Mohamed Salah’s muscle injury is “more serious than first thought” and could keep the Liverpool forward out of action for nearly a month, according to his agent.

On Sunday, Liverpool announced the 31-year-old would be returning from the Ivory Coast, where he was representing Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations, to undergo treatment with the aim of returning to the Pharaohs if they progressed to the knockout stages of the competition.

That optimistic plan, at least according to Ramy Abbas Issa, now looks to have suffered a significant setback.

Posting to his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), the agent wrote: “Mohamed’s injury is more serious than first thought and he will be out for 21-28 days, and not two games.

“His best chance at participating in the current AFCON is by undergoing intensive rehabilitation in the UK and rejoining the team as soon as he is fit.”

The PA news agency has contacted Liverpool for comment.

An Egyptian FA statement, posted on Liverpool’s official website on Sunday evening, read: “After additional examinations were conducted on Mohamed Salah during the last hours, and after communication between the national team’s medical staff and his counterpart at Liverpool FC, it was decided that the player will return to England after the Cape Verde match tomorrow to complete his treatment, with the hope that he will join the national team in the semi-final of the AFCON if we qualify.”

Premier League leaders Liverpool initially struggled to create in the absence of their talisman during Sunday’s game at Bournemouth, but moved five points clear at the top thanks to a crushing 4-0 win earned by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Speaking after the victory at the Vitality Stadium, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said it “makes sense” for Salah to fly back to Merseyside from the tournament.

“That’s the plan,” the German said before the news was confirmed. “If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan.

“However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.

“I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back.”

VAR could not intervene to disallow Ivan Toney’s free-kick for Brentford against Nottingham Forest on Saturday because the protocol for using the technology does not cover restarts.

Forest are understood to have written to Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the Premier League asking for clarification regarding Toney’s goal.

The Brentford forward moved the ball to the right of the spot designated in vanishing spray by referee Darren England before he took the set-piece, and even moved some of the spray to the new spot.

Toney’s actions could have been deemed as unsporting behaviour and worthy of a yellow card if the officials had spotted it, but the VAR Michael Salisbury was unable to intervene under the protocol laid down by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the laws of the game.

Under the VAR protocols published on the IFAB website, it states that VAR may only consider clear and obvious errors in relation to goals, the awarding of penalties, straight red cards and mistaken identity.

When a goal is scored or disallowed, the IFAB protocol states that only the following can be considered: an “attacking team offence in the build-up to or scoring of the goal (handball, foul, offside etc)”, and the ball being out of play prior to the goal.

Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo said after the match: “The law is clear – every situation that leads to a goal must be checked. It’s not even a matter of inches, it’s almost a yard.”

Toney’s goal was his first since his return from an eight-month gambling ban and helped Thomas Frank’s men leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table.

PGMOL has not yet commented on the incident.

Diogo Jota is confident Premier League leaders Liverpool can sustain their quest for silverware in the absence of a host of star names following his second-half brace at Bournemouth.

The Reds set aside being without Mohamed Salah, who is due to return to Merseyside for treatment on a muscle injury suffered at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, to move five points clear at the top thanks to a thumping 4-0 win.

Manager Jurgen Klopp was also missing defenders Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kostas Tsimikas and Joel Matip and midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai, Thiago Alcantara and Wataru Endo at Vitality Stadium.

Jota, whose quickfire strikes on the south coast were sandwiched between Darwin Nunez’s double, told Sky Sports: “It’s part of the job, we know we have a few injuries, players going away for national teams. It’s hard.

“We survived December; January is coming thick and fast from now on and we all need to be ready. I think we have the players and the quality to keep winning games.

“Of course we have world-class players – when we have them it’s easier.

“But when we don’t have them, that’s why we are Liverpool because we have good players and we kind of replace them and try to give our best and share the cost of the games between us and keep going.”

Liverpool initially struggled to create chances in their first league game this season without top scorer Salah before Nunez’s 49th-minute finish paved the way to fully capitalise on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

The Reds move on to their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Fulham on Wednesday evening holding a 2-1 lead before completing the month by hosting Norwich in the FA Cup and Chelsea in the league.

While goal-scorers Nunez and Jota grabbed the headlines in Dorset, Alexis Mac Allister played an instrumental role.

