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Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer would "like" to complete the permanent move from Bayern Munich to the Premier League, according to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg.

What's the latest on Sabitzer's future?

The Austria international swapped the Allianz Arena for Old Trafford in January when he put pen to paper on loan for the remainder of the season, coming in, at the time, as a direct emergency replacement for the injured Christian Eriksen, and during his 16 appearances to date, it's fair to say that he has impressed Erik Ten Hag.

Football Insider have reported that the Red Devils loanee knows that he isn't likely to have a long-term future with Thomas Tuchel's side in the Bundesliga and is happy with how his spell has played out in the top-flight, with a well-placed source believed to say that there is a good chance of a deal happening during the upcoming window.

The Sun have further revealed that should that be the case, the 29-year-old's parent club have slapped a £25m price tag on his head, an initial £20m fee with an additional £5m in add-ons, and with the Dutch boss keen to retain his services as per the same outlet, the situation is looking very promising, even more so after the following update.

Taking to Twitter, Plettenberg confirmed that Sabitzer is keen to move to Manchester United for good and is set to hold further discussions regarding a switch in the weeks and months ahead. He wrote:

"News #Sabitzer: Contact with Thomas Tuchel? 'So far, of course, there has been no contact. Everyone is focused on their task. In which direction it will go, we will analyze later and we will discuss everything calmly.'

"Understand that his return to Bayern is still unlikely. Sabitzer would like to join #MUFC on a permanent deal in summer. More talks will follow."

Should Man United splash the cash on Sabitzer?

Man United will know that Sabitzer has made a positive impact on Ten Hag’s squad since joining having been dubbed a midfield “machine” by teammate Diogo Dalot, and with Wout Weghorst also reportedly wanting to permanently join, they could be following in each other’s footsteps this summer.

The ROGON client, who pockets £210k-per-week at Old Trafford, has won seven tackles from 11 players challenged this season so is calm and composed when he bites into tackles, but he’s also capable of contributing to efforts in the final third.

The Wels native has scored three goals and provided one assist in 16 Red Devils outings across all competitions and ranks in the 94th percentile for number of shotsper 90 by midfielders, so is always looking to make an attacking breakthrough.

Finally, Sabitzer would add remarkable versatility to Ten Hag’s team with his flexibility to operate in an unbelievable ten various positions across the pitch, including in the centre, defence and up top, so this deal really is a no-brainer for the hierarchy to complete.

Liverpool will host Arsenal at Anfield in their Premier League clash tomorrow afternoon, and a reliable source has given an update on Virgil van Dijk's potential return ahead of the fixture.

What's the latest on Virgil van Dijk's availability?

According to The Athletic's Liverpool correspondent, James Pearce, Van Dijk will return to action against the Gunners after he was absent from the matchday squad against Chelsea earlier this week due to illness.

Jurgen Klopp also took to his pre-match press conference to confirm that the Dutchman is back in training ahead of the fixture, alongside Thiago Alcantara, who is also back in contention to start:

"Virgil, completely normal, he was back in training.

"Luis and Thiago training completely normal too. The plan with Luis is that he will be available 100 per cent for Leeds (on April 17). Again, it looks good, everything is fine, but it was a long, long injury and so we have to be careful. We will probably not involve him for Sunday.

"Thiago looks slightly different. He was not out that long, trained now three or four times with the team and he might be available. But we have to check how he feels."

Will Van Dijk start vs Arsenal?

The Reds earned a point from their outing at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening, with Joel Matip and Ibrahima Konate forming a centre-back partnership in the absence of Van Dijk. However, it would come as no surprise to see the Netherlands captain instantly reprise his role at Anfield tomorrow.

Over 17 career appearances against Arsenal, the £220k-per-week titan boasts an impressive record with eight victories, four draws and only five losses – with just three of those defeats conceded during his time at Liverpool, so it's safe to say the defender's inclusion could terrify Mikel Arteta as his experience of snatching points from his side is vast.

Indeed, it is no secret that the Liverpool squad have struggled this season with a number of uninspiring performances and poor-quality individual efforts on the pitch, with Van Dijk no stranger to criticism for his own defensive displays over the campaign.

Over 23 Premier League appearances this term, the 31-year-old has only tallied eight clean sheets, conceded 26 goals, has lost 43% of his duels and made one error leading to a goal so far.

However, against the league leaders this weekend, there is no doubt that experience will be needed if the Merseyside giants are going to keep their outside chances of securing a Champions League spot alive.

With that being said, timely returns for Van Dijk, Thiago and Luis Diaz could be crucial in Liverpool's pursuit to take some positives away from their troubling season, and it could all start this weekend against Arsenal.

BBC pundit Chris Sutton has slammed Liverpool attacker Cody Gakpo after he tried to win a penalty on the weekend with a dive.

