The winter transfer window is closed, but now it's time to look ahead to the summer! Here are the new rumours floating around following the Jan. 31 deadline day.

TOP STORY: Roma aim to keep Smalling, Mkhitaryan

Sky Sports News is reporting that Roma manager Paulo Fonseca wants to sign both Chris Smalling and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on a permanent basis.

Both men are currently on loan from English clubs in the form of Manchester United and Arsenal, respectively, and both are making a strong impression during their tenures in Italian football. The report indicates that Fonseca himself has informed the outlet of his desire to keep hold of both players beyond the summer transfer window.

Smalling has been consistent throughout his time in Rome, and while Mkhitaryan has struggled with injuries, his goal an assist in a runaway win over Lecce on Sunday further showed his worth.

Arsenal to try and convince Aubameyang to stay

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that they will do everything they can to try and convince Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stay, The Guardian reports.

In the wake of their dramatic 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday, in which Aubameyang had a starring role, Arteta admitted that the Gunners will need to prove to the popular forward why she should continue to stay at the Emirates as opposed to moving elsewhere.

Aubameyang has been heavily linked with a move away from North London for quite some time now, with the belief being that Arsenal's hunt for Champions League football could have a huge impact on his eventual decision.

Klopp issues demand to Liverpool targets

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has made his feelings to clear to any and all potential transfer targets for the club, the Liverpool Echo reports.

The Reds have been linked with a series of players in the last few weeks with the latest example being RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner. Alas, while raw talent is obviously an important trait, Klopp has made it clear that he wants players at the club who are willing to fight for their place in the starting lineup.

The German believes that the attitude of the club's targets is just as relevant as their abilities on the pitch as the club's stature within world football continues to rise.

Tap-ins

- Juventus are ready and willing to try and sign Porto youngster Tomas Esteves, primarily as an act of revenge, Calciomercato reports. There is a release clause within the 17-year-old's contract of around €10 million, but the revenge portion of this potential transfer stems from Juve's desire to beat an interested Borussia Dortmund to the signing after the German side pipped the Old Lady to the post by acquiring Erling Haaland.

- Barcelona are said to be close to securing the signing of Valencia youngster Hugo Guillamon, Sport reports. The 20-year-old defender made his senior debut for the club this past weekend would make his way to the Nou Camp on a free transfer this summer, and while a long contract would be offered, Guillamon would initially join the B team before transitioning into the senior squad.

Over the dominant home season, India's coach Ravi Shastri talked about taking the pitch and the toss out of equation, which, while lofty, is something for dominant teams to aspire to. To a large extent, India did do that in home Tests, but in away conditions against good teams, tosses can play a big part. That was the first thing Virat Kohli mentioned in his post-match interview with Simon Doull after a 10-wiccket loss as early as fourth morning in Wellington. However, he also spent some time talking about how the India batsmen and bowlers needed to be better despite getting the rough end of the toss.

"Day one it was probably the toss that turned out to be very important," Kohli said. "But at the same time, as a batting unit, we take a lot of pride in being competitive, and we were just not competitive enough. I don't think we put their bowlers under enough pressure in the first innings. Anything over 220-230, then you are talking a different language. Even the deficit looks much lesser if you get that score on the board - and if you get the last three batsmen out cheaper, which wasn't the case... But yeah that first innings put us behind the game already, and that lead put us under pressure, which was hard to come back from."

India's bowlers don't usually come up against conditions where staying in good areas for long periods is not good enough to get you wickets. In New Zealand, the definition of good areas is different, and you have to vary your angles a lot to get something out of the slow surfaces that keep getting better as matches progress. India were generally shorter of those good areas, and didn't quite use variations as well as New Zealand - no doubt, much more accustomed to bowling there - did.

Not only that, the last three wickets of New Zealand went on to add 123 runs in their first innings, which broke the back of India's resolve, which was built largely on Ishant Sharma's five-for after he beat odds to make this Test despite a grade-three ligament tear on his ankle in December.

"I think as a bowling group they have taken a lot of pride in being competitive and bowling good channels for long enough," Kohli said. "Till about seven wickets we were really good. Even when Ross [Taylor] and Kane [Williamson] had a partnership, we got stuck in. We thought, 'Okay if we stop them under a lead of 100, it is a great effort from hereon.' Because the wicket did get better to bat on. But I think those last three wickets and 120-odd runs really hurt us and really pushed us out of the game.

"I think overall we really did put in a good effort but we still could be a lot more disciplined. That's something the bowlers have recognised themselves. That's not something that needs to be pointed out to them anymore. They were not as happy with their bowling performance as they would have been otherwise. That can happen in this game at the international level, but it's about how we learn from it and how we bounce back."