The Argentina World Cup winner, who was sent off on his Anfield debut in a 3-1 victory over the Cherries in August – a decision which was later overturned, was singled out for his contribution by his manager.

“Absolutely exceptional performance, I have to say,” Klopp said of former Brighton midfielder Mac Allister.

“I’m so happy for us obviously but for him as well.

“He’s a really good footballer, let me say it like that. And he did defensively the job and offensively he is super important anyway for us.”

Bournemouth’s defeat was a second in succession after taking 19 points from the previous 21 available on the back of a 6-1 drubbing at Manchester City.

The 12th-placed Cherries turn their attention to Thursday evening’s FA Cup clash against Swansea, with head coach Andoni Iraola seeking a reaction from his players.

“We’ll see – we have another game, a different competition,” said the Spaniard.

“We know against this top, top level of opposition we have to be at our best and then have moments of some inspiration to finish things to make the final play and we didn’t find it.”

What the papers say

German side Bayern Munich plan to test Newcastle’s resolve by offering a higher bid for 33-year-old defender Kieran Trippier after an initial offer for the England international was rejected, the Guardian reports.

The Magpies have also rejected a loan offer from Atletico Madrid for striker Callum Wilson, according to the Daily Mail.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney wants to stay with the Bees, according to the Daily Mirror, despite being linked to both Arsenal and Chelsea.

Al-Nassr are believed to have made an offer totalling £21million for Tottenham defender Emerson Royal, the Daily Mail reports, but the Saudi Arabian side have been rebuffed.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Hugo Ekitike: German side Eintracht Frankfurt have reached a verbal agreement for the Paris St Germain forward and are gearing up for the next stage of negotiations, Sky Sports Germany says.

Ben Godfrey: The Everton defender is shaping up as an option for AC Milan, Calciomercato reports, however Sheffield United and Leeds are also understood to be interested in the 26-year-old.

Jonathan Varane: The 22-year-old Sporting Gijon midfielder has garnered significant interest from a number of clubs, including LaLiga sides Cadiz and Getafe and Championship outfits Norwich and QPR, writes L’Equipe.

Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on a muscle injury picked up while on international duty, the Egyptian Football Association has announced.

The influential forward was forced off during the first half of Egypt’s 2-2 draw with Ghana in Thursday’s Africa Cup of Nations group match, causing concern for club and country.

It was later revealed the 31-year-old would miss the Pharaohs’ next two fixtures, if they progressed to the knockout stages of the competition in the Ivory Coast.

However, he will now attend Egypt’s final Group B against Cape Verde on Monday, where victory will secure their place in the last 16, before flying back to Liverpool for rehabilitation.

An Egyptian FA statement, posted on Liverpool’s official website on Sunday evening, read: “After additional examinations were conducted on Mohamed Salah during the last hours, and after communication between the national team’s medical staff and his counterpart at Liverpool FC, it was decided that the player will return to England after the Cape Verde match tomorrow to complete his treatment, with the hope that he will join the national team in the semi-final of the AFCON if we qualify.”

Premier League leaders Liverpool initially struggled to create in the absence of their talisman during Sunday’s game at Bournemouth, but moved five points clear at the top thanks to a crushing 4-0 win earned by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Speaking after the victory at the Vitality Stadium, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said it “makes sense” for Salah to fly back to Merseyside from the tournament.

“That’s the plan,” the German said before the news was confirmed. “If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan.

“However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.

“I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back.”

Liverpool overcame a slow start on a soggy south coast afternoon to run out resounding victors against the Cherries in their first league match of the season without 14-goal forward Salah.

Nunez broke the deadlock four minutes into the second period and then completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire brace as the Reds fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

“We had the opposite of a good start,” said Klopp. “We put ourselves under pressure.

“It’s about winning the game in the end and, as long as you stay in the game, pretty much anything that happens in the game is allowed.

“Today, step by step, we found a way in the game and won it.”

Defeat for 12th-placed Bournemouth was a second in succession in the top flight following 19 points from the previous 21 available.

Cherries boss Andoni Iraola felt his side lost tactical discipline after falling behind.

“We started doing things that we haven’t done before, going too fast, not so disciplined tactically and obviously we played worse in the second half,” said the Spaniard.

