Another former Manchester United manager, albeit on an interim basis, Ruud van Nistelrooy has gazed into his crystal ball and predicted Leicester’s survival fate will go down to the last game. Not that he has got a lot right recently, the Foxes have lost their last six and are back in the relegation zone.
We want to be out of the situation come May, we also know we’re in a position with three or four teams that are close together and they are also dropping points,” he said. “That makes the situation possible, but it is up to us to start collecting points. Performances are something you can build on but we are all fed up of that.
From the first day I joined I spoke about it going right to the last day this battle. You have hopes we could surprise and get more results to get us out of the situation early, so in that sense it is disappointing that didn’t happen. There is an amount of patience required, for a six-week start of a collaboration between me and the players, the club, and believe that in this path good performances will turn into points.
Leicester will try and end their horror run against Fulham on Saturday.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær confirms talks with Beskitas over manager role
Ole Gunnar Solskjær had arrived in Istanbul as talks continue over him taking charge at Turkish club Besiktas. Solskjær has not held a coaching role since leaving Old Trafford in 2021, but is now negotiating with the Super Lig side, who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month. The Norwegian arrived in Istanbul on Friday to put the finishing touches to an 18-month deal.
“I am very happy to be here. It is great to have so many people here for this great club,” Solskjær said after being greeted by members of the Besiktas board on his arrival at Ataturk Airport. “We have had our first meetings. I am looking forward to starting my job. It is great to be in this great city.”
Besiktas are currently struggling in sixth place. Another former Manchester United manager, José Mourinho, is currently in charge of Fenerbahce, who sit second in the table behind leaders Galatasaray.
Saturday’s home match against Samsunspor is likely to come too soon for Solskjær, leaving interim coach Serdar Topraktepe in the dugout. The 51-year-old, though, could take charge of the Europa League clash against Athletic Bilbao in midweek.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is next up in front of the microphones:
When the players come, it’s not because I decide. It’s because of the club. The club decides to change the players, or the manager. The trust has always been there [between me and the board]. That’s for sure.
Erling Haaland is making me a better manager. I think this [10-year] deal provides stability to the club. A lot can change but Haaland feels that he wants to give his best years to the club.
Hello everyone! Let’s kick off with some Eddie Howe quotes. The Newcastle manager has been talking before the visit of Bournemouth and was asked about Miguel Almirón, who could return to the MLS this month as the north-east club negotiate spending restrictions which forced them to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh this summer.
No-one wants to lose any players from our current squad, especially in positions where we are a little bit fragile. Why would we want to leave ourselves in that position? But when you’re armed with all the [financial] facts, sometimes you have to take that short-term pain.
There’s not a pot of money there waiting to be spent, it’s all about 30 June and making sure you comply by that date. Obviously if you spend money, then you have to recoup it at a later date.
Howe seems frustrated that his outgoings have to match his incomings. Hmmmm. PSR has got a lot of flack from various people in recent years, but I think there’s some evidence that it is quite effective at the moment?
And with those striking stats, I’ll hand over to Michael Butler to bring you more hard-hitting updates and build-up.
Some Opta stats to chew over during lunchtime…
Brentford v Liverpool Mo Salah has been involved in eight goals in his last three Premier League appearances in London (4 goals, 4 assists)
Ipswich v Man City Erling Haaland has scored six goals in his last four Premier League appearances against newly promoted teams
Nottingham Forest v Southampton Chris Wood has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League appearances against newly promoted sides
For those who want to be across every bit of transfer window news, keep refreshing these two pages. All the movements featuring Théo Pellenard, Thibault De Smet, Charlotte Wardlaw and more!
Paul Cargill emails in.“Is it just a coincidence that Haaland’s contract now runs for 115 months?” Oof! *taps caculator.
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna says Town hope to do more deals in the January transfer window.
McKenna boosted his forward options by signing Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa earlier this week – the fee believed to be around £20million – but he wants more firepower. That seems perfectly reasonable given that Ipswich have averaged less than a goal per game this season, their meagre tally of 20 making them the third lowest scorers in the division behind Everton (15) and Southampton (13).
Talking about more incomings, McKenna said: “We’ll try to, if we can find quality that can improve us. I think our depth is pretty good now. If we can get everybody back fit, our depth is fine.
“But if we can add quality that can help the starting XI or quality that can help from the bench, then we’ll certainly aim to try and do so – but only if the right players are available that can really push us on.”