What's the latest of Cody Gakpo and Liverpool?

It was a big game for the Reds on Saturday lunchtime as they looked to salvage what is left of their disastrous Premier League season.

However, things did not go at all to plan for Jurgen Klopp and his players. Despite taking the lead through Mo Salah, Manchester City went on to thump their opponents 4-1. That defeat at the Etihad leaves Liverpool eight eighth in the league, 22 points behind Pep Guardiola and co.

And while talking about the game on BBC radio show 606, Sutton spoke about one moment in particular that really disappointed him.

Indeed, he explained (42:55): "The winner of this week's simulation game – the player of the award, which you don't want to win – Cody Gakpo.

"Come on, stop it. Dutch diver. That was one of the worst I've seen. Come on. He's better than that.”

How bad was the Cody Gakpo dive against Man City?

The incident happened when the 23-year-old raced into the box after a poor bit of play from Manuel Akanji. Gakpo took a bad touch himself, though, and threw himself to ground when Nathan Ake challenged for the ball.

It was clearly not a penalty and fans watching the game from home also noted the incident, blasting the player for his "pathetic dive" (via The Sun).

Gakpo is new to the Premier League having only joined from PSV in the winter transfer window – earning a wage of £120k-p/w– but will have to do better than he did on the weekend to win over any neutrals.

The Dutchman did at least do enough to spare himself from any major criticism from his manager with his overall performance. Indeed, when talking to the press after the game, Gakpo was one of four Liverpool players to be praised by Klopp for their efforts.

The German manager said: "We had around about four performances were OK the two midfielders, Hendo and Fab worked a lot tried to close gaps. Cody, especially in possession and Ali of course."

Still, Gakpo will likely think twice about hurling himself to ground so easily next time – or else he could soon pick up an unwanted reputation as one of the league's more theatrical players.

The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has admitted to being wrong about Alexander Isak after he starred in Newcastle United’s win last weekend.

The Lowdown: Proving the doubters wrong

After arriving in the summer for a club-record fee of £63m, a lot may have been expected of Isak to take Newcastle to the very top, but with just a handful of league starts under his belt, it certainly hasn’t been easy for the Sweden international.

Isak has had to deal with several injury setbacks during his short spell on Tyneside thus far, but he’s still been able to showcase what he’s capable of despite his limited minutes, having netted four goals within his six starts in the Premier League.

He was given the nod ahead of Callum Wilson against Wolves and he certainly didn’t let Eddie Howe down, earning the Player of the Match award and netting the first goal of the match with a brilliant header.

The Latest: Isak could now be the man for Newcastle

After taking in Isak’s stunning St James’ Park display on Sunday, Waugh admitted on Pod on the Tyne that Isak has proved him wrong in terms of what he’s capable of against teams who will naturally sit deeper against the Magpies.

He said: “It was an excellent performance. I’ll hold my hands up – I doubted last week whether this was the game for Alexander Isak; I thought that to get him in so he could play the runs down the channels that he does, one of the recent away games was maybe the time to do that.

“But I didn’t know if Wolves at St James’ would be; I thought that they would sit deep and he would maybe struggle in that regard, and I was completely wrong and he was excellent.”

The Verdict: Huge selection dilemma for Howe

The fact that Wilson has been the undisputed first-choice striker since he walked through the doors at Newcastle may well have led to his recent slump in form, as he’d perhaps got complacent, though he has arguably not had competition as good as Isak on Tyneside.

But after being dropped against Wolves, it may well make Wilson realise that he’s indeed competing against an international striker in the form of Isak, who can perform against the bigger teams such as Liverpool as well as lesser teams such as Wolves and Bournemouth.

Isak will be hoping that he can build on his monster performance against Wolves, where he looked ‘razor-sharp’, this Friday away from home  – while there should be no doubt about him starting, or it could shatter his confidence.

Aston Villa could listen to offers for Emiliano Martinez this summer, according to The Daily Mail.

The Lowdown: Martinez at Villa

Hailed as “outstanding” by former team-mate Jack Grealish in the past, the goalkeeper has been a regular at Villa Park in recent years and is approaching 100 appearances for the club.

The 30-year-old signed a new contract in the Midlands through to 2027 last year and recently helped Argentina win the World Cup. However, his domestic future could lie away from the Midlands, with an update emerging in the last 48 hours.

The Latest: Villa exit for Martinez?

The Daily Mail’s Tom Colllomosse shared a story regarding Martinez, suggesting that NSWE could listen to offers for the Villa ‘keeper this summer.

They are expecting to receive bids and will demand a high price, although Unai Emery will have the final say on a potential sale, with the club possibly targeting a ball-playing replacement.

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The Verdict: One to watch

The relationship between Emery and Martinez came into question in recent months, with one report suggesting that the Villa manager was pulling all the strings to get the ‘keeper out of the club.

