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Some reader reaction to Erling Haaland signing a mammoth new nine-and-a-half deal at Manchester City. Fair to say reaction is, erm, mixed.
Graeme Neill: “You can’t argue with his frankly incredible goalscoring record but let’s face it, he’s no fun to watch. It’s just relentless grinding ability rather than flair or the ability to surprise you. Give me a mercurial number 10 any day.”
Ed Freeman: “He’s not going to stay til ‘34 though is he? I give him another year and a half. This way the club guarantees a good price when he does go to Madrid or Saudi, though. Good bit of business, I’d say.”
Vivek Rajendra: “How should one read into the announcement and details of this absurd contract? Is this City signalling that they are confident of beating the 115 charges? Or are they somehow trying to convince themselves they will conjure up an escape by simply pretending it is business as usual? Should it also be read in context with their trolley dash(?) for Khusanov and Marmoush assuming a potential transfer ban?”
Let’s focus in on those fixtures with our regular double digit-based Friday column.
Brentford v Liverpool should be a cracker for TV viewers on Saturday. Except it’s a 3pm kick-off which, fun fact, is Liverpool’s first away game in that slot all season.
It’s a 5-4-1 formation for the latest round of Premier League fixtures. Here is Matchweek 22 of a season that is moving fast. Just 17 games to go – although Liverpool and Everton have 18.
Saturday
12.30 Newcastle v Bournemouth
15.00 Brentford v Liverpool
15.00 Leicester v Fulham
15.00 West Ham v Crystal Palace
17.30 Arsenal v Aston Villa
Sunday
14.00 Everton v Spurs
14.00 Man Utd v Brighton
14.00 Nottingham Forest v Southampton
16.30 Ipswich v Man City
Monday
20.00 Chelsea v Wolves
Today’s Rumour Mill allows us a segue involving Brighton. Read today’s whispers here…
Brighton were the other winners last night as they ended an eight-game streak without a Premier League victory (eight of those were draws, mind) with a 2-0 success at Ipswich to take them up to ninth. Nick Ames was at Portman Road.
Haaland has 11 Man City hat-tricks to his name so far but none yet in 2025. One man who has is Amad Diallo, who rescued Manchester United with a late, late treble to haul them back from an embarrassment against bottom club Southampton and secure a 3-1 win last night.
Man Utd 3-1 Southampton: Jamie Jackson’s match report
Reaction from Old Trafford: Diallo and Ruben Amorim quotes
That’s quite a start to the morning blog, isn’t it. I know it’s not the main focus but that Man City shirt font remains troublesome.
Preamble
Good morning. Let’s start at Manchester City, where Erling Haaland has put pen to paper on a new contract that ties him to the club until … 2034. Yes. Here’s are the details from Jamie Jackson.
Erling Haaland has signed a record new nine-and-a-half-year deal with Manchester City that ties him to the champions until 2034, with the centre-forward stating he is “super-happy and proud”.
The Norwegian, who was previously contracted until 2027, has proved a phenomenon at City, scoring 111 goals in only 125 games since signing from Borussia Dortmund in summer 2022. He got 52 goals in his first season, as City claimed the treble in 2022-23.
The length of contract is a record for a player in domestic competition and his salary is thought to be a basic of about £500,000 a week.
The morning’s other big news is the appointment of 35-year-old Renee Slegers as Arsenal’s new permanent head coach. Here’s Suzanne Wrack with the report on that before WSL gets back underway after a winter break.
Arsenal have named the interim head coach Renée Slegers as the permanent successor to Jonas Eidevall after an impressive temporary spell in charge.
The 35-year-old has signed a contract to the end of the 2025-26 season after three months as interim.
“Renée was the standout candidate of a thorough recruitment process,” said Arsenal’s director of women’s football, Clare Wheatley.