Some more from Arne Slot’s press conference this morning. Here are the calm and smiling Dutchman’s thoughts on the title race as Liverpool hope to extend their four-point lead over Arsenal. The Reds travel to Brentford for a 3pm kick-off, with the Gunners hosting Aston Villa at 5.30pm.
“I don’t think we are as much as the media thinking about the league table every second of the day. We are trying to get the best out of the players, and with ‘we’ I mean my staff and the players trying to get the best out of themselves every single day.
“These players know how long the season still is and how many games they have to be in the best possible form to win something in the end of the season, which is not something that happens every single season. We are not so focused on the league as other people are.
“But we are focused on getting a good training session today and getting a good game tomorrow. And as a result of that, we are hoping for a result. But the only way to get a result is to work on a daily basis in the best possible way.”
Slot was also asked if it was an advantage that Liverpool play first.
“No, I don’t look at it that way. I didn’t even know that they were playing later than us. I only look at the opponent that we have to face and that’s a tough one. [Brentford] was my first Premier League game [at Anfield] and then I already thought, ‘If this is going to be the resistance we get every week then this is a more difficult league than the Eredivisie.’ Which I knew before I came but it was proven that day as well.
“They’ve had a very good season until now, had a 2-2 against [Manchester] City – great game, both teams creating a lot of chances – and their manager has done a fantastic job for so many years now. You can see that it is a team that has worked together with their manager for a long time. That’s my only focus and not on when do Arsenal play or when do Chelsea play or when do all the others play. We only focus on ourselves and the team we have to face.”
A bit more detail on the Erling Haaland contract via PA Media.
Haaland’s deal means he has the longest current contract of any player in the top five European leagues, according to Transfermarkt.
Excluding ‘lifetime’ deals offered to Real Madrid duo Raul and Iker Casillas and Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, the next longest in football history with a defined end date was the 10-year deal awarded to Brazilian winger Denilson when he signed for Real Betis in 1998 for what was then a world record £21.5m.
Deals of 10 years-plus are more common in American sports, with Juan Soto signing a 15-year deal with the New York Mets last month.
It has been reported Haaland’s deal increases his basic wage to £500,000 a week and removes a release clause contained in the original contract.
Luton finished just one place below Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last season, unfortunately that being 18th (relegated) to 17th (survived). But while Forest have kicked on in magnificent style, it’s all gone horribly wrong for the Hatters. Simon Burnton investigates.
Can anyone catch Chelsea in the WSL? That’s the big question as the competition returns after a 32-day mid-season winter break with Liverpool hosting Brighton tonight.
Suzanne Wrack sets the scene for the much-anticipated resumption and I’ll give this one a good read having secured myself a ticket for Sunday evening’s Manchester derby at the Etihad.
Jota doubt for Liverpool’s trip to Brentford
Having made a very instant impression with the equaliser against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, Diogo Jota could be out of Liverpool’s trip to Brentford on Saturday. That’ll cause groans around Anfield with the Portuguese striker again showing that he remains the most reliable finisher in the club with his strike in the 1-1 draw at the City Ground.
Jota reported some discomfort after the game and trained separately from the main squad on Thursday, Liverpool boss Arne Slot has just revealed in today’s press conference.
“There’s no doubt about the fact that Jota is an important player for us. He was not in training yesterday so we have to see today where he is,” said the Dutchman. “It’s not sure that he will be available for tomorrow. We have to wait and see, He felt a little niggle during the half-hour he was in, he could finish the game but he afterwards he complained a bit about it.”
The Portugal frontman has started just two matches since October, having been sidelined with a chest injury for almost eight weeks. Jota has a chequered injury record, having missed 66 matches over the last two and a half seasons, but Slot said the striker was not receiving any special treatment in relation to that.
“Every single player has an individual programme. I’ve said before that 80 to 90 per cent of the things are the same for players. But every individual has things he wants to improve or to prevent him from maybe getting a certain injury he may have had in the past.
“Of course, there is an eye on him (Jota) doing some individual work to prevent him from getting injured, but that’s not only with him. With all the others it’s the same. There is a special programme for him as there is for every single player.”
In better Liverpool forward news, Luis Diaz is expected to be fit after illness forced him to miss Thursday’s training session.
Ole direksiyonda!Turkish speakers can either smirk or correct me. So, it seems that former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in talks to take over at Turkish club Besiktas.
(From PA Media)
Solskjaer has not held a coaching role since leaving Old Trafford in 2021 but is now negotiating with the Super Lig outfit, who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month.