“They were really clinical today. The first goal is difficult to defend, the other goals we could do more, we could defend better, react more quickly to the second balls.”

Jurgen Klopp expects Mohamed Salah to return to Liverpool for treatment on the muscle issue he sustained at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.

Reds top scorer Salah is set to miss his country’s next two games at the tournament in Ivory Coast after suffering a muscle injury in Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Ghana.

Premier League leaders Liverpool initially struggled to create in the absence of their talisman during Sunday’s game at Bournemouth, but moved five points clear at the top thanks to a crushing 4-0 win earned by second-half doubles from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota.

Klopp feels it “makes sense” for Salah to fly back to Merseyside from AFCON.

“That’s the plan,” the German said following victory at Vitality Stadium.

“If that’s already decided 100 per cent, I don’t know. But that’s the plan.

“However long he’s out, probably everybody sees it like this, it makes sense that he’s doing the rehab with us or with our people. If that’s written in stone already, I don’t know.

“I spoke with him directly after, the night when it happened. Since then he’s in contact with our doctor. I think he will be back.”

Following successive draws against Mozambique and Ghana, Egypt face Cape Verde on Monday evening seeking to progress from Group B.

Asked if Salah would go back to the tournament should his country reach the knockout stages, Klopp said: “I would say if Egypt qualifies for the final, if he’s fit before the final, then probably yes.

“Why not? That’s clear. It’s the tournament.

“Ivory Coast I’m sure is a wonderful country but we have no people from us there and their people have to take care of the people who are playing, so let’s see.”

Liverpool overcame a slow start on a soggy south coast afternoon to run out resounding victors against the Cherries in their first league match of the season without 14-goal forward Salah.

Nunez broke the deadlock four minutes into the second period and then completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire brace as the Reds fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

“We had the oppositive of a good start,” said Klopp. “We put ourselves under pressure.

“It’s about winning the game in the end and, as long as you stay in the game, pretty much anything that happens in the game is allowed.

“Today, step by step, we found a way in the game and won it.”

Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota claimed second-half doubles as Premier League leaders Liverpool moved five points clear with a crushing 4-0 victory away to Bournemouth.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds initially struggled to create at the Vitality Stadium in the absence of top scorer Mohamed Salah.

But Nunez broke the deadlock early in the second period and completed the scoring in added time following Jota’s quick-fire double.

Victory on a soggy south coast afternoon stretched Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 14 league fixtures as they fully capitalised on a weekend off for second-placed Manchester City.

In-form Bournemouth were competitive for large parts of a frenetic encounter, but rarely threatened en route to only their second defeat in nine games.

A difficult outing for Andoni Iraola’s hosts could have been worse as Justin Kluivert was perhaps fortunate to escape a red card for a first-half challenge on Luis Diaz.

Liverpool were back in top-flight action for the first time since New Year’s Day, but without talisman Salah, who has sustained a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt, in the league for the first time this season.

The Reds were unable to find fluency in the opening stages as Bournemouth began brighter, albeit without testing Alisson.

Klopp’s men grew into the game and eventually enjoyed some meaningful territory.

Alexis Mac Allister fired wide from distance, before long-range efforts from Nunez and Diaz were comfortably collected by Cherries goalkeeper Neto.

Bournemouth, who had also not played a league fixture for three weeks, then breathed a sigh of relief in the 35th minute when Kluivert avoided punishment after catching Diaz with a high, studs-up tackle.

Ryan Christie eventually registered the hosts’ maiden attempt at goal in the 39th minute – a tame effort straight at Alisson – and was then unable to turn home Kluivert’s dangerous low centre just before the break.

Following a fairly forgettable first half devoid of clear chances, Liverpool capitalised on sloppy defending to edge ahead four minutes after the restart.

Ibrahima Konate’s cross-field ball was chested down by the unmarked Curtis Jones and then moved on to Jota, whose first-time pass was confidently slotted into the bottom right corner by Nunez.

Nunez, who was unfavourably compared to former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll by gloating home fans in the first half, was also involved in his side’s 70th-minute second.

The powerful Uruguay forward caused problems for Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham, allowing Reds substitute Cody Gakpo to pounce on the loose ball and slip in Jota to find the net via the base of the right post.

Jota extinguished any hope of a Cherries fightback just nine minutes later.

