Nathan Jones admitted he could lose his job if he fails to arrest Stoke's alarming slump. A classy display by Leeds kept them top of the Championship and piled more pressure on the beleagured Jones.

Stoke manager Nathan Jones admits is he is running out of time after a dismal start to the season in the Championship.

Stoke could ask Tony Pulis to return for a third spell in charge of the Championship club if they sack Nathan Jones, according to The Sun.

Stoke want £15million for Allen, 29, who is on around £65,000 per week, yet West Ham are looking to pay closer to £8m. Stoke had interest from Burnley in the summer who remain admirers.

Aston Villa are poised to step up their search for a goalkeeper and a striker with the club expecting Wesley and Tom Heaton face significant spells out of action.

Fulham took full advantage of Leeds' slip and closed the gap to the automatic promotion places with a 1-0 win at blackburn. Aleksandar Mitrovic's 20th league goal of the season fired them into third place.

He was forced off at half-time after an awkward landing having tripped over Hull's Daniel Batty and will miss the rest of the season before sitting out this summer's tournament in addition.

The clamour for Mohamed Sankoh is growing after an impressive campaign at Stoke's academy, scoring nine goals and registering nine assists in his 16 appearances for the club's Under-18 side

PETER CROUCH: This week, Crouchie reflects on the time he scored with his hand against Arsenal, his plans for when the lockdown is lifted and why Jamie Redknapp was livid with him at Southampton.

It's a busy night of Carabao Cup action as the leading Premier League clubs enter the competition at the third round stage. Join Sportsmail's ADAM SHERGOLD for all the goals as they go in.

Borja Baston's sixth goal of the season in the third minute looked to have won it for the Swans, but Andy Yiadom earned Reading a last-gasp point at the Liberty Stadium as they missed out on top spot.

AMITAI WINEHOUSE AT THE VALLEY: Andre Ayew's wait was over and the Swansea fans had reason to celebrate. They are now top of the Championship

EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION:David Cotterill is facing legal action from at least seven former team-mates after being accused of cheating them out of a combined total of almost £400,000.

While the Championship's promotion race is notoriously tight, this year's push for the Premier League is looking like it could be the closest for many years.

The 19-year-old was diagnosed with the disease in February, immediately undergoing chemotherapy and responding well to treatment before returning to training in September.

Sheffield Wednesday halted Stoke's mini-revival and climbed to third in the Sky Bet Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Potters on Tuesday.

Swansea City's highly-rated coach Cameron Toshack is attracting interest from clubs in Portugal and the Championship. The coach has been hailed for developing young players.

ADAM SHERGOLD AT THE LIBERTY STADIUM: Fulham moved to third in the Championship on Friday as the Cottagers were forced to hold onto their lead after a late Swansea fightback.

RICHARD GIBSON AT THE HAWTHORNS: West Brom were on their best form as they embarrassed Swansea City by a 5-1 scoreline. Matheus Periera stole the show with an outstanding performance.

The Championship promotion race is shaping up to be a classic as we head into the final months of the season with as many as 10 clubs still fancying their chances of going up automatically.

ADAM LANIGAN AT THE BET365 STADIUM: Sam Clucas settled a personal score against the club he joined for £16.5m before their Premier League relegation and helped to extend Stoke's fine run.

Oli McBurnie has received a letter in which he is threatened with having his 'face kicked in' after taunting Cardiff supporters during the Welsh derby with Swansea earlier this month.

The 31-year-old defender is the third senior player to extend his stay in a matter of days after midfielders Jonjo Shelvey and Matt Ritchie both signed contract extensions last Friday.

When your father has left Cardiff City to become Liverpool's centre forward and managed the great Real Madrid twice, it's fair to say taking on a challenge is in your blood.

WILL KELLEHER IN TOKYO: The Wales and Saracens star would have stayed in Japan if Wales had made the final, but flew back on Monday and has since undergone surgery on the injury.