Kohli wasn't about to be harsh on any particular batsman, but wanted a better show from the whole group. "You don't want to be too hard on the guys because Prithvi [Shaw] has played only two innings away from home now, and he will figure it out. He will find ways of scoring runs. He is a natural stroke-maker, and he will find ways of scoring runs and putting up good starts for us more often than not.

"I think Mayank [Agarwal] was outstanding in this game, first innings as well as second innings. Really applied himself well. And he is probably the only guy along with Jinks [Ajinkya Rahane] that got some kind of tempo and momentum going for us as far as batting is concerned. I think we have to stick to our template that has got us success and not think too much about where we are playing or what kind of pitch we are playing on. Our strength is to put enough runs on the board for our bowlers to get attacking. I think that is something as a batting unit that we need to take more responsibility."

MEXICO CITY -- Patrick Reed made it hard for anyone to question his moxie.

A week that began with Brooks Koepka saying he thought Reed cheated when he was penalized for swiping sand in the Bahamas ended with Reed delivering clutch moments down the stretch Sunday to win the Mexico Championship.

Then again, Reed always seems to be at his best when it feels as though the world is against him.

Two shots behind with four holes to play, Reed ran off three straight birdies to overtake a faltering Bryson DeChambeau, closing with a 4-under 67 for his second World Golf Championships title.

Reed made it interesting in the end with a wild tee shot into the trees on the 18th hole at Chapultepec Golf Club, forcing him to chip back to the fairway. He had to two-putt from 35 feet for the eighth victory of his PGA Tour career.

In a wild final round in which five players had a share of the lead -- and four were tied heading for the back nine -- DeChambeau appeared to seize control with five birdies in a six-hole stretch starting at No. 9.

Everyone around him faltered -- Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Erik van Rooyen -- everyone but Reed, who played bogey-free until he needed only a bogey to win.

DeChambeau failed to birdie the par-5 15th, missed the green on the 16th with a pin in a bowl that made birdies accessible, and then three-putted from long range on the 17th. He shot 65.

Reed never flinched with so much going on around him, on and off the golf course.

He has yet to shake whispers on the tour and heckling from the gallery over the Hero World Challenge in December, when video caught him twice swiping away sand behind his ball in a waste area in the Bahamas. Reed accepted the two-shot penalty and said a different camera angle would have shown his club wasn't as close to the ball as it looked.

Koepka became the strongest voice during an interview Monday with SiriusXM in the Bay Area while he was previewing his title defense at the PGA Championship in May.

Radio host Sway Calloway asked Koepka if Reed was cheating.

"Uh, yeah. I think, yeah, yeah," Koepka said, known for speaking his mind. "I mean, I don't know what he was doing, building sand castles in the sand. But you know, you know where your club is. I mean, I took three months off and I can promise you I know if I touched sand.

"If you play the game, you understand the rules," he said. "You understand the integrity that goes on. I mean, there's no room for it."

Asked about it Saturday after his round, Reed said, "At the end of the day, you can't listen to what other people are saying. All you can control is what you do."

All he did Sunday was win.

"To come back and win my second World Golf Championship, especially with how I had to finish from basically 15 onwards ... last hole was ugly but it was what I needed just to get the job done," Reed said.

He finished at 18-under 266 and moved to No. 8 in the world.

DeChambeau walked back across the bridge to the 18th green to congratulate Reed. DeChambeau can appreciate heavy criticism, his the result of his pace of play.

"There's been a lot of stuff said in past years, I guess you could say, with him, and even with me. I feel like unfortunately sometimes we get quite a bad rap," DeChambeau said. "And yeah, there's things that we've done that hasn't been right, but we haven't got really gotten the best rap. ... He's a great player, and he'll be a great player for a long time, and I have a lot of respect for his game."

Rahm had a chance to reach No. 1 in the world with a victory, depending on how McIlroy finished. It was a moot point when the Spaniard took bogey on the par-5 11th and dropped another shot on the 14th with a short iron that went just over the back of the green.

McIlroy was within one shot until going nine straight holes without a birdie.

Thomas, who lost a 54-hole lead for the second time in the Mexico Championship, lost the lead when he hit into the water on the par-3 seventh, then made another bogey on the next hole. He then had to play a left-handed shot on the 10th on his way to a double-bogey. He shot 73.

LOS ANGELES -- Moments after a thrilling finish befitting the storied history between two longtime rivals, LeBron James and Jayson Tatum met at center court and shared a long embrace. James, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, had just drilled a go-ahead jumper with 30.4 seconds that proved to tilt the balance in his team's 114-112 win over the Celtics at Staples Center.

But Tatum, who is 14 years James' junior, had also delivered a dominant performance, tying his career-high with 41 points.

That figure made the 21-year-old Tatum the youngest player with a 40-point game in the history of the Celtics-Lakers rivalry, including the postseason. It also made Tatum the first Celtics player to score 40 or more points in the rivalry so since Paul Pierce in March of 2001.

