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Presenter Mark Goldbridge has claimed that Manchester United loanee Marcel Sabitzer needs to do more to earn a permanent move to the club.

How has Sabitzer played for Man United?

The Austrian arrived on loan on deadline day in January following a long-term injury to Christian Eriksen, and has had a quiet start to life at Old Trafford.

He is yet to score or assist in his three Premier League starts, and appeared off the bench as United won the Carabao Cup, and it remains to be seen whether the club will keep him beyond his initial loan from Bayern Munich.

Speaking on The United Stand following United’s FA Cup victory over West Ham, Goldbridge claimed that Sabitzer has to start showing more if United are to make his move permanent.

“It’s interesting with Sabitzer so because people keep saying ‘I’d give him a contract in the summer.’ I want to get to the point where we give him a contract in the summer, but right here right now, we’re not going to give a contract to somebody that’s behind Fred, behind Casemiro and will be behind Eriksen, so he’s therefore fourth choice at best. So we’ve got to get more out of him,” he stated.

“It’s early days, but we’ve got to get more out of him, otherwise it won’t be a permanent move whether he wants it or not. So we’re not at that point for me yet. I’d like him to get there. I like the player. He’s got to settle and he’s got to grab a first-team slot.”

Should United keep Sabitzer?

During his performance yesterday he lost five duels and lost possession eight times. However, he did manage two key passes, a passing accuracy percentage of 79, two tackles and one interception (Sofascore).

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Erik ten Hag looks set to splash the cash on a new striker in the summer, with Victor Osimhen and Harry Kane linked, and given that the midfield also needs reinforcing, Sabitzer could be an easy addition for depth.

At 28, he may not be a long-term option in the midfield even if he becomes a starter, and whilst it may be an easy deal to do, there may be younger or better alternatives that United could sign instead of Sabitzer.

Arsenal reporter for GOAL Charles Watts has been left buzzing over the news that Bukayo Saka is close to signing a new contract, dubbing it ‘massive’.

The Lowdown: Saka contract update

As per The Daily Mail, Saka is close to signing a new deal worth over £10m-per-year, as he is convinced that the North London club are heading in the right direction under Mikel Arteta.

‘Significant’ progress has been made over the last few weeks, with Saka making it clear that he wants to stay, and the principles of an agreement are already in place.

The deal would be worth £200,000-per-week, likely making him the club’s highest-paid player.

The Latest: ‘Massive’ news

Taking to Twitter, Watts expressed his delight at the news of Saka’s contract, dubbing it ‘massive’:

“Tough to put it into words how huge it is for Arsenal that Saka’s new deal is imminent. Just massive for the club. Still a few details to be sorted, but biggest hurdles have been overcome. With Martinelli, two of football’s top talents committed on long term deals. Massive.”

The Verdict: Big boost

Saka signing a new long-term deal is no doubt a big boost for Arsenal.

The winger has nine goals and eight assists in the Premier League so far this season, more than any other Gunners player, while he also averages more crosses (1.1) per game than any of his team-mates.

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At just 21 years of age, he is a huge talent with still so much potential, emphasised by the fact that he has already been capped 24 times by England.

Saka was linked with a move to title rivals Manchester City this summer, and so it is imperative that they extend his deal in order to protect his value and fend off interest.

Chelsea ‘looked at’ Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim before appointing Graham Potter as manager, and have him on their list as a potential replacement, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The Lowdown: Amorim profiled

Amorim has received huge plaudits for the job he has done in Portugal, with members of the media lauding him as ‘the greatest manager Sporting has ever had.’

The 38-year-old’s finest achievement was winning the 2020-21 Primeira Liga title, before more recently adding both the Portuguese Super Cup and League Cup to his collection, taking him to five trophies in his managerial career.

The Latest: On the list

In an interview with GiveMeSport, Phillips confirmed that the Sporting boss has been on a three-man list including Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, saying:

“Chelsea are doing their due diligence and they will have a list, like every club does, so I know that Pochettino remains on there.