The Portugal forward miskicked his first effort following a pass from Premier League debutant Conor Bradley, but swiftly silenced ironic cheers by rifling into the bottom left corner.

Cherries substitute David Brooks wasted a golden chance to claim a consolation when he dinked wide in 90th minute.

And Nunez, who claimed the winner when the clubs met in the Carabao Cup fourth round at the start of November, rubbed salted into Bournemouth wounds three minutes into added time by registering his second with a fine close-range finish.

West Ham manager David Moyes claims teams are accepting poor refereeing as the norm after his side conceded the latest ever Premier League goal in their 2-2 draw at Sheffield United.

The Hammers were on course for a win when James Ward-Prowse’s 79th-minute penalty put them 2-1 up, after Ben Brereton Diaz’s debut goal for the hosts had cancelled out Maxwell Cornet’s opener.

But in the eighth minute of time added on, referee Michael Salisbury pointed to the spot after ruling Hammers goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had fouled Oli McBurnie and a further five minutes later, with the injured Areola replaced by Lukasz Fabianski, the Blades striker coolly converted.

Moyes did not directly criticise Salisbury, other than suggesting Areola was the player fouled, but said there is now a level of apathy towards the standard of referees.

“I am certainly not going to talk about any referees, for sure I don’t want to get myself into trouble,” he said.

“You should ask the referee and see what they think, we have got to the stage where we are settling for a level of officiating where we are all shrugging our shoulders and saying, ‘OK’.

“We are shrugging our shoulders again and seeing what they do. We don’t know what they are going to do.”

On whether Areola receiving lengthy treatment and having to be taken off meant he was the one fouled, Moyes added: “Absolutely, he was fouled. I think it was a foul on the goalkeeper.”

Moyes had just as much frustration with his own side, who were not at their best at Bramall Lane.

Cornet’s first Hammers goal at the 31st attempt put them ahead but Brereton Diaz levelled on the stroke of half-time.

Ward-Prowse’s penalty restored West Ham’s lead as the Blades’ Rhian Brewster and West Ham’s Vladimir Coufal were both sent off in added time for separate incidents before the real drama happened.

Blades boss Chris Wilder could not watch McBurnie slot the ball home but was pleased with his side’s staying power.

“I am delighted my team stayed in the game because with 10 men, and them passing it around, it could have gone from two to three,” he said.

“The attitude of the team has helped us stay in the game.

“The goalkeeper comes and makes a rash decision to come through and we get the penalty. I am delighted we got something from the game, that is my overriding emotion.

“I didn’t watch the penalty, I just saw the reaction of the crowd. It is just one of those – I do sometimes watch, not in the 103rd minute.”

Nottingham Forest have asked for an explanation from the Premier League and referees’ body PGMOL over Ivan Toney’s controversial free-kick that helped Brentford to a 3-2 win in west London on Saturday.

Toney moved the referee’s vanishing foam and shifted the ball to a more advantageous position before scoring from the set-piece, leading to complaints from Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo after the game.

The PA news agency understands that Forest have now written to both bodies demanding to know whether Toney’s actions, which the player himself insisted were legal, actually constituted foul play.

Forest want clarification on whether players are allowed to move the ball in such a manner prior to a set-piece and, if not, why VAR officials were not able to intervene.

Nuno rejected Toney’s claim after the game and added: “The law is clear – every situation that leads to a goal must be checked. It’s not even a matter of inches, it’s almost a yard.”

Toney’s goal was his first since his return from an eight-month gambling ban and helped Thomas Frank’s men leapfrog their opponents in the Premier League table.

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson feels his players are still committed to the cause despite the crushing 5-0 defeat at Arsenal which revived concerns about the 76-year-old’s continued suitability to lead them.

Palace finally seemed to be emerging from a considerable injury crisis when the influential Michael Olise, who sat out a lengthy spell to start the season, sustained a second hamstring issue in their vital 3-1 victory over Brentford to close out 2023.

With Jordan Ayew on Ghana duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and the Emirates Stadium trip following on a midweek FA Cup third-round replay loss to Everton, Hodgson was once again forced to cope with diminished attacking options and a tired squad on an afternoon that provided few hopeful sparks for fans in the away end, some of whom raised banners protesting a perceived lack of direction at their club.

