Arsenal now ready to accept January offers for two big earners
Mikel Arteta is reportedly ready to make some changes…
As Arsenal look to gain an advantage in the Premier League title race, the January transfer window could be vital. The Gunners suffered heartbreak last time out, with Manchester City eventually regaining their top spot on their way to securing a history treble in the last campaign. It is the type of heartbreak that Mikel Arteta will want to avoid this season, but after a 2-0 defeat against West Ham United, it’s clear that some changes may still be needed at The Emirates.
With that said, whilst their attention could soon turn to reinforcements, reports suggest that Arsenal are ready to sell two big earners in the January transfer window in a ruthless move from the North London club.
Arsenal transfer news
The days of poor Arsenal recruitment seem to be over after a successful summer transfer window, which saw Declan Rice, David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz all arrive. Rice particularly impressed from the off, before Havertz found his feet alongside Raya, who is now firmly Arteta’s number one ahead of Aaron Ramsdale. Timber, meanwhile, suffered an early injury blow and will have to wait to have a similar impact when he returns. Following those arrivals, however, the Gunners could free up some room by selling two midfielders next month.
Arteta could land Arsenal’s next Bergkamp in £86m-rated “animal”
The Gunners are seemingly stepping up their search to find a new centre-forward.
According to Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Arsenal are now ready to accept offers for both Thomas Partey and Jorginho in January as they look to make space for those potentially coming in the other direction. Given that the North London side sit two points adrift of league leaders Liverpool too, it’s clear that Arsenal could do with any advantage they can get for the remainder of the season. Of course, Arteta will hope that the potential exits of Partey and Jorginho don’t instead harm his side.
Arsenal must replace Partey
If Partey and Jorginho are to leave the Emirates next month, then they must replace the midfield duo – especially the former. We’ve seen Manchester City suffer the consequences of failing to find an adequate back-up for Rodri this season, suffering defeats against the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers. And Arsenal must make sure to avoid suffering the same fate when it comes to Rice, with Partey currently an ideal second option for Arteta when fit. Meanwhile, the experience of a player such as Jorginho can often be invaluable in a title race and is also something that the Gunners must be wary of losing.
The potential departures could be sacrifices that turn into a good thing for Arsenal, however, given that Partey’s wages reportedly sit at £200k per week and Jorginho’s wages are reportedly as high as £110k per week. Given that both players are often on the cusp of Arteta’s side these days too, it’s fair to say that the Gunners would be clearing plenty of room on their current wage bill by sanctioning the departures of the midfield duo. When the winter window opens, they’ll both be players to keep an eye on, it seems.
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Emery must bench 5/10 Aston Villa star for £130k-p/w “bright spark”
Unai Emery will consider dropping this Villa player to start this gem instead for the home game against Burnley.
After collapsing away at Manchester United in disastrous fashion last match – Erik ten Hag’s stuttering Red Devils pulling off an almighty comeback to win 3-2 – Aston Villa will hope a return to home comforts today means three points will be wrapped up come full-time to forget their nightmare day out to the Theatre of Dreams instantly.
Unai Emery will ponder what team to select for the game against Burnley at Villa Park, the one-time title challengers needing to get back on track against the Clarets to keep up the pace with the teams at the top of the division and continue overperforming.
The 52-year-old boss in the Villa dug-out could drop Jacob Ramsey for the match against Vincent Kompany’s side, the young homegrown product failing to strike fear into the United defence last game with a passive display going forward.
Jacob Ramsey’s game vs Man United in numbers
Becoming a first-teamer again under Emery in the last few weeks, Ramsey’s spot in the starting eleven could now be under threat owing to a poor performance against the Red Devils.
The 22-year-old – who has operated in central midfield this season for the Birmingham-based club – was selected to play at left wing against Ten Hag’s hosts and struggled, registering just one paltry effort on Andre Onana’s goal – as per Sofascore – that ended up being blocked.
Moreover, Ramsey was physically feeble in the back-and-forth affair at Old Trafford – failing to win a single aerial duel in the 3-2 loss for Villa, whilst only successfully winning 50% of his ground duels.
The Villa number 41 also failed to even attempt a dribble attempt all match, with Alejandro Garnacho upstaging the lacklustre winger for the home side with a rampant second-half display, culminating in the skilful winger scoring two goals to help the Red Devils pull off an unbelievable comeback win.
Aston Villa now move to sign new £17m “assist machine” for Emery
He could be set to leave his current employers in 2024…
Birmingham Live journalist John Townley handed out a meagre 5/10 rating to Ramsey after the defeat, stating that the Villa man ‘went missing’ in the second 45 minutes.
