🚨Mikel Arteta signs until 2027, Chelsea complete loan deal, Ten Hag hits back at Ronaldo, key Barcelona star returns, and more
Plus all of the other stories making the news in the world of football...
Good morning folks and welcome to another Daily Briefing! Thanks as always for reading, and hope you enjoy! :-)
Today’s top stories:
Chelsea’s David Datro Fofana joins Turkish club Göztepe SK on loan
Plus more from Man United, Liverpool and Barcelona
Arsenal
Official: Mikel Arteta has signed a new three-year contract with Arsenal until 2027, and sent this message to the club’s fans: “I’m extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next. I’m proud to be where I am and have the relationships that I have with everyone at the club. I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with good people and the ambition we have here. I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together. Together with the players and everyone at the club, we are looking forward to the coming years, with our supporters, who have emotionally transformed the club and the team. Our supporters have transformed individuals and we are different now. You can tell that we are different and for me, that is down to them. We look forward to continuing the journey together.”
Arteta also praised the Arsenal ownership: “Stan and Josh Kroenke are the hungriest sports people I have ever met. I’ve never seen ownership like it. The level of support they give you, that’s something incredible.”
For more details on Mikel Arteta’s new Arsenal contract. Check out Fabrizio Romano’s latest column.
Could Arteta’s new contract be key for Arsenal in their hopes of keeping William Saliba amid transfer links with Real Madrid and PSG? Full details on this saga are in Jonathan Johnson’s latest exclusive column.
Aurelien Tchouameni to Arsenal? Jonathan Johnson explains how the deal could happen in his latest exclusive column.
Following Mikel Arteta’s new contract, Arsenal are said to be in discussions with defender Gabriel Magalhaes over a new deal. [GIVEMESPORT]
Athletic Club
La Liga president Javier Tebas: “Nico Williams was wanted by Barca but they couldn't sign him. I am very happy that he is still at Athletic Club and that he is still in Spain. I'm glad to see it, gives competitiveness to the competition and it gives a sense of belonging.”
Barcelona
Gavi started training with the rest of the Barcelona squad on Thursday after his injury almost one year ago, the return of Gavi is finally getting closer.
Fabrizio Romano has the latest on Gavi’s contract situation at Barcelona.
La Liga president Javier Tebas: “Nico Williams was wanted by Barca but they couldn't sign him. I am very happy that he is still at Athletic Club and that he is still in Spain. I'm glad to see it, gives competitiveness to the competition and it gives a sense of belonging.”
“I like being compared to the best in history, Leo Messi,” Lamine Yamal has told El Hormiguero. “But I want to be Lamine Yamal and reaching Messi’s level is impossible.”
Lamine Yamal on Nico Williams: “I’d love to play every week with Nico Williams as part of my squad! He’s my good friend. I don’t know if he will join Barça next season, it’s up to Nico.”
Lamine Yamal: “I never want to leave Barça. I want to become a legend of this club.”
Brighton
Ruben Amorim: “There was one Premier League club ready to pay higher fee than us for Conrad Harder. They were also open to let the player stay at Nordsjaelland until 2025 on loan, but he decided to join Sporting.” The Premier League club in question was Brighton.
Chelsea
Andriy Lunin was never close to joining Chelsea earlier in the summer despite some reports. The Real Madrid goalkeeper is now close to signing a new contract, it will be sealed soon.
Turkish club Göztepe SK have agreed a loan deal with Chelsea for David Datro Fofana after his AEK Athens move collapsed. The agreement includes an option to buy and a recall clause in January.
Enzo Maresca on Jadon Sancho during the international break: “He has been exactly what I expected. He’s a very good player, a one-v-one player with quality in the last third. I’m sure he’s going to help us.”
Vanderson to Chelsea? Some sources indicate that the Blues are leading their Premier League rivals in the race for the Monaco right-back…
Fenerbahçe
Sofyan Amrabat has started his new Fenerbahçe chapter on Thursday with his first training session under José Mourinho.