Hodgson said: “We were outplayed, in particular towards the end of the game, but up until that period I thought the players still showed that they are still committed and they were still wanting to do well for the club.

“First of all, they’ve got to stick very much with the work that they’ve been doing on the training field, that they stick together in terms of their attitude.

“To be honest, I didn’t think the attitude during the course of the game was particularly debatable. I didn’t see people losing hope or losing faith, we kept going, we were playing against a better team.

“The message has got to be, listen, there are no magic wands in football. It’s got to be done on the field of play.

“I think we’ve shown over the last year that we have capabilities in that respect, and I’m not prepared to suddenly dismiss those capabilities on the basis of losing 1-0 to Everton and Arsenal away from home.”

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli struck two near-identical goals past Dean Henderson in as many minutes of second-half stoppage time to consign the visitors to the crushing defeat.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta agreed the achievement would give the Brazilian a boost, revealing the 22-year-old had not felt 100 per cent in the build-up to Saturday’s contest before he doubled his Premier League goal tally for the season in a single afternoon.

Arteta said: “I think that is going to make him really good. Sometimes when you are in that period, and he had a little issue in the last few days in training so he wasn’t fully, fully fit, that changes momentum, it changes perception, it re-energises you. It’s everything.”

The Gunners, who were eliminated by Liverpool in their own third-round FA Cup clash, next travel to Nottingham Forest before facing Jurgen Klopp’s men again in a massive meeting for their title hopes.

Arteta added: “At the moment we are really short in numbers, so we really have to manage a few players, especially players that have played a lot of football.

“We have good training blocks, one to train really hard and other ones to use for game preparation, so we’re going to have to try to maximise that space.”

Oli McBurnie’s penalty in the 13th minute of time added on snatched Sheffield United a 2-2 draw against West Ham in a dramatic ending at Bramall Lane.

The Hammers looked to have won it when James Ward-Prowse’s 79th-minute spot-kick put them ahead after Maxwell Cornet’s first goal for the club was cancelled out by a debut effort from new Blades recruit Ben Brereton Diaz.

But referee Michael Salisbury ruled West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had fouled McBurnie in the eighth minute of stoppage time and a further five minutes later, with Areola replaced by Lukasz Fabianski, the Blades striker coolly struck home from 12 yards to earn a point.

Hammers boss David Moyes was raging at the decision as his side dropped two points which would have seen them close the gap on the Premier League’s top four.

It was the culmination of an action-packed end to the game, with Rhian Brewster sent off for Sheffield United and Vladimir Coufal following for West Ham in separate incidents.

A point was celebrated vociferously but Sheffield United need wins as they remain seven points adrift at the foot of the table and no team in Premier League history has survived with so few points at this stage of a season.

Chris Wilder’s men started with bluster but failed to trouble the West Ham goal and the visitors soon began to find holes at the other end.

The Hammers went ahead with their next meaningful attack in the 28th minute.

Ings fed Coufal on the right and then got the ball back when he found a pocket of space on the edge of the area. His shot was blocked by Jack Robinson but it fell perfectly for Cornet to slash home at the far post.

It was a moment to remember for the Ivorian, who finally broke his duck at the 31st attempt.

The Hammers smelled blood and were only denied a second by a brave block from Jayden Bogle to deny Ings.

That proved important as Brereton Diaz got his first Premier League goal to pull the hosts level in the 44th minute.

Aaron Trusty’s hopeful header into the box found Will Osula at the far post and his diving header was palmed away by Areola, straight into the path of the Chile striker, who thrashed home from six yards.

He should have been celebrating a second 12 minutes after the restart but produced a bad miss at a golden moment.

James McAtee set him clear and as he closed in on goal with no one else around him he seemed destined to score, but dragged his shot wastefully wide.

There was a sense that that could be pivotal and so it proved as the visitors were awarded a penalty with 11 minutes of normal time remaining when Gus Hamer tripped Ings.

Ward-Prowse was never going to do anything other than ripple the back of the net as he sent his effort straight down the middle.

The hosts’ chances of getting back into the game appeared to be severely hampered in time added on as Brewster was shown a red card for a tackle on Emerson Palmieri after a VAR check.

But that was just the start of the drama as Coufal picked up his second yellow card in less than four minutes and the foul led to the Blades being awarded a penalty.