“Another one that I know Chelsea looked at, at the same time as Potter, is Ruben Amorim from Sporting. They looked at him, but they chose Potter out of those three.”

The Verdict: Plenty of options

Potter will undoubtedly be on thin ice, with the 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday leaving Chelsea 10th in the Premier League table, having lost more games than they’ve won.

As such, the board must start thinking about potential replacements for the Englishman, and Amorim, who has been lauded as ‘sensational’ by the media, could be a very shrewd appointment, given his track record of winning trophies.

That said, Pochettino is also being considered for the role, and the Argentine has experience managing in the Premier League, having overseen 293 matches in the Tottenham dugout.

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Luciano Spalletti is another option for Todd Boehly, and the 63-year-old is another very strong candidate, with his Napoli side currently sat top of the Serie A table.

Amorim looks to be the exciting, trendy and high-risk high-reward option, so is certainly one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in a move to bring Alejandro Grimaldo to the Premier League, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Free transfer available

Julen Lopetegui made six new signings in January, including Craig Dawson at centre-back, but given his team’s struggles this season, further defensive reinforcements may be needed in the summer if they manage to retain their top-flight status.

Benfica left-back Grimaldo will be out of contract at the end of the season and therefore available on a free transfer having not put pen to paper on fresh terms, and it appears that he has been identified as an ideal target by the hierarchy at Molineux.

The Latest: Wolves eyeing Grimaldo

According to Football Insider, Wolves and Newcastle have both ‘joined’ Leeds and Real Madrid in the race for Grimaldo’s signature this summer.

The Old Gold are ‘interested’ in completing a deal for the 27-year-old alongside their fellow top-flight rivals, with a move to England ‘not off the cards’ despite the attention from La Liga.

The Verdict: Ait-Nouri replacement?

Lopetegui was reportedly willing to let Rayan Ait-Nouri depart on loan in January amid interest from Real Betis, so should the French youngster exit in the summer, Grimaldo would appear to be the perfect left-back replacement at Wolves.

The Spaniard has clocked up 13 goal contributions across all competitions this season and currently ranks in the 99th percentile among positional peers outside of Europe’s top five leagues for attack-minded metrics such as expected assisted goals and progressive passes received.

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The Benfica gem has also been likened to none other than Brazil legend Roberto Carlos by journalist Mootaz Chehade, which just goes to show how highly he is regarded.

Furthermore, Grimaldo shares the same agent as Max Kilman, so this could give Wolves a potential advantage over their competitors in the battle for the 27-year-old’s services.

Arsenal seem to produce nothing but the best talent at their famous Hale End academy throughout the years, with the likes of Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere and most recently Bukayo Saka stamping their authority in the first-team from an early age and never looking back.

Indeed, with Saka, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith-Rowe all members of Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad this term, the growing consensus is that if you are talented and hungry for success, there will be an opportunity in the first-team, which will give plenty of confidence to the next set of youth prospects.

One player who is currently excelling in the academy is Charles Sagoe Jr, who may well be eyeing up a place in the first-team over the next season or two.

Could Arteta unearth his own Walcott in Sagoe Jr?

Theo Walcott joined Arsenal at the tender age of 16 from Southampton in a transfer which reverberated around the country, even more so when he was called up to England’s World Cup squad for the finals in Germany just a few months later.

Over the next 11-and-a-half seasons, Walcott scored 108 goals and racked up 80 assists, although the jury is out on whether he lived up to the lofty hype which was generated following his move in 2006.

What can’t be underestimated is his wonderful goalscoring ability from a wide position. He was usually deployed on the right wing, although he could also feature across the front three wherever required.

Sagoe Jr’s strongest position is on the left wing, although he can also operate through the middle, either as a centre-forward or as an attacking midfielder, and this versatility will be a huge bonus for Arteta.