It was claimed that Emery ‘can’t stand’ the goalkeeper and isn’t a fan of the Argentine’s temperament and ‘difficult personality’, so it may not come as a shock to those inside Bodymoor Heath if an exit for the 30-year-old materialises in the summer, making this one to watch.

It would be interesting to see how much Villa would want for the goalkeeper’s services and who they would look to get in as his replacement, in what could be an extremely busy summer in terms of incomings and outgoings.

Everton are reportedly ‘keeping tabs’ on Bristol City central midfielder Alex Scott ahead of a potential move this summer.

The Lowdown: Scott profiled

At just 19 years of age, Scott is a rising star in English football, having been capped 13 times at youth level for England, as well as making 78 appearances already for Bristol City’s senior team.

Nicknamed the ‘Guernsey Grealish’ after his place of birth and likening to the Manchester City and England star, Scott is thought of very highly, having also been hailed as ‘deadly’ and ‘different class’ by his team-mate Kal Naismith.

Nonetheless, with Bristol City looking like they will stay in the Championship next season with them currently in mid-table, Scott is sure to attract plenty of suitors in the Premier League come the summer transfer window.

The Latest: Everton ‘keeping tabs’

As per Football Insider, Everton, as well as Leicester City, are ‘keeping tabs’ on Scott’s situation ahead of a potential move this summer.

However, scouts from Tottenham Hotspur are recommending that they sign him instead, with him attracting top-flight interest due to his ‘ability on the ball, quick feet and potential to quickly turn defence into attack’.

Toffees scouts are also thought to have been ‘blown away’ by Scott’s quality, and so it could be a three-way tussle for his signature.

The Verdict: Sign him up!

Scott is clearly going to be a superstar in the future, and so the Goodison Park outfit would do well to sign him up now while they have the chance.

He has already shown his quality with five goals and seven assists for Bristol City, with six goal contributions coming this season (extra versatility to be able to play anywhere in the middle of the pitch.

However, a move will likely depend on whether the Merseyside club can stay up this campaign, with Scott likely to have ambitions of moving to a club in the Premier League himself.

Rangers forward Fashion Sakala was praised for being a constant threat in the 2-1 win against Ross County at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Lowdown: Rangers win

Rangers claimed a hard-fought three points against Ross County to move six points behind their Old Firm rivals at the top of the SPFL.

It was a sign of things to come for Michael Beale regarding how frustrating the afternoon would turn out, with John Lundstram forcibly withdrawn after only 11 minutes – though it was his replacement, Malik Tillman, who got Rangers on their way.

Tillman’s header opened the scoring in injury time at the end of the first half with new man Todd Cantwell getting the assist. Jordan White then levelled up for the visitors before Borna Barisic’s deflected free-kick 15 minutes from time secured the three points.

The Latest: Player Ratings

The Gers’ inability to make easy work of it was shown in the player ratings at full-time, with Alan Galindo’s verdicts for GlasgowLive seeing goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin awarded a 5/10 rating – the lowest of the starters bar Lundstram – but it was the performance of 7/10 Sakala that caught the eye – particularly when you look into his stats.

Galindo said: “Key man under the Beale era. Once again showed his threat to the visitors with pace to burn. A constant threat.”

The Verdict: Hit and miss

Featuring in every league game so far under Beale, Sakala was once again deployed from the off for the 11th time this season, but failed to add to his 10 goal involvements so far.

On a fruitless afternoon on the right-hand side, he was booked just four minutes before he was replaced by Glen Kamara in the 62nd minute with Rangers still 1-0 ahead at that point.

Despite Galindo praising his impact, the 25-year-old had the fewest amount of touches by outfield starters for the Gers bar the injured Lundstram, with just 39 – six more than ‘keeper McLaughlin (via Sofascore).

His ineffectiveness proved even deeper with a pass accuracy of just 71%, only higher than full-backs Borna Barisic and James Tavernier who attempted 30 more crosses and long balls between them, perhaps owing to their low percentages.

It summed up a disappointing afternoon for the Zambian, who may find his place soon under pressure from Ianis Hagi, who returned to the bench for only the second time following over a year out with injury.

But considering Galindo’s ratings, perhaps there was more to Sakala’s display than met the eye.

Journalist Dan Kilpatrick has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur wing-back Emerson Royal wants to stay in London, amid talk that the club want to sell him.

What’s the word?

The Brazilian has been well-below par this season, leading to heavy criticism from fans, and looked set to leave following a reported training ground incident before the January window.

However, he still started – and scored – in his side’s last game away at Manchester City and does not currently look close to an exit. According to Kilpatrick, the player seemingly wants to stay in London, providing a big stumbling block as Spurs search for interested clubs.

Speaking on the Last Word On Spurs podcast, Kilpatrick claimed that there is no desire from the 24-year-old to leave, which may even block a move for Pedro Porro of Sporting.