"That kid is special," James said of Tatum. "Obviously, that's the reason he's a first-time All-Star. He's been special all year."

The Celtics fought valiantly despite being absent star point guard Kemba Walker, who remained sidelined with left knee soreness.

"We still should've won," Tatum said. "We know that. We can't make excuses when guys are out. That was definitely a game we should've won."

Tatum also downplayed his big night.

"I just wish we would've won," he said. "That's all that really matters. I know what I'm capable of. My teammates know that. We know what each and every guy can do in here."

Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown said of his teammate, "Tatum has reached a new height -- superstar level. We've all got to continue to improve and go with him. The way he's playing is unreal. We've got to continue to find ways to allow him to reach his potential.

Brown continued, "At the same time, we've got to continue to find ways to win games and be the team that we're supposed to be. He's been playing unreal. It was a joy to watch him tonight. I wish we would've got the win, but to come in here and do what he did to the Lakers, [there are] not too many people who can say they did that."

Tatum did most of his damage in the second and third quarters, scoring 36 points during that stretch while hitting 11 of his 15 shots from the field. But in the fourth quarter, the Lakers began double-teaming him on defense, and Tatum was held to just four points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field in the final period.

"Just try to make it tough on the kid," James said, "but he was special all night."

Added Brown, "They better double-team him, I'll tell you that. If he gets it smoking like he did tonight, they better double-team him, because one man can't guard him. When we get it going like that, whoever it may be, we've just got to be ready to play, and the Lakers did a great job of rotating and their defense was pretty good tonight, but JT was better."

Lakers coach Frank Vogel called Tatum "one of the best players in the world," adding "He was in the All-Star Game for a reason. He has the ability to go what would have been a potential 50, 60 point night, had we not just have brought extreme double teams for the better part of the second half."

In that final quarter, the Celtics were whistled for twice as many fouls as the Lakers, 12 to six. The Lakers also went to the line 17 times in the fourth quarter as compared to five attempts in that quarter for the Celtics. Boston coach Brad Stevens was called for a technical foul with 15.5 seconds left after arguing what he felt should've been a foul called on the Lakers.

"I thought there was one there, but they didn't call it," Stevens said. "It is what it is."

Said Brown, "It's a tough one. We felt like we could've won. We should've won."

Tatum became the first player to score 40 points in the rivalry since the late Kobe Bryant did so in January of 2011.

"That's what he does," Stevens said of Tatum. "I realize it's his career-high, but he's been at that level for us for a long time now."

"Certainly, I think he has taken it to another level," Celtics forward Gordon Hayward said of Tatum.

On Sunday, Tatum wore a wristband honoring Bryant, who will be memorialized Monday morning at Staples Center. Speaking of Bryant's presence, Tatum said, "We definitely felt it."

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Mookie Betts still has some work to do as he settles in with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On the field, though, he's fine.

"The hardest thing is finding a house and learning everybody's name," Betts said Sunday after making his Cactus League debut. "The baseball's the same. We all have the same focus."

Betts led off and played right field for the Dodgers against the Chicago Cubs at Camelback Ranch. He received an enthusiastic welcome from the sellout crowd of 13,282 when he was introduced before the game with the rest of the Dodgers starters and again when he batted in the first inning.

He flied out to left in his first at-bat, flied deep to right in the third inning and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to center in the fifth inning before coming out of the game.

"Just seeing him at the top of the order, in our lineup, makes everybody around him better," manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers beat the Cubs 4-2. "You felt the energy from the fans too."

Betts, 27, was dealt to the Dodgers from Boston after the two parties were unable to come to an agreement on a long-term contract. He is a free agent after this season.

But after playing in Boston, winning an MVP and a World Series there, he doesn't feel any extra pressure on a new team with high expectations, or entering his free-agent season.

"I try to channel it into working hard," he said. "I don't worry about it."

Roberts has been impressed with Betts' work ethic as well as his mental approach and overall attitude.

"I knew he'd be professional in every sense of the word," Roberts said. "I didn't realize he'd be as open to talking about how he's feeling at the plate or what he does defensively. A lot of guys just do things, but to kind of share of information, he's always willing to have a conversation about baseball."

Kenley Jansen also made his spring debut, working a perfect second inning for Los Angeles. Jansen, 32, struck out two Cubs.

He is coming off a season that saw him post the highest ERA (3.71) of his 10-year career, all with the Dodgers.

Jansen never really got going after a slow start last spring, but he threw as hard as 93 mph in a 14-pitch outing on Sunday.

"It just seems like he's synced up with his body, his arm's catching up," Roberts said. "If he can stay there, a lot of good things are going to happen."

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that he will keep outfielder George Springer as the team's leadoff hitter this season.

"If it's not broke, don't fix it," he told reporters.

