have put everything into sort of a hazy retrospective of the motorsports arena.

Will we use that hazy look at the past to make decisions about the future, or is what has gone before just a collection of stuff that happens in a vacuum?

First, a November announcement that next season will be the final one for seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson.

The only man to win seven titles in NASCAR’s top division since the turn of the century will race this year and call it a career. At 44, he is the latest NASCAR superstar to pull the pin at a young age, following mentor Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and others.

The debate is on as to who will fill those awfully big shoes in terms of competition, but it can’t be discounted that the void he will leave among the fan base is also concerning.

There are plenty of kids waiting to step into the role he once occupied. Chase Elliott and William Byron are two on his Hendrick Motorsports team, and there are more coming up that could be the next Seven-Time. The so-called “Big Three” of Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick will all be rookies in the Cup Series this season.

The fact that Johnson is stepping away at the end of 2020 is not particularly surprising. What else does he have to prove? Seven titles, five in a row and 83 victories are written in his bio, and he, Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty are the only drivers to ever win seven championships. Gordon won four times and Stewart three, as Johnson, Gordon and Stewart have accounted for 14 of the last 24 Cup Series championships.

Speaking of change, there’s a new owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the first not named Hulman since 1945. It’s a familiar name, though, and while his name hasn’t been on the company masthead, he’s pretty much owned the 2.5-mile race track since 1972. Roger Penske is the new boss, same as the old boss.

After having some time to get used to the idea, I think it was the right move at the right time. Penske is 82 and he has the backing, the money and the business acumen to push the Brickyard forward into the next dimension. Not that it was doing badly at all, but Penske can bring weight others cannot. I am looking forward to seeing what comes next.

For me, Indy is about tradition and Penske has been a staunch supporter of all things Indy for a long, long time. Those traditions will be observed and all of us who love the old place can keep right on loving it. We’ve already broken down some of the barriers with the Brickyard 400, Formula One and MotoGP — and there is room to grow.

The plant itself has space, infrastructure and the ability to host events 30-plus weekends a year and it is a good guess that it will hold more events than it has in the past.

There are rules changes coming in both NASCAR and IndyCar that will be interesting to watch. The Gen-7 car for NASCAR is widely expected to help the racing in the Cup Series, and the new Indy car specs are aimed at driver safety. The aeroscreen will debut this year and that will help with a safety problem that has plagued open-wheel racing for some time.

There are many changes coming, including a major shakeup of the NASCAR schedule this year and next, so you’ll see the first steps of what racing will be in the future this season.

If I had to bet, I would say the improvement will be noticeable and provide a blueprint that will keep the sport moving forward for the next 20-plus years.

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Jim Little was hired Friday as chief executive officer of the Ottawa Senators, a team looking for a boost on the ice and at the gate.

Owner Eugene Melnyk, whose team is tied for the second fewest points in the league, had been the CEO since the NHL club split with Tom Anselmi in February 2018.

The Senators said Friday that Little will be responsible for business strategy, focusing on marketing and community relations.

"We've got a passionate and dedicated team of professionals, on and off the ice, and a community that wants us to succeed," Little said in a statement. "Together, we will."

The 55-year-old Little most recently was executive vice president and chief marketing and culture officer for Shaw Communications, a Canadian telecommunications company. He has held several senior executive roles at Royal Bank, Bell Canada and the Canadian transportation company Bombardier.