🚨 Liverpool eye Barcelona star, Cristiano Ronaldo STILL in dispute with former club, Kane sets new record, Arteta on Saliba & more
Today's round-up, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Kane, William Saliba, and much more!
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Today’s top stories:
Plus more from Man United, Chelsea and Real Madrid
Arsenal
Mikel Arteta on if he was “nervous” about keeping William Saliba: “I don’t know if that’s the right words. What you are hoping is that when you make the decision that you want to extend the player’s contract and life with the club, that they feel the same way. If suddenly you feel this is not happening I think you need to question the whole process again. Because I don’t think that’s a good starting point for anything that you want to build. We didn’t have to go through that because he was very clear, Willie, that he wanted to stay with us.” (Press conference)
Arsenal are also holding positive talks with Bukayo Saka over a new contract, with negotiations progressing well as the player is keen to stay at the club. (Football Transfers)
Arteta on Saka contract: “I will love that! It’s a player that is extremely happy and proud to have the role that he has. Things will develop naturally. Everyone knows how important Bukayo is for us. Hopefully we can do it.”
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Aston Villa
Morgan Rogers has opened talks with Aston Villa over a new contract as the club look to reward him for his form and also fight off transfer interest from Chelsea and Tottenham. (Football Insider)
Ballon d’Or
There’s now been a full breakdown of Ballon d’Or votes released, with winner Ousmane Dembele finishing on 1380 points, while Lamine Yamal was a close second on 1059. Vitinha came quite a distant third on 703 points, while fourth placed Mohamed Salah got 657 points.
Barcelona
Major injury blows for Barcelona as Raphinha will be out for three weeks and miss the PSG game. Goalkeeper Joan Garcia is also facing a spell out, possibly 4-6 weeks, so will also miss the PSG game. (Fabrizio Romano)
Bayern Munich
What a moment for Harry Kane as he made history for Bayern Munich last night, reaching 100 goals quicker than any other player in the club’s history! Kane managed the milestone in just 104 appearances, quicker even than the 105 games it took Cristiano Ronaldo to hit 100 for Real Madrid and for Erling Haaland to do the same for Manchester City. FT Bayern Munich 4-0 Werder Bremen [Pictures from BBC Sport]
Kane on his future: “I’m very happy here. My focus is on Bayern, I’m happy, and my family is happy. We haven’t had that conversation yet (about a new contract). But I’m sure it’s something we can talk about. I have almost two years left on my contract. The club is happy with me, and I’m happy with them.” (Christian Falk)
Newcastle left Bayern Munich “furious” with their signing of Nick Woltemade this summer, with the German striker having been a top target for the Bundesliga giants. (Danny Kelly, View From The Lane Podcast)
Chelsea
Chelsea are still interested in Dusan Vlahovic and could get the opportunity to move for him in January as Juventus will put the Serbian striker up for sale in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Cole Palmer will be out for the next 2-3 weeks. Enzo Maresca: “We decided to protect Cole a little bit, in terms of don’t get worse. We decide to rest him for the next 2-3 weeks until the international break, just to see if with that rest he can recover to 100%.” (Press conference)
Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner on Marc Guehi and Liverpool: “Of course Guehi was a little bit disappointed after Liverpool saga… but then he said. no, it’s fine, I like being here, I like the team, I like the staff, I like Crystal Palace, I’m a south London boy, I will give my best. I knew this would happen.” (Press conference)
Juventus
Cristiano Ronaldo’s pay dispute with Juventus dating back to 2020 still hasn’t been resolved. (Tuttomercatoweb)
Liverpool
Arne Slot was full of praise for Marc Guehi as Liverpool prepare to face their former target in their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace.
Ronald Araujo to Liverpool looks like one to watch as the Reds consider an alternative to Guehi at centre-back, but Chelsea and Tottenham are also interested in the Barcelona defender. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Real Madrid are monitoring Ibrahima Konate after missing out on William Saliba, but there is some internal debate within the club about signing the Liverpool centre-back, with Castello Lukeba also emerging as a popular option for that position. (ESPN)
Arne Slot denies that Hugo Ekitike has been fined: “Hugo didn’t get any fine. I spoke to him. He said sorry straight away to his team-mates. You are allowed at this club to make a mistake without getting fined. He’s young, he’s a fantastic human being.”
Oliver Glasner on Marc Guehi and Liverpool: “Of course Guehi was a little bit disappointed after Liverpool saga… but then he said. no, it’s fine, I like being here, I like the team, I like the staff, I like Crystal Palace, I’m a south London boy, I will give my best. I knew this would happen.” (Press conference)
Manchester City
Nico O’Reilly has signed a new contract with Manchester City. (Official)
Pep Guardiola: “Kyle Walker is one of the greatest right backs of all time. In terms of consistency, no injuries, quality, six Premier Leagues, Champions League, 18 titles, always being there in the good moments and bad moments. Unbelievable player.” (Press conference)
Manchester United
Manchester United are among the suitors for Dusan Vlahovic, who could be available in January as Juventus are expected to put the Serbian striker up for sale in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer next summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Ruben Amorim on Amad Diallo absence: “Amad is not with us as a member of his family passed away. We are giving all the support to Amad and understood he needed to return home.”
Newcastle United
Newcastle left Bayern Munich “furious” with their signing of Nick Woltemade this summer, with the German striker having been a top target for the Bundesliga giants. (Danny Kelly, View From The Lane Podcast)
Real Madrid
Real Madrid are monitoring Ibrahima Konate after missing out on William Saliba, but there is some internal debate within the club about signing the Liverpool centre-back, with Castello Lukeba also emerging as a popular option for that position. (ESPN)
Xabi Alonso: “Franco Mastantuono has so many qualities. His personality, how competitive he is, his fire and energy, it’s fundamental to his team. I’m so glad we signed him and we’ll enjoy his talents for a long time.” (Press conference)
West Ham United
West Ham are looking at Fulham manager Marco Silva as a leading candidate to replace Graham Potter. (Claret and Hugh)