With the Europa League’s new league phase now over at long, long last, we can work out quite a few things from the finishing positions.

Most straightforwardly, we know which eight teams have gone straight through to the last 16, which 16 teams are heading for the play-offs, and which 12 teams have been eliminated altogether.

But for those teams who have made it through one way or another, we also now have some idea of their potential paths to the final.

The play-off draw on Friday was a paired, seeded draw. What this means is that the team who finished ninth was drawn against a team who finished 23rd or 24th. The team finishing 10th got the other one. Eleventh and 12th paired with 21st and 22nd, and so on until you get to 15th and 16th against 17th and 18th.

We can even throw things slightly further, because while we don’t yet know which side of the final last-16 bracket anyone is going to end up on, we do know, for instance, that the teams who finished first and second in the table – Lazio and Athletic Club – will play teams that emerge from the 15th/16th/17th/18th section of the play-off round.

You can see all this same info for the Champions League here if you’re more of a Tuesday/Wednesday kind of guy than a Thursday. No judgement.

The Europa League play-off draw

(23) Twente v (9) Bodo/Glimt

(24) Fenerbahce v (10) Anderlecht

(22) PAOK v (11) FCSB

(21) Union SG v (12) Ajax

(20) Midtjylland v (13) Real Sociedad

(19) AZ Alkmaar v (14) Galatasaray

(18) Porto v (15) Roma

(17) Ferencvaros v (16) Viktoria Plzen

There is no restriction in any of the knockout rounds on clubs meeting other clubs from their country, and also no restriction on clubs who have already played each other in the league stage meeting again.

The first legs of the play-offs will be played on February 13, and the second legs – with the seeded teams at home – on February 20.

Now, let’s have a bit of fun and map out some possible routes to the final for the Brits, yeah? Obviously this gets sketchier and sketchier the deeper you go, but we’re going to assume – obviously wrongly – that the seedings from the league phase finishing positions hold true and the ‘better’ or at least higher-ranked teams always prevail…

Man United’s potential route to the Europa League final

Finishing third secures them a favourable seeding and means avoiding the top two until the semis at least. With Spurs right behind United in fourth, the two English clubs are also now certain to be on opposite sides of the knockout bracket and cannot meet until the final. Think of it like a tennis tournament and you’ll get the idea.

Last 16: Real Sociedad/Galatasaray/AZ/Midtjylland
Quarter-final: Eintracht Frankfurt/Lille
Semi-final: Lazio/Athletic Club
Final: Lazio/Athletic Club

Tottenham’s potential route to the Europa League final

Find themselves joining United in the second pair of seeds and thus facing the same potential route. Could face Galatasaray – the only side to beat them in the league phase – in the last 16.

Last 16: Real Sociedad/Galatasaray/AZ/Midtjylland
Quarter-final: Eintracht Frankfurt/Lille
Semi-final: Lazio/Athletic Club
Final: Lazio/Athletic Club

Rangers’ potential route to the Europa League final

Rangers cannot now meet either of the English clubs again – having played both in the league phase – until at least the semi-final.

Last 16: Bodo/Anderlecht/Twente/Fenerbahce
Quarter-final: Lazio/Athletic Club
Semi-final: Man United/Tottenham
Final: Lazio/Athletic Club

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur have been ‘rejected’ by Bayern Munich star Mathys Tel amid interest from four Premier League rivals.

Tel is on the radar of several Premier League clubs after it emerged that he is looking to leave Bayern Munich before the January transfer window closes.

The 19-year-old joined Bayern Munich from Ligue Un outfit Rennes ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. He has 16 goals in his 83 appearances for the Bundesliga giants but has been a bit-part player this term.

The teenage forward needs regular game time and Spurs ‘reached an agreement’ with Bayern Munich on Thursday after making a £50m offer, as per L’Equipe.

‘Bayern Munich and Tottenham have reached an agreement for a transfer of striker Mathys Tel for around €60 million. The 19-year-old is still thinking about it.

‘Will Tottenham end up winning the bid for Mathys Tel? The London club has agreed with Bayern Munich (contract until 2029) for a transfer of the striker around €60 million.