The Norwegian has reportedly been in Istanbul to put the finishing touches to an 18-month deal, with the club confirming the move was in progress in a brief statement. “Negotiations have started with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the position of coach of our football team,” it read.
Solskjaer has managed Molde in his home country on two separate occasions and also led Cardiff for a brief spell in 2014. Should he take over at Besiktas, the 21-time league champions currently struggling in sixth place, he will come up against his predecessor as Red Devils boss. Jose Mourinho is currently in charge of Fenerbahce, who sit second in the table behind leaders Galatasaray.
Saturday’s home match against Samsunspor is likely to come too soon for Solskjaer, leaving interim coach Serdar Topraktepe in the dugout, but the 51-year-old could take charge of the Europa League clash against Athletic Bilbao in midweek.
As Max Rushden points out in his column below, Tottenham are 18th in the Premier League form table since a joyous 4-0 November win over Manchester City at the Etihad. But despite that meagre haul of only five points from a possible 27, Max says Spurs should just flamin’ stick with the bloke.
Some reader reaction to Erling Haaland signing a mammoth new nine-and-a-half deal at Manchester City. Fair to say reaction is, erm, mixed.
Graeme Neill: “You can’t argue with his frankly incredible goalscoring record but let’s face it, he’s no fun to watch. It’s just relentless grinding ability rather than flair or the ability to surprise you. Give me a mercurial number 10 any day.”
Ed Freeman: “He’s not going to stay til ‘34 though is he? I give him another year and a half. This way the club guarantees a good price when he does go to Madrid or Saudi, though. Good bit of business, I’d say.”
Vivek Rajendra: “How should one read into the announcement and details of this absurd contract? Is this City signalling that they are confident of beating the 115 charges? Or are they somehow trying to convince themselves they will conjure up an escape by simply pretending it is business as usual? Should it also be read in context with their trolley dash(?) for Khusanov and Marmoush assuming a potential transfer ban?”
Let’s focus in on those fixtures with our regular double digit-based Friday column.
Brentford v Liverpool should be a cracker for TV viewers on Saturday. Except it’s a 3pm kick-off which, fun fact, is Liverpool’s first away game in that slot all season.
It’s a 5-4-1 formation for the latest round of Premier League fixtures. Here is Matchweek 22 of a season that is moving fast. Just 17 games to go – although Liverpool and Everton have 18.
Saturday 12.30 Newcastle v Bournemouth 15.00 Brentford v Liverpool 15.00 Leicester v Fulham 15.00 West Ham v Crystal Palace 17.30 Arsenal v Aston Villa
Sunday 14.00 Everton v Spurs 14.00 Man Utd v Brighton 14.00 Nottingham Forest v Southampton 16.30 Ipswich v Man City
Monday 20.00 Chelsea v Wolves
Today’s Rumour Mill allows us a segue involving Brighton. Read today’s whispers here…
Brighton were the other winners last night as they ended an eight-game streak without a Premier League victory (eight of those were draws, mind) with a 2-0 success at Ipswich to take them up to ninth. Nick Ames was at Portman Road.
Haaland has 11 Man City hat-tricks to his name so far but none yet in 2025. One man who has is Amad Diallo, who rescued Manchester United with a late, late treble to haul them back from an embarrassment against bottom club Southampton and secure a 3-1 win last night.
That’s quite a start to the morning blog, isn’t it. I know it’s not the main focus but that Man City shirt font remains troublesome.
Preamble
Good morning. Let’s start at Manchester City, where Erling Haaland has put pen to paper on a new contract that ties him to the club until … 2034. Yes. Here’s are the details from Jamie Jackson.
Erling Haaland has signed a record new nine-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester City that ties him to the champions until 2034, with the centre-forward stating he is “super-happy and proud”.
The Norwegian, who was previously contracted until 2027, has proved a phenomenon at City, scoring 111 goals in only 125 games since signing from Borussia Dortmund in summer 2022. He got 52 goals in his first season, as City claimed the treble in 2022-23.
The length of contract is a record for a player in domestic competition and his salary is thought to be a basic of about £500,000 a week.
The morning’s other big news is the appointment of 35-year-old Renee Slegers as Arsenal’s new permanent head coach. Here’s Suzanne Wrack with the report on that before WSL gets back underway after a winter break.
Renee Slegers takes an Arsenal training session this week. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images
Arsenal have named the interim head coach Renée Slegers as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after an impressive temporary spell in charge.
The 35-year-old has signed a contract to the end of the 2025-26 season after three months as interim.
“Renée was the standout candidate of a thorough recruitment process,” said Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley.
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