The 18-year-old is cut from a similar cloth as Walcott, demonstrated by his tally of 14 goals and five assists in 52 appearances for Arsenal’s U18 and U21 sides, and he looks ready to make the next step sooner rather than later.

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Like the now-Southampton winger, Sageo Jr is capable of causing “problems” – according to journalist Kaya Kaynack – from out wide, and the ease of his transition from the U18 ranks to the older age group could stand him in good stead, suggesting that he may not be daunted by making the jump to senior level.

Arteta is spoilt for choice with excellent wingers these days, with Saka and Gabriel Martinelli providing plenty of creative spark. However, there appears to be plenty of chances for young players if they are progressing on the right path, and the Emirates Stadium faithful could soon be about to see the next Walcott in the flesh.

Newcastle United’s owners have stressed the development of St. James’ Park is a long-term project and not something which will happen soon.

What’s the latest?

Earlier this week, it was reported the Saudi Arabian-based owners had bought back the patch of land known as Strawberry Place opposite the stadium.

The site was initially sold by the previous owner, Mike Ashley, back in 2019 for a sum of money believed to be worth in the region of £9m.

However, the site is now back in possession of the club and it is believed it will be used in the hope of expanding the Gallowgate End in the years to come.

But, speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Craig Hope has stressed the club are making it clear this is not a project which will happen over the coming months:

(3:10) “The word been stressed to me by the club is long-term, you know, we’re not going to buy this land and then all of a sudden, within the next sort of 12-18 months or even two years, turn St. James’ Park into a 60k/65k seater stadium, that just probably isn’t feasible for, for a variety of reasons.

“First and foremost, you know, they’ve got to explore all options from it from a structural point of view, could it be that modern technology means you don’t actually have to go out into Strawberry Place?”

Moving on up

Given the recent success of the club and the fact the previous owner is now well and truly out of the picture, there has naturally been a huge increase in demand for tickets.

It has been reported that over the summer there were around 30,000 fans aiming to snap up a season ticket and the 1,000 which were made available were bought almost instantaneously.

St. James’ Park currently holds just over 52,000 fans but there will be major issues for the club to overcome if they are to expand the stadium.

The stadium backs onto building issues on basically every side of the ground with listed buildings, a conservation area (Leazes Park) and structural headaches all to consider.

And through buying back Strawberry Place, the club will have to navigate various structural issues if they are to expand out the Gallowgate End.

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Below the site runs the local metro system which will likely require an awful lot of money and the best architects around to navigate a way to make this happen.

The club certainly have the financial power to do so, but this just shows how it is not going to be something which happens in the summer or even the summer after that.

This is going to be a huge project for the club and it seems they will be assessing all options of what modern technology can do before deciding to potentially build out onto Strawberry Place.

West Bromwich Albion enjoyed a relatively quiet January transfer window, but admittedly they were hardly in need of vast reinforcements.

Carlos Corberan had already inherited a relatively strong squad and managed to knit them together into a unit which will now have eyes on a return to the Premier League. Considering where the Baggies lay prior to Steve Bruce’s dismissal, this marks an outstanding turnaround.

There was no need for his Spanish successor to go wild in the transfer market, as it offers unpredictability alongside the potential to upset his finely-tuned machine, although he did supplement the squad with two new arrivals and nearly added a third on deadline day.

It was reported by the Evening Standard that Albion had agreed a deal with Chelsea starlet Omari Hutchinson to join until the end of the season, with the 19-year-old turning down offers from Europe and other Championship clubs in favour of a move to The Hawthorns.

However, according to The Athletic’s Elias Burke, it appeared that complications arose, which in turn led to Karlan Grant’s failed move to Swansea City. As such, both deals could not be completed in time, and the clubs missed out on their respective targets.

This arguably would have been the perfect move for West Brom to make given their current situation, bringing in a super-talented teenager to supplement the likes of John Swift, push them for a place in the team or even offer an instant upgrade to drive the team even closer to their objective of promotion.