He said: “There doesn’t seem to be any appetite from Emerson or [Matt] Doherty to go.

“I was told Emerson does not want to leave London; he’d only go to a London club, as it stands, in the Premier League. So that’s a problem.”

Chaotic squad building

A catalogue of recent errors in the transfer market has led Spurs to a situation where they have three right wing-backs, but none of them are considered good enough.

Royal and Matt Doherty have both been disappointing, and Djed Spence has hardly featured since his arrival in the summer for £20m.

Although he arrived at the club with the Italian’s approval, the Englishman is clearly not rated by Conte, and he is yet to start a Premier League game despite the failings of those ahead of him.

Spurs are reportedly keen on Pedro Porro, but if they are unable to shift any of their current options, we doubt there will even have room for the Spaniard.

Therefore, it is arguably imperative that Spurs try to shift the likes of Emerson, perhaps by trying to shift his intentions of staying in the capital.

West Ham United could reportedly hijack Wolves’ move for Stoke City central defender Harry Souttar in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: World Cup star

Souttar enjoyed an impressive FIFA World Cup with Australia, where he ranked as their best-performing player as he helped them qualify from their group, before they were knocked out by eventual winners Argentina.

Hailed as ‘huge, quick’ and an ‘absolute monster’ of a defender by The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell after his exploits in Qatar, and ‘like superman’ by pundit Danny Murphy after a stunning late tackle in a 1-0 win over Tunisia, Souttar is now concentrating in getting Stoke up the league table in the Championship, although he may have earned himself a move to the Premier League in January.

The Latest: West Ham interest

As per TEAMtalk, West Ham could ‘threaten’ to muscle in on a potential Wolves deal for Souttar, and he is on their ‘radar’ ahead of January.

David Moyes is thought to be ‘keen’ to add to his options in the heart of his defence, with favoured pairing Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd no strangers to the treatment room.

Both Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna see their deals expire in the summer as well, so there is too much uncertainty at centre-back for Moyes’ liking.

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The Verdict: Centre-back needed

Moyes could do with another centre-back option in January, especially given that they have the UEFA Europa Conference League campaign to contend with on top of the Premier League and FA Cup.

Souttar would surely relish the opportunity of the step up from the Championship, where he has excelled as Stoke’s best performer despite missing a large chunk of the season through injury.

The six-foot-six colossus would bring a fear factor to the London Stadium, and at 24 years of age, his best years are still ahead of him.

Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing Lyon defender Malo Gusto in the New Year, although it could take a sizeable investment to prise the Frenchman from his current club.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth is seemingly showing an interest in the 19-year-old ahead of the January transfer window, with the northeast side having joined the growing list of suitors who are chasing his signature.

The report does suggest, however, that the Tynesiders – as well as Premier League rivals Manchester United – could be forced to wait until the summer to make a concrete approach, with the Ligue 1 outfit demanding £35m if they are to sell their prized asset next month.

It’s also thought that the St James’ Park outfit are already keen on securing a potential heir for Kieran Trippier, 32, at right-back with Gusto among the names being mentioned at present.

Repeat Bruno masterclass

Newcastle have already enjoyed notable success in securing the services of a Lyon player in recent times, with midfield talisman Bruno Guimaraes having joined from the French outfit on a £40m deal back in January.

The Brazilian international has since gone on to prove something of a revelation for Eddie Howe’s side in the calendar year thus far, having produced a string of “magnificent” displays for the club to date, as per Alan Shearer.

The “world-class” playmaker – as described by teammate Dan Burn – has scored eight goals and registered four assists in just 33 appearances for his new side in all competitions, including six goal contributions in just 13 league games so far this term.

With Howe and co already reaping the rewards of that winter addition, the Magpies could look to repeat that transfer masterclass by bringing in Guimaraes’ former teammate, Gusto, with the teenager currently shining for Laurent Blanc’s side.

The “special” talent – as lauded by one source – has been a truly impressive figure in his full-back berth, notably providing five assists in all competitions last term in what was a breakthrough campaign at senior level.

The £7k-per-week menace has provided a further assist from his 14 league outings in the current campaign, posing a notable threat down the right flank as he has created three big chances and averaged 1.3 key passes per game.

That quality in possession is further illustrated by the fact that the youngster ranks in the top 20% in Europe among those in his position for dribbles completed, as well as in the top 15% for pass completion.

The 5 foot 10 sensation has also showcased his defensive prowess of late after averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game in Ligue 1, with that an almost identical record to the aforementioned Trippier, who has averaged 2.0 and 1.5 for the same two metrics, respectively.

That should illustrate that Gusto has what it takes to be a success at St James’ Park, with it set to prove another Guimaraes-esque masterclass if Ashworth can get a deal wrapped up in 2023.