Former Wales coach Warren Gatland has sensationally revealed he had 'suspicions' that one of his former players was a drugs cheat. He spent 12 years in charge of Wales before leaving last month.

EXCLUSIVE BY WILL KELLEHER: Gatland confirmed the Lions have been to date knocked back in their attempts to convince the Premiership to move their final in 2021 by a week.

The Exeter Chiefs tight-head, 27, dislocated his shoulder against South Africa in the semi-final and is now out for four months.

RORY KEANE AT THE AVIVA STADIUM: It took an entire game to ship 43 points to Leinster last weekend. On Saturday night, the Saints had conceded the same total after 48 minutes

The 28-year-old has been at English and European champions Saracens since 2017, but in 2020 the full back will rejoin the Scarlets where he will earn in the region of £400,000 a year.

MARCUS TOWNEND AT CHEPSTOW: Davies is currently sidelined having undergone knee surgery after being injured while playing Fiji in the World Cup.

CHRIS FOY'S WORLD OF RUGBY: At the end of a World Cup season, players will try to muster some energy for matches in the Southern Hemisphere at a time when they should be lying on a beach.

Wales have responded to a chronic shortage of available centres by launching a cross-border raid for another of England's uncapped junior world champions - Nick Tompkins.

The 18-year-old Gloucester winger, who has been in phenomenal form for his club scoring nine times in 10 matches this season, could make his debut against Italy the day after his 19th birthday.

Teen star Rees-Zammit can have an instant impact for Wales in the Six Nations according to new coach Wayne Pivac, who included the 18-year-old as one of five uncapped players in his squad.

If last week was hellish, Northampton were far more saintly in Lyon on Saturday - winning with a bonus-point to do all they could to make the Champions Cup quarter-finals.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: The Six Nations powerbrokers are largely content with the existing deal, which is worth £90m a year between the BBC and ITV and is delivering record viewing figures.

The bookies fancy England after their run to the World Cup final but a new Six Nations era could spring a few surprises after some tough talking at the tournament launch on Wednesday morning.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The 2020 Six Nations campaign will begin on Saturday, February 1 with a number of teams eyeing glory in this year's competition.

George North's move to centre for Wales was confirmed on Thursday afternoon as Wayne Pivac revealed his first Test side for the Italy Six Nations game.

With post-World Cup fallouts always bringing about change, there are plenty of new faces set to burst onto the scene. Here, Sportsmail runs through 10 uncapped stars to watch...

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The 2020 Six Nations campaign, which gets underway this weekend, promises to be a closely-fought affair with several teams eyeing the title.

WILL KELLEHER IN CARDIFF: Wales often overachieved, pulled performances from nowhere... galvanised by Gatland they showed heart and fire. Now they face life after him with Pivac.

ROUND-UP: The Six Nations kicked-off this weekend with a thrilling round of fixtures, as Ireland, France and Wales got off to the perfect start, as our team of the filled up with French players.

The uncapped pair have been training with the group in the last few weeks, but have now officially been drafted into the squad and will be available for selection.

The 24-year-old centre won his first cap against Italy last weekend off the bench, but did enough to prove he should start at No 13 against the Irish.

With England firing bombs at their Championship rivals each week, and Scotland responding with talk of 'hate', Wales coach Wayne Pivac is finding the pre-match mudslinging all a bit unnecessary.

Six Nations 2020 gets underway this weekend as teams look build on their Rugby World Cup campaigns last year. Sportsmail will provide you with fixtures, ko times, channel, results and odds.

Ireland host Wales in week two of Six Nations action at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Sportsmail's Ieuan Ivett will provide live coverage including score, tryscorers, substitutions, sin bins, injuries and more.

WILL KELLEHER AT AVIVA STADIUM: The storm stayed away but Ireland built a big green wall to barricade themselves against Welsh tides in Dublin, beating the Grand Slam champions.