Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in Manchester United squad; Chelsea 'keen to open contract talks with Mateo Kovacic, and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to have £50m to spend in January

 

Arsenal boss Arteta to have £50m to spend in January?

Arsenal are reportedly willing to spend big in January in order to strengthen their Premier League title bid.

According to The Sun, the club's owner are prepared to bankroll more activity in the transfer market, aware that it could prove to be the difference when it comes to finishing in the top four or winning a trophy.

The report claims that Arteta wishes to sign at least two players, with a new central midfielder almost certain to be at the top of the Spaniard's list of priorities.

Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Albert Sambi Lokonga have taken on the bulk of the workload in the middle of the pitch, the former playing all but two minutes of Arsenal's Premier League matches thus far.

Chelsea 'keen to open contract talks with Mateo Kovacic'

Chelsea are reportedly planning to open contract talks with Mateo Kovacic after the World Cup.

The 28-year-old only has little over 18 months left to run on his current deal at Stamford Bridge, having penned a five-year agreement following his arrival from Real Madrid in July 2019.

Kovacic has again been an important player for Chelsea during the 2022-23 campaign, making 13 appearances in all competitions, contributing one goal and one assist in the process.

"He's been nursing his knee all season pretty much and you look at the schedule, it's impossible for him to start all the games," Potter told reporters. "We've planned for him to have less time but things have conspired against us."

Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in Manchester United squad against Sheriff Tiraspol

Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will be back in the squad for Thursday's Europa League contest with Sheriff Tiraspol.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, the Man United head coach confirmed that the former Sporting Lisbon youngster would be back in the squad for Thursday's European affair.

"Yes, Cristiano will be in the squad tomorrow," Ten Hag told reporters. "It's not difficult. But I think we said everything and we answered all the questions, he was out for one game and is back in the squad as usual.

"You don't have to [ask more questions] because we will not answer anymore, so all the questions, I think, are everything we explained and we have to focus on the game tomorrow. We have an important game because we want to be number one in the group.

"I don't have to do it anymore, It's done, he's back, focus on the game, that's important that Cristiano is involved in the squad tomorrow.

"In this moment, also last week, we focus on the games. In the background, we always continue a process, working on the squad, so we want to have top sport culture and you see and examine how you can improve and that's what we will do."