Jon Flanagan

Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan admitted yesterday a charge of assaulting his girlfriend last month and will be sentenced on January 17. Flanagan, who spent last year on loan with Burnley, was captured on CCTV footage in Lverpool city centre beating and kicking Rachael Wall, his girlfriend of 18 months. Judge Wendy Lloyd told Flanagan he could expect a community sentence. "I need to be reassured that these circumstances will never be repeated again," she said.