The youngster has impressed this season for Chelsea’s youth setup and already boasts two senior appearances, having only moved from Arsenal last summer.

In 14 Premier League 2 appearances, he has notched five goals and a further seven assists. This is further supplemented by his three goal contributions in four EFL Trophy matches. 

His dynamism paired with a fine technical proficiency would have made him an ideal partner for Daryl Dike to play off of, with the American having only recently returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

He has notched two goals in his last three league games and will likely play a big role in their promotion push. His return adds pace and power, as well as the cutting edge that they had been lacking up front, and he would have surely thrived from the service of Hutchinson.

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Graham Potter’s line about the teenager’s performance during a mid-season friendly further outlined exactly what Dike and West Brom will miss out on, with the Chelsea manager saying: “[Hutchinson] was really good, dangerous and asked a question all the time.”

That prying offensive nature could have been the additional spark to add even more goals to a solid West Brom outfit with the Championship’s fourth-best defensive record.

They should still finish in the play-offs without him, but he could have been the vital difference towards going even further and daring to dream of an automatic promotion spot.

Newcastle United will hope to continue their remarkable season in this evening’s Premier League clash against West Ham United at St James’ Park, with victory cementing the Magpies’ position in the top four of the table.

Having lost just once across the opening 20 league matches of the season, Eddie Howe’s side have stormed into the Champions League positions, boasting 39 points – three more than fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have also played an extra match.

With Newcastle having most recently beaten Southampton in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, setting up a tantalising final against Manchester United in three weeks’ time, the overwhelming optimism emanating from Tyneside could hardly be any greater at present.

With the Tynesiders succumbing to defeat only against Liverpool in the league this term, agonisingly conceding the decisive goal deep into stoppage time at Anfield, there will be a belief that three more points will be accumulated today against the 16th-placed Irons, with the prospect of Champions League football next season further enhanced.

In order to ensure that the stellar work continues, Howe must stick with homegrown talent Sean Longstaff in the centre of the park, with the 25-year-old having scored twice against the Saints in midweek.

Having risen through the youth ranks at Newcastle, Longstaff has made 122 appearances, scoring eight goals and supplying seven assists.

Making 27 outings across all competitions this term, and starting 16 times in the league, Longstaff has indeed cemented his importance to a flourishing Magpies team.

According to Sofascore, the Englishman has completed 80% of his passes and averaged 0.8 shots and 0.8 key passes per game, scoring one goal and registering two assists in the top flight.

The recipient of criticism from some of the St James’ Park faithful last year, the 25-year-old clearly has the faith of his manager, having been ever-present in the Premier League since October.

It was only this week that Chronicle Live writer Charlie Bennett waxed lyrical about Longstaff’s fine form, tweeting: “The bloke is a man reborn. Absolute machine in that first half.”

A progressive midfielder, Longstaff ranks among the top 17% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues for touches in the attacking box and the top 20% for progressive passes received over the past year, as per FBref. His transitional, forward-thinking approach will be vital in suffocating the Irons and maintaining a vice-like grip on proceedings for Newcastle.

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As such, his inclusion in the starting line-up could prove to be a crucial cog to thread together the collective departments of the team, with his “superb” skill set – as lauded by Ross Gregory – keeping things ticking over and possibly compounding West Ham to further misery.

Howe might be tempted to give Longstaff a breather given the amount of football that he has played this season (he is their third most-used outfield player) and the busy schedule due to their Carabao Cup run, but the 25-year-old is simply playing too well to be left out today.

With Longstaff continuing to thrive in the midfield engine room, West Ham could well be vanquished at St James’ Park as Newcastle keep their excellent momentum going.

Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing up a potential move for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Piero Hincapie – although it may come as a possible summer signing.