‘The 19-year-old striker must now make a decision. The former Rennes player takes the time to reflect. Other clubs should send proposals quickly.’

READ: Plotting the paths of Man Utd and Spurs to Europa League final

On Friday morning, a report claimed Man Utd are attempting to ‘hijack’ Tottenham’s move for Tel, who has decided to reject the North London outfit.

This is according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, who claims Tel ‘won’t join Spurs’.

He tweeted: “Mathys Tel’s current decision is to reject Tottenham proposal.

“Despite willingness to sign him for €60m package and face to face talks, Tel has informed Spurs about his decision.

“Barring any surprises, Tel won’t join Spurs… more PL clubs are on it now.”

He added: “Mathys Tel and his agent are in Munich together to assess all options after rejecting Spurs proposal.

“Tottenham will explore other targets while Tel will consider other bids for loan/permanent move.

“Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa all in contact.”

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Bayern director Max Eberl is insistent that any deal for Tel must be “right for all parties”.

“Mathys can imagine a move away. We need to come to terms with the facts,” Eberl said.

“Whether it’s a loan or a sale, we’ll see. It needs to be right for all parties. Will we do it? Our squad is very well set up.”

Tel has made eight Bundesliga appearances this season but only two of those were starts.

Vincent Kompany added: “What’s important is that the player is still a Bayern player.

“Every player can be selected until the last moment. My role here is always to use the players available.”

We’re closing in on the end of the January transfer window and we can barely contain our excitement ahead of deadline day and all those incredible moves that will be feverishly discussed before coming to nothing.

Arsenal’s increasing desperation to land a striker despite Mikel Arteta’s insistence that they will only sign The Right Player is a good laugh and nobody wanting Marcus Rashford provides some enduring intrigue as Ruben Amorim faces a reintegration dilemma that proved to be the middle of the end for his predecessor.

There will be other stuff happening too; it may actually be reasonably interesting. Not for these five players though, who – barring very left-field moves – won’t be going anywhere this month and can count themselves very fortunate not to have either been usurped by a new signing or sold.

Without a significant upturn in form in the second half of the season these five lucky Premier League stars will be upgraded and moved on by their clubs in the summer.

Robert Sanchez (Chelsea)
Not only are his five errors leading to a goal the most of any player in the Premier League this season, that’s also the most on record by a Chelsea player in an entire campaign; and we’re in January. The last of those errors came against Manchester City, when he lost possession 19 times.

Enzo Maresca says he still “trusts” him and weirdly asked “how many times Moi [Caicedo] missed a pass?” in defence of his goalkeeper, wilfully ignorant of the difference between a goalkeeper and midfielder making a mistake, along with his Chelsea bosses who bury their heads in the sand over the obvious need for a new goalkeeper.

It’s got too the point now where we’re tracing Sanchez’s lineage to see which mob family has put the squeeze on Behdad Eghbali to keep him in the Chelsea team. We get that when he’s good he’s very good but you don’t want peaks and troughs from your goalkeeper and they will win nothing with him as their No.1.

READ MORE: Who is the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in 24/25?

Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
It’s testament to Liverpool’s generally excellent recruitment that their club-record signing can be a bit pants and they can still be way out in front at the top of the Premier League, having cruised through the Champions League group stage to keep them on course for the quadruple.

If the £85m they had spent on a central striker had proved to be good value for money we might currently be enjoying the best Premier League team in history. Darwin Nunez has not proved to be good value for money.

He’s less fortunate to have survived the window than the other players on this list by virtue of Liverpool having more than enough in-form forward options to cope with his profligacy, but while we will always have a soft spot for his chaos in the name of pure entertainment we’re now at a point where doubts as to whether he will come good have turned into near certainty that he won’t.

Rasmus Hojlund (Manchester United)
What we keep hearing is that he doesn’t get enough chances; that’s fair. It’s not as though a consistent feature of Manchester United games is seeing Hojlund with head in hands as the fans groan at another spurned opportunity. But it’s also just as much his fault as his teammates’ that he’s not getting those chances.

How are those opportunities supposed to be created for him if he can’t hold the ball up to get his team up the pitch? An increasing number of United moves break down because of a poor Hojlund touch or him giving the ball away in some manner or other.