Springer has been the Astros' leadoff hitter since 2016, when he was inserted into the spot by former manager A.J. Hinch in May of that season.

Hinch was fired by Astros owner Jim Crane after Major League Baseball suspended the manager for a season as a result of the team's sign-stealing scheme. With Baker taking over this season, it wasn't a given that he would leave Springer atop his lineup until he made the news official Sunday.

Springer has excelled in the leadoff spot, winning two Silver Slugger awards and earning three consecutive All-Star selections. Last season, he set career highs in home runs (39), RBIs (96), batting average (.292) and on-base percentage (.383).

"I told Springer the other day that he reminded me of past leadoff hitters -- Bobby Bonds, Felipe Alou, Tommy Agee," Baker told reporters. "These guys were hitters and sluggers at the same time, and he can either get on base or it's 1-0 our favor. This guy, he's one of the best. You don't win Silver (Sluggers) just by taking (pitches). I love it, actually."

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- He's 42 years old, a little out of shape and clearly no spring chicken. But clearly there's no one more popular on the field for the Philadelphia Phillies than the Phanatic.

Which is why all eyes at the ballpark were on the furry mascot Sunday for the big reveal: He has gotten a makeover this year amid a legal fight between the team and his creators.

The revamp, unveiled before the Phillies played the Pittsburgh Pirates in their spring training home opener, includes flightless feathers rather than fur-colored arms, stars outlining the eyes, a larger posterior and a powder-blue tail, blue socks with red shoes, plus scales under the arms.

Don't look for any change, though, in the Phanatic's prankster approach, a point the team reiterated with a tweet Sunday afternoon.

He has evolved, but clearly hasn't matured. pic.twitter.com/Tmo5jHNQOB

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 23, 2020

Tom Burgoyne, the man behind the mascot, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that "he's still the same old Phanatic, just with a little more sashay in him." He noted that the mascot's fur color, jersey, hat and overall look have "changed a little bit over the years."

Early reviews were mixed. Some eagle-eyed fans liked the old version more, others said the changes weren't that big of a deal.

The team and the mascot's creators have been sparring in court ahead of the June 15 expiration of a 35-year-old copyright agreement. Designers Bonnie Erickson and Wayde Harrison -- who also created the famed Muppet Miss Piggy -- say they alone made the Phanatic's character and backstory when they were contracted to create the costume in 1978.

The Phillies argue that the baseball franchise is just as responsible for the success of the mascot as the puppet-making pair.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. – Lincoln Speedway’s 21st annual Kevin Gobrecht Memorial will pay $9,200 to win in honor of Gobrecht’s No. 92 sprint car on Saturday, June 27.

The race is part of the 30th annual Pennsylvania Sprint Speedweek and is Lincoln’s first of two races during the week-long series.

Making this race $9,200 to win would not be possible without the sponsorship of Goofy’s Eatery & Spirits of Spring Grove. Goofy’s, established in 1989 offers food and drinks, events, including a large selection of foreign, domestic and microbrews.

“We are excited to be a part of the Kevin Gobrecht Memorial and PA Speedweek. Kevin was a talented racer and honoring him with a race that pays $9,200 to win is a great tribute to his legacy. Goofy’s is proud to support sprint car racing as it is an important part of Central PA,” said Josh Runkle of Goofy’s Eatery & Spirits.

Gobrecht achieved great success behind the wheel of a sprint car earning the 1995 National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year awarded by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. His resume includes over 100 Go-Kart wins and over 100 Micro-sprint wins, a Jack Gunn Memorial victory, a Williams Grove World of Outlaws win and a Kenny Weld Memorial victory at Lincoln. In 1999 he won three races in less than 24 hours (Williams Grove, Lincoln and Port Royal). Gobrecht passed away on Sept. 24, 1999 at the age of 30 in a crash at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska.

Fred Rahmer won the inaugural Kevin Gobrecht Memorial race in 2000. Lance Dewease has won three Gobrecht Memorial races, the most of any driver. The 2019 Kevin Gobrecht Memorial winner, Brian Montieth, went on to win his eighth Lincoln Speedway track championship.

Kevin’s brother, Scott Gobrecht, is looking forward to the race this year.

“It’s exciting to watch Kevin’s Memorial Race grow over the years.  It was humbling 21 years ago when Alan, Bob and Don reached out about remembering Kevin during Speedweeks,” Scott Gobrecht said. “And now with Josh, Whitey and the Goofy’s family coming on board it’s even better.  Josh and Whitey are longtime friends of our family and they do so much for racing. It’s an honor to have them be part of this year’s event.”

The Kevin Gobrecht Memorial is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 with pit gates opening at 5 p.m. and grandstand gates set to open at 5:30 p.m. The Central PA Legends will join the 410 sprint cars as the second division.