Martín Zubimendi has moved to calm speculation about his future, insisting he is focused on winning a place in the side rather than discussing a possible Arsenal exit. With his minutes reduced and Bruno Guimarães arriving last summer to take a prominent role, rumours have grown around the midfielder. Zubimendi, though, says there is no real basis to them.

“I haven’t wasted any energy on outside things,” Zubimendi told MARCA when quizzed about the rumors. “I’m busy enough trying to earn a place, get playing time, and fight to win this Premier League , which is looking so promising. I haven’t spent any energy on it, nor have I contacted anyone.”

He also pushed back against the way speculation has gathered pace as the winter window approaches. “To be honest, I’m sometimes surprised by the press too. I understand that the winter transfer window is approaching and rumors can surface, but I think we need to be a bit more careful with what we publish.

“Ultimately, everyone has a team they play for, and we need to respect that. I’ve also read that I might be close [to joining Atlético Madrid], but not at all.”

Asked directly whether he expects to remain with the Gunners through the end of the season, he replied: “Yes, I hope so. I’m happy there.”

The 27-year-old also reflected on the physical demands of last season, when he was heavily involved. “I don’t like to blame everything on my physical condition, but I definitely noticed it [last] year,” said the Spaniard. “It was a new year for me, with a lot of new stimuli. I played a huge number of minutes and, to be honest, I was tired. Then there were other things too, but one of them could very well have been my physical condition.”

His challenge now is getting back into Mikel Arteta’s midfield plans. Declan Rice and captain Martin Ødegaard are established starters, while Zubimendi is competing with Mikel Merino, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Guimarães for the remaining spot. Even so, he insists patience is part of the process. “I’m patient,” Zubimendi replied when asked about his waning influence. “When you’ve been playing a lot of minutes and your role changes to not playing as much, I’m able to see the positive side. I think everything passes, that just like last year the opposite happened to me and I played practically everything, this can change very quickly.”

Mauricio Pochettino appears closer than ever to taking over at Manchester United, with the club weighing up whether Michael Carrick could be removed this week. That decision has not yet been finalised, but the direction of travel is clear.

This is not a sudden courtship. United have been connected with Pochettino for well over a decade, first when they chose Louis van Gaal instead of the Argentine, who went on to join Tottenham Hotspur. Since then, the links have resurfaced repeatedly, including in 2016, 2018 and 2021, whenever the manager’s seat at Old Trafford became unsettled.

Yet on each of those occasions, Pochettino was tied to another job. He was at Tottenham and later at Paris Saint-Germain, which meant United never had an open lane to move for him. Even so, the club passed on him again more recently, twice in fact.

David Ornstein said on The Athletic FC podcast this week that Pochettino was in the “final two” in May 2022 before United appointed Erik ten Hag after his work at Ajax. By then, Pochettino was departing PSG after 18 months that brought three trophies but ended badly. United then moved away from him again in 2024.

That summer, Pochettino was available after leaving Chelsea by mutual consent at the end of a 2023-24 campaign marked by tension with the sporting hierarchy at Stamford Bridge. United were reviewing options after Ten Hag’s impact fell short of expectations, and Pochettino was among the candidates they spoke to before deciding to keep the Dutchman.

He soon took charge of U.S. Soccer, while Ruben Amorim, also considered that summer, later replaced Ten Hag after the dismissal.

“I did not hear the best feedback from how it went on that occasion,” Ornstein said. “I was told they were a little underwhelmed regarding his coaching, his hunger, his work rate. I don’t know all of the factors, but that sort of gist.

“Clearly, they didn’t think that highly of him because they ended up taking [Thomas] Tuchel and [Roberto] De Zerbi to the ‘last two,’ and ultimately gave Ten Hag a new contract.”

If that was the view then, it appears to have shifted now. United could have taken him in the summer of 2026, when he was briefly available after the World Cup, but instead promoted Carrick from interim to permanent manager following a strong finish to 2025-26.

There are still other options on the market, but United seem prepared to pay to free Pochettino and his staff from their U.S. Soccer contracts rather than turn to a free agent such as Antonio Conte or Julian Nagelsmann. Jason Wilcox, now sporting director, had only recently moved into the technical director role in spring 2024 and was impressed that Ten Hag accepted his tactical advice for the FA Cup final win over Manchester City. Results later changed the picture.

Pochettino, meanwhile, may also be in a different place after his Chelsea spell. If United do move for him, the structure around him and his remit would almost certainly need to be clear before any appointment is completed.

Rio Ngumoha has described his switch from Chelsea to Liverpool as an obvious decision, saying the promise of a clearer route to first-team football made the move straightforward.

Chelsea were frustrated to lose a highly rated youngster, with Liverpool eventually paying a minimum of $3.7 million after a tribunal. But for Ngumoha, the attraction of a defined pathway at Anfield outweighed everything else.

“I feel like I needed a new challenge,” Ngumoha told The Guardian. “Liverpool gave me a new pathway. The plan that they set for me was straightforward. It was a no-brainer. They just said if I prove myself then they know that I would definitely be a star for them in the making.”

The 18-year-old has already begun to justify that faith. After making his debut in the 2024-25 season, he went on to feature 29 times the following campaign, a year highlighted by a late winner against Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Arne Slot provided the platform for his breakthrough, and Ngumoha is now benefiting from fresh leadership. Andoni Iraola has given him regular starts and useful minutes from the bench, with the forward generally impressing and adding two assists.

Ngumoha also sees the Ballon d’Or as a realistic target in the future, helped by the wider impact of Harry Kane’s success. “Harry Kane winning the Ballon d’Or is definitely a big thing,” said the teenager. “It’s also helped English football now because everyone’s seen one of us win the Ballon d’Or , it is definitely encouraging many more people to want to be known as the best player in the world.

“For me, I would like to achieve it and I think I can do it.”

He will have the chance to discuss that ambition with Kane during the current international break, after being named once more in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.

Ngumoha’s departure also reflects a familiar pattern. Chelsea’s habit of collecting elite young talent has often led to players seeking opportunities elsewhere, and he joins the likes of Marc Guéhi, Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Michael Olise in leaving Stamford Bridge in search of a clearer route to senior soccer.

Even so, Chelsea’s approach has not changed. Last summer they spent $167 million on four players aged 22 or under, yet minutes have remained hard to find. Dastan Satpayev has already gone on loan, while Geovany Quenda, Marco Palestra and Valentín Barco have managed only four Premier League starts between them.