Amorim still hoping to sign Victor Osimhen

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim is desperate for funds to strengthen his team, partly as a result of Marcus Rashford not wanting to make a big money move to Saudi Arabia and his current wages now in excess of £300k a week.

Amorim’s preference is to sign Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres but his £80million price tag is posing a problem unless money is received for Rashford. United have hatched a plan to release Rashford in a swap deal for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen. There would also be a cash deal involved because Osimhen is valued at £62 million and Rashford at £40 million.

Both Casemiro and Antony are receiving interests from Saudi clubs and Diogo Dalot is being considered by Real Madrid in case they can’t sign on Trent Alexander-Arnold.

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After being frozen out by previous coach Erik Ten Hag, back in favour Harry Maguire is delighted to have extended his contract under Amorim.

United’s interest in Dani Olmo looks to be doomed and his agent has said the attacking midfielder’s future is with Barcelona and he is not negotiating with any other team.”

Real Madrid makes direct contact with Trent-Alexander

I can confirm that Real Madrid have spoken to Liverpool wing-back Trent Alexander-Arnold’s representatives with a view of him moving to the Bernabeu Stadium in the Spanish capital.

The player himself has not commented but Liverpool are known to have told Real that he is not for sale. Coach Arne Slot said this week, “I see him training every day and I can tell you he is committed to playing for Liverpool and will not be distracted. There have been discussions over the last six weeks about several of our players but none of them have been distracted and you can see from the way we are playing, just how loyal they are.” The problem for Liverpool is that Trent, Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk arguably the club’s best outfield players are out of contract this coming summer with time getting shorter. So they are free to talk to any Premier League or foreign club in pre-negotiations.

Wolves missing Matheus Cunha

Following the incident in which Wolves’ forward Matheus Cunha was involved with the Ipswich coaching staff, he has been fined £80k and has been handed a two=match suspension. Coach Vitor Pereira said he has prepared his team to play without their talisman who has scored 10 goals and made four assists this season. They met Nottingham Forest on Monday evening, losing 3-0 and have a difficult away match at Newcastle on the 15th, but Cunha will be eligible to play having also missed an FA Cup game.

Confidence has deserted Ollie

It happens to all strikers at some time or another. It happened to Erling Haaland and now it’s happening to Ollie Watkins. The goals dry up and scoring seems a mile away. Ollie Watkins found himself in front of goal just five yards away from glory in the 83rd minute against Leicester. He put the ball over the bar and two of his teammates Ezri Konsa and Emi Martinez fell to the ground not believing how he missed. Watkins was the pin-up boy in 2023-4, earned an England international place and everything he tried seemed to pay off finishing the season with 32 goals. In Euro 2024 he came off the bench and scored the semi-final winner against the Netherlands. This season in the PL things is different…eight goals and four assists. His penalty goal against Brighton was his first of five games but he had contributed little or nothing. Martinez claimed that Ollie has lost his confidence and his starting place in the Villa line-up.

Postecoglou lashes out

When Ange Postecoglou first set foot in the Premier League he embraced his surprise employment at the London Stadium, home of Tottenham Hotspur. The fans asked “who?” and quickly rushed for their online Google references to discover what he had achieved in Australia and Celtic.

Postecoglou said in his opening speech to the press, “I have never and I will never, talk to referees about the game. I was always taught that you have the utmost respect for the official, at some point we have to accept the referee’s decision.”

How times have changed! Ange is on edge, a man living on his nerves and cannot see a way out of Tottenham’s current problems. He said after his side were beaten by Newcastle, “I’m really, really angry and I am as angry, as I’ve never been that the player denied the right reward for a fantastic performance…whether people agree with me or not and they say it was not a handball or it was accidental or whatever. I’m not interested in any of that discussion. It is unfair on my players more than anything else, that they don’t get the rewards they deserve.”

He was furious because in the build-up to Anthony Gordon’s goal the ball struck the hand of Joelinton. VAR backed referee. Andy Madley’s on pitch decision that the goal was good.

United coach urge family relaxation

Ruben Amorim says the best way he relaxes is with his family. Not for him his predecessor Jose Mourinho’s lonely existence living in the luxurious Manchester Lowry Hotel for nearly three years.

Amorim welcomed his family two days after Christmas and says he gets a sense of calm after the chaos of Christmas matches. He also changed the Pep Guardiola tactic of pressuring players after a poor performance and following defeat to Newcastle, on their own turf at Old Trafford, he invited the families of players, their wives, girlfriends and children to enjoy a hearty breakfast feast with the team and coaches and then invited to watch a training.

Party time for Forest players (don’t tell the boss!)

Every Premier League footballer has it written in his contract that he will not participate in any activity which could result in sustaining an injury. It was therefore surprising that Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Anthony Elanga, Neco Williams and their partners were partying on New Year’s Eve in the at market Val-d’Isere ski resort in the French Alps.

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was unaware of their trip but the players have assured him they weren’t skiing, only partying.

5 player Brighton call on the crowd!

A friend told me a very amusing story this week and although it is out of the ordinary with our weekly Premier League column, I wanted to share it with you to start off the New Year with a smile.

During the Second World War in 1940 at Christmas, Brighton and Hove Albion went to Norwich with 1,500 supporters to play the Canaries. Unfortunately, because of the war several players were called up to fight in the army and Brighton arrived with a team of only five! They took five volunteers from the crowd and borrowed a Norwich youth player to make up eleven. Norwich won the match 18-0!