Emery could well look to his squad to see who can come in and replace the disappointing Ramsey for the game against Burnley therefore, opting to potentially give Moussa Diaby a go down the left flank despite primarily utilising the ex-Bayer Leverkusen man elsewhere this campaign as an attacking midfielder or striker.
Moussa Diaby’s season in numbers
Diaby has been largely impressive for the top-flight club this campaign, finding the back of net four times and assisting a further six goals in all competitions so far.
Even when Emery’s men are experiencing a poor day at the office, Diaby has shone this campaign – former Everton football and commentator Leon Osman singling out the slick 5 foot 7 forward as a “bright spark” earlier in the season when Villa flopped at Anfield in a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in September on BBC Radio Five Live.
Yet, playing the 24-year-old attacker as a left winger in his new surroundings could awaken a different beast altogether based on his Leverkusen numbers playing in the Bundesliga from that very spot.
Switching between playing as a right winger and left winger during the 2021/22 season in Germany, Diaby notched up a terrifying 25 goal contributions from just 32 games in the league which began to alert suitors to his services such as Villa.
| Moussa Diaby’s goal numbers for Leverkusen (all competitions) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
| 2022-23 | 48 | 14 | 10 |
| 2022-21 | 42 | 17 | 14 |
| 2020-21 | 43 | 10 | 15 |
| 2019-20 | 39 | 8 | 8 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | |||
Signed for a club-record fee of £51.9m this summer, which has also seen Diaby pocket £130k-per-week at Villa Park as part of the deal, Emery will hope the explosive attacker can reach the levels he managed at Leverkusen in the Premier League soon.
Testing Diaby out down the left-hand channel against Burnley feels like a move worth pursuing, the Clarets leaking goals for fun at points this season with 38 goals shipped in just 19 games.
An on-song Diaby alongside a prolific Ollie Watkins up top could be the catalyst for Villa to kick on even more and prolong their stay near the top of the table instead of just slipping away, Ramsey, unfortunately, losing out in the process consequently.
The Magpies are set to make a decision regarding the future of Eddie Howe.
Newcastle United are likely to hold talks to appoint a managerial “legend” at the end of the season, according to a reliable journalist.
Newcastle’s season so far
After finishing fourth last season in the Premier League, the black and white stripes secured a place in this year’s Champions League, which was no doubt a fantastic achievement for everyone associated with the club. However, it’s fair to say that things didn’t turn out as they would have hoped.
The Magpies ended up finishing at the bottom of their group below Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Milan, meaning that not only did they fail to progress to the next stage of that particular competition, they also missed out on dropping into the Europa League.
This comes amid an indifferent league campaign to date, with the Magpies outside the European places entirely heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, with just 9 wins in 19 matches.
Should PIF decide to relieve Eddie Howe of his duties in the near future given their inconsistent form, they appear to have set their sights on a possible replacement in the form of AS Roma’s Jose Mourinho, who has plenty of experience in the English top flight having previously managed Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (Transfermarkt – Mourinho statistics).
The Portuguese’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, meaning that he will be a free agent on the market should he not sign an extension, and if that does turn out to be the case, the 60-year-old could find himself on the radar of the hierarchy at St James’ Park.
Newcastle linked with Mourinho
Speaking to GiveMeSport, reporter Dean Jones suggested that Newcastle probably do like Mourinho and claimed that they are expected to evaluate the position of Howe upon the conclusion of the campaign.
He said: “At some point, they will get a bit trigger-happy and they will decide to make a change. You’re already seeing Jose Mourinho being linked with Newcastle. Those things don’t happen by luck. There’ll be stories there, there will be conversations had, even if they’re very low-key conversations, just try starting to sound out who they could get if they didn’t have Eddie Howe.
“I think at the back end of the season, they’ll get towards a big decision. Because if Newcastle aren’t in the Champions League places in the league, they’re already out of Europe, if they don’t win a cup, they will be thinking, well, has he taken us as far as he can go? How do we now take this club quickly to being a proper Champions League-level side?”
AS Roma’s record under Mourinho
During his time at AS Roma, Mourinho has 67 wins, 29 draws and 37 losses under his belt from 133 games, where he is currently averaging 1.73 points per match, taking 230 out of a possible 399 following his arrival back in 2021.
The Setubal-born coach is a veteran in the dugout and more than knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the very highest level, having secured 31 trophies since the start of his managerial career, including the Premier League and Champions League on multiple occasions.
As described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Mourinho is a “legend” for what he has been able to achieve at the helm, so while he might be a slightly older profile than the hierarchy would be open to considering, there’s no doubt that he could be an exciting appointment for Newcastle.
The Old Trafford board have been asked to make a move for an overseas centre-forward.
Manchester United have highlighted their number one target for the upcoming window, with Erik ten Hag demanding that the board bring them to the Premier League, according to a fresh report.
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