It’s telling that Hojlund was one of three untouchables along with Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos first rolled in, and when their stance changed to make everyone available for transfer, interest immediately emerged in Mainoo and Garnacho but there’s not been even the slightest hint of a rumour of anyone wanting Hojlund. Because why would they?

He’s a £64m striker who not only doesn’t score goals but makes the team worse through what he does – or rather doesn’t do – besides.

Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
We’re not really sure we’ve ever quite known what Gundogan is as a footballer. In the past that’s been a positive: he couldn’t be pigeonholed, floating through games as a player you wouldn’t necessarily notice if you weren’t focusing on him, but appreciated hugely when you did. Now it’s more a case of not knowing the point of him.

We don’t know exactly what Barcelona stripped from him but he’s returned to City without whatever bit made him good at football, with the all too easy Not Having Rodri excuse we assume he’s using along with everyone else debunked on several occasions this season – like in the second half against Club Brugge when City turned defeat into victory – when Guardiola’s side have very simply been better off without him.

Gundogan must be as baffled as the rest of us that City have spent £130m in January and still not signed a replacement for Rodri.

Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)
He’s one of the most frustrating players in the Premier League. We’re not sure there’s anyone who so consistently makes himself a yard to cross or shoot before turning that opportunity down for a less presentable one a couple of seconds later.

He has an incredible habit of managing to look like one of the best wingers in the world and also someone who would trip over a matchbox if he attempted to hurdle it in the same attempted dribble.

One goal and three assists in 28 appearances is a really pretty honking return for a forward playing for a team in the Champions League and while Donyell Malen’s arrival hasn’t yet proven to be his end, it’s surely nigh.

Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford is now the subject of strong interest from Aston Villa as a move to Barcelona now looks ‘practically impossible’, according to reports.

Amorim left out Rashford from his squad to face Man City in a 2-1 Manchester Derby win in December and the England international has only made one squad since.

Man Utd boss Amorim has always called it a “selection” decision when referring to Rashford’s omission but he changed tack after their 1-0 win over Fulham.

Amorim said he would rather play Man Utd goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital over Rashford as he hinted that the 27-year-old wasn’t giving his all in training.

Rashford has been linked with a number of clubs this month after admitting in an interview that he is ready for a “new challenge” away from Old Trafford.

Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, West Ham and other clubs have been mooted but clubs are finding it tricky to cover all or part of his huge wages at Man Utd.

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And Relevo journalist Matteo Moretto now claims that a move to Barcelona is getting more unlikely by the day with Premier League side Aston Villa now entering the race to sign Rashford.

On the future of the Man Utd forward, Moretto wrote:

‘In the last few hours, FC Barcelona has admitted that the arrival of Marcus Rashford in the winter market is practically impossible. Despite the interest that the Catalan club has shown in the English striker, the operation has been complicated due to the lack of space in the squad and the economic limitations that the Blaugrana entity faces.

‘According to sources close to the negotiations, there have been new contacts between Barcelona and Marcus Rashford himself in the last few hours . However, the club’s sporting management understands that, in order for Rashford to arrive, it would be essential to free up wages through the departure of a player . So far, neither Ansu Fati nor any other potentially transferable player is willing to leave Barcelona. With all this in mind, the operation is at a standstill.

‘At this time of the transfer market and with just over two days to go, neither party can allow the move to become stagnant , so the player’s entourage is already exploring new alternatives. The main idea is for the striker to leave Manchester United this winter, which is why his representatives are offering him to other Premier League teams, a competition he knows like the back of his hand.

‘Several clubs have begun to activate their strategies to try to sign the Manchester United striker. Among them, Aston Villa has emerged as one of the main interested parties in securing Rashford’s services, although no official offer has yet been made. Monchi, as sporting director of the Birmingham club, has been having a great market and will have plenty of liquidity after closing the sale of Jhon Durán to Saudi Arabia for 77 million.

‘With the transfer market in full swing, Rashford’s situation remains a mystery. The more the hours go by, the further he moves away from Barcelona and from wearing the Barcelona shirt of FC Barcelona.’