The Lowdown: Spurs struggling to recruit

The Lilywhites have only been able to bring in one new face in the January transfer window in the Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma.

This comes amid the issues the north London side are having in trying to seal the signing of the Sporting CP right wing-back Pedro Porro.

But there is the belief that Fabio Paratici has an eye on potentially adding to his defence over the coming months with one centre-back, in particular, on his radar.

The Latest: Hincapie could be targeted

Speaking on his latest YouTube video, Alasdair Gold has mooted the prospect of Spurs bringing in the Ecuadorian defender.

He said: “Spurs definitely do have an interest in him. He’s slightly on the short side for a centre-back, I think he’s 6 foot – which obviously is not a short person, but for Premier League centre-back, normally they’re a little bit bigger than that.

“What’s happened with him is his value’s absolutely skyrocketed after the World Cup.

“From what it seems to be, I think a summer deal is more likely for anyone, really, trying to get him. I don’t think Leverkusen are keen to sell at all.

“So yeah, maybe one to keep an eye on, but I do wonder what the competition is going to be like for him in the summer. But certainly, a player Spurs really like.”

The Verdict: Spurs can secure Dier upgrade

With Leverkusen seemingly not looking to offload Hincapie this month, it does allow the Lilywhites to assess their options with their defence proving a big issue over recent months.

Despite being one of the sides who are pushing for a spot in the top four of the Premier League table, Antonio Conte’s men do not exactly have the defensive record to match.

The Lilywhites have conceded the sixth-most goals in the top flight this season, with the likes of Newcastle having allowed 20 fewer goals so far.

Eric Dier has been a key figure in the centre of Conte’s defence since the Italian took the reins in north London back in November 2021, with 56 appearances under the 53-year-old.

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And in comparison to the Englishman, Hincapie has provided Leverkusen with more tackles and blocks per 90 minutes this season (via FBref).

However, the 21-year-old is still clearly a raw talent, with his disciplinary record leaving a lot to be desired – he has six yellow cards and two red cards to his name after 21 appearances.

But there will be some concerns following recent reports suggesting the ‘impressive’ centre-back would cost the Lilywhites in the region of £66m.

That said, the same report suggests the 21-year-old would be keen to make the move to north London, so perhaps this is indeed one to keep an eye on as Gold suggests.

West Ham United have submitted an offer to sign AS Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo this month, according to journalist Ciro Venerato.

The Lowdown: Zaniolo wants to leave

The Italian international has now entered the final 18 months of his contract at the Stadio Olimpico and has been linked with an exit after his manager, Jose Mourinho, admitted that he has asked to leave the club before the end of the window.

Premier League clubs Tottenham and Newcastle have both been credited with an interest in the 23-year-old alongside the Irons, but Serie A giants AC Milan are also in a strong position in the race for his signature.

The Roma maestro has reportedly agreed personal terms to join Stefano Pioli’s side, but with money typically the most important factor when it comes to finalising a deal, a late swoop has been made.

The Latest: West Ham make bid

Speaking to 1 Station Radio (via Tutto Juve and Sport Witness), Venerato revealed that West Ham tabled an offer to sign Zaniolo on Tuesday morning.

“An offer from West Ham was also made this morning, a loan with an obligation to buy linked to avoiding relegation set at €25m (£22m).”

“If Roma accepted this formula, rejected for now, it would be the highest proposal.”

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The Verdict: Get it done…

Zaniolo has been hailed a ‘lethal playmaker’ by journalist Zach Lowy and the London Stadium outfit need to do everything they can to fend off their competitors and get this deal over the line.

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The Nike-sponsored star currently ranks in the 96th percentile for most shots per 90 minutes from players in his position and offers plenty of versatility with the ability to operate in three different attacking midfield roles.

Declan Rice is facing an uncertain future at the club so a midfield reinforcement will definitely be required should he depart, and Zaniolo would be a hugely exciting long-term addition, albeit in a more advanced role.