Lille
Lille’s Angel Gomes will not decide anything regarding his future just yet. There are several clubs interested in the England international admits Fabrizio Romano in his latest column.
Liverpool
Liverpool will hold conversations with Virgil van Dijk over a new contract. Fabrizio Romano has the full details on the Reds captain in his column.
Is Aurelien Tchouameni to Liverpool really a realistic transfer? Jonathan Johnson takes a look in his latest exclusive column.
Jamal Musiala to Liverpool transfer would cost as much as €180m, with the player also focused on staying at Bayern, according to some sources.
Manchester City
“It’d be a dream for me to win the Ballon d’Or, it’d be a source of pride,” Rodri has told ESPN. “In the street, people say to me, you're going to win the Ballon d’Or, you deserve it. For me, that means I'm already a winner.”
Erling Haaland could miss Man City’s match with Brentford on Saturday due to personal reasons. [Daily Mail]
Manchester United
“Manuel Ugarte, you will have seen he played for Uruguay and he returned this afternoon,” Erik ten Hag said about his new midfield signing. “He was the only player who returned today, the rest yesterday, so he is available for this game.”
Erik ten Hag on injuries: “Rasmus Højlund and Luke Shaw are progressing very well but won't be available to face Southampton on Saturday.”
“He said that Man United can’t win the Premier League. He said this, if you read the article very well,” Ten Hag said about Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest critical comments. “Ronaldo is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester. Everyone can have an opinion. It’s okay!”
Ten Hag on criticism: “We will do our best to win every game. We will see where we are in May.
“I know in the process where we are and what we have to do, where we are going. I have said before we are still in a transition period.”
Adrien Rabiot has been linked with Man Utd but still hasn’t found a new club, so what’s really going on? Jonathan Johnson provides some insight in his latest exclusive column.
Barcelona are ready to part ways with long-term Man United target Frenkie de Jong next summer. [SPORT]
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain’s director Luis Campos: “We are working to extend Gigio Donnarumma’s contract.” Negotiations are already underway.
Luis Campos: “Victor Osimhen was considered as one of the options but we never sent any bid.”
Luis Enrique’s new PSG contract should be signed soon - more info and analysis on why he’s been such a success in Paris in Jonathan Johnson’s latest exclusive column.
William Saliba PSG transfer would undoubtedly tick a lot of boxes for the club, but how likely is it? Jonathan Johnson has the details in his latest exclusive column.
Real Madrid
Andriy Lunin’s new deal at Real Madrid will be signed soon and it’s considered a key step internally at the club. Real Madrid trust his potential and also wanted to make sure they don’t lose him as a free agent. He was never close to joining Chelsea in July despite reports in Spain.
Jude Bellingham and Éder Militão are back in training with Real Madrid.
“I’d never play for any other club in Europe out of respect for Real Madrid,” Dani Carvajal has told Marca. “If all parties agree, I want to renew my contract at Real Madrid, which is what I have always wanted and what I now want.”
“I still remember when my brother Jobe scored twice, we were watching the game and Ancelotti said: ‘f*ck… we brought the wrong one! I’m going to bring him here,” Jude Bellingham has said on his YouTube channel. “I said: ‘Where are you going to play him?’ Carlo said: ‘In your position’.”
William Saliba to Real Madrid? Jonathan Johnson takes a closer look at this story in the latest edition of his exclusive column.
Could Aurelien Tchouameni leave Real Madrid? It looks unlikely now, but can’t be ruled out for next summer, according to Jonathan Johnson in his latest exclusive column.
Sporting CP
“To be honest, I've seen inferior players being transferred above €100m, big players below €100m,” Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas told Record about Viktor Gyökeres. “Viktor is happy here. During the market, there was not a day without news saying that Viktor was leaving.”
Ruben Amorim: “There was one Premier League club ready to pay a higher fee than us for Conrad Harder. They were also open to let the player stay at Nordsjaelland until 2025 on loan, but he decided to join Sporting.” The Premier League club in question was Brighton.
Tottenham
Tottenham are the front-runners to sign Lecce’s full-back Patrick Dorgu. [La Gazzetta dello Sport]