With the Premier League season almost over, clubs are attempting to decide the futures of their players who are out of contract at the end 2024/25 and are running out of time
Premier League action returns this afternoon as the division enters its final stretch. Southampton have been relegated already, and there remains a chance Liverpool could win the title this weekend should Arsenal slip up.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town will be hoping to extend their faint hopes of remaining in the division, while a battle for a place in the top five continues. Arsenal, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City currently hold the spots with Chelsea and Aston Villa sitting one point behind Pep Guardiola’s side.
With six games remaining there is some attention turning towards clubs’ summer plans too. Liverpool have secured the signatures of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk who were among the headline names to see the contracts expire at the end of the season.
With that said, Mirror Football takes a look at some of the latest news from around the division below.
Mikel Arteta contract update
Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Thomas Partey’s Arsenal future but revealed it is a decision that is down to the midfielder and sporting director Andrea Berta. The 31-year-old joined the Gunners from Atletico Madrid in 2020 and is set to see his contract expire in the summer
READ MORE: Arsenal warned over Viktor Gyokores summer transfer after Andrea Berta meetingREAD MORE: Reece James sends damning Chelsea message to put Enzo Maresca under more pressure
Little progress had appeared to have been made in any negotiations, but Arteta has suggested there has been some.
“Yes, there is progress with all the players,” Arteta said in his press conference. “I’ll leave that to Andrea [Berta] and the club to decide and to talk about.”
Asked if the intention was to keep Partey at the Emirates, the Spaniard said: “The intention is very clear. I’ll leave that to Andrea and the club to take a step forward.”
Ruben Amorim’s plan
Manchester United are firmly focused on their bid to win the Europa League, even if it risks prolonging their Premier League misery. United face Athletic Bilbao in the semi finals of the competition after beatingg Lyon in dramatic fashion.
Amorim made his approach for the rest of the season clear and has committed to relying on young players in domestic competition. He said: “It is one type of moment that can change a lot of things. These kind of moments can change a lot in the players’ mind.
“We have to be really focused on the Europa League and we have to take a risk with the kids in the Premier League. We have to be tough on that and the fans have to understand our focus is on the Europa League.”
Alexander-Arnold latest
Liverpool boss Arne Slot has claimed that Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is yet to be resolved. The defender is expect to move to Real Madrid later this year, with his Anfield contract due to expire in the coming months.
“No, I think you would be surprised if I answered differently to the rest of the season,” Slot said in his press conference. “It is for hours the same answer: we don’t talk about these things when they are not done and they are not.
“Trent is coming back from injury and trained with us this week, he has shown his commitment and he shows me what a player he is when he is on a pitch and how much he works hard to be back with the team and the fans of LFC, everyone who watches football knows he is an incredible full-back for this club, so let’s see what the future brings.”
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