They recycled the set-piece, with McAtee curling in an inviting cross which Areola came for but did not get to, instead clattering into McBurnie.

The referee pointed to the spot and after a long delay where Areola went off injured, McBurnie scored from the spot.

Ivan Toney may have been the centre of attention for Brentford but boss Thomas Frank was eager to single out another striker after the 3-2 victory over Nottingham Forest.

Toney’s cheeky free-kick, on his return from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules, set the Bees on their way to a first win in five matches.

But it was Neal Maupay’s well-taken turn and shot which secured a much-needed three points after Forest had made it 2-2.

“No one can do anything on their own in life, if you want to achieve something big, you can’t be alone,” said Frank.

“Ivan is one 11th of the team and if the 10 others are not performing, it doesn’t help. We need them all to perform together.

“Another one to highlight is Neal Maupay. The way he took his winning goal was very good. And the way he has come into the club is fantastic. We know what he is capable of, but five goals and three assists is impressive.

“It’s clear that they have got an eye for each other and they connect well. I like it.”

Toney’s strike, after rolling the ball from its original spot to find a gap between the wall and the near post, cancelled out a fine volley from Danilo.

Ben Mee then headed Brentford in front and Chris Wood responded in kind for Forest before Maupay’s 68th-minute winner.

Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo, who felt Toney’s goal should have been disallowed, said: “The boys were organised, we scored and had good momentum. The attitude was excellent, with fighting spirit and togetherness.

“But mistakes dictate the result. The result is frustrating, but the performance was good.

“I think we played well. We must be proud of the way we did things, even though we lost the game. We are short of offensive options.”

Newcastle are preparing themselves for a series of big decisions over the final 10 days of the January transfer window as suitors attempt to take advantage of their spending restrictions.

The PA news agency understands the Magpies have rejected a loan offer from Bayern Munich for key defender Kieran Trippier and have received and rebuffed a similar approach from Atletico Madrid for striker Callum Wilson.

However, they are bracing themselves for follow-ups which could present the kind of dilemmas chief executive Darren Eales suggested might arise in the wake of the £400million-plus spending spree on which the club have embarked since their Saudi-backed owners took charge in October 2021 as a result of profit and sustainability rules.

Eales’ comments came earlier this month as Newcastle reported a loss after tax of £73.4m in their latest financial figures, after which he admitted that every player in Eddie Howe’s squad had their price as the club attempt to balance their books.

If that sparked fears that one of their most saleable assets – defender Sven Botman, midfielder Bruno Guimaraes or striker Alexander Isak – could be vulnerable, it appears to have prompted potential European buyers to test the water elsewhere.

Newcastle have not commented on the situation.

England full-back Trippier, 33, was the new regime’s first signing in January 2022 when he arrived at St James’ Park from Atletico in what has proved to be a bargain £12m move.

He has been the flagbearer for the progress which has been made since and has 18 months left on his existing contract.

While there is no particular desire to sell him, he is one of the club’s higher earners and a substantial cash offer would leave Newcastle with a decision to make, although that could be eased in part by Tino Livramento’s summer capture.

Similarly 31-year-old Wilson, who has nine England caps, has 18 months to run on his current deal as he works his way back from a calf injury.

Fitness problems have limited the frontman, who joined the club in a £20m move from Bournemouth in September 2020, in recent months, but he currently represents the only back-up to the in-form Isak in attack and the Magpies would need to have a replacement lined up before they could even consider allowing him to leave.

Manchester City signed Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong on this day in 2009 as a remarkable spending spree gathered pace.

The club were undergoing an astonishing overhaul following the takeover of Sheikh Mansour the previous summer and De Jong became a key cog in their rapid transformation from mid-table battlers to eventual champions.

De Jong, then 29, penned a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League club after City agreed a fee of around £18million with Hamburg.

His arrival came soon after the high-profile captures of Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bridge at the then City of Manchester Stadium and was quickly followed, in the same transfer window, by that of goalkeeper Shay Given.

City had begun sending shockwaves through the transfer market on the day of the sheikh’s takeover in August 2008 when they snapped up Brazilian Robinho from Real Madrid for £32.5million.

They had set their sights even higher in January 2009 as they made an audacious, then world record, £100million attempt to buy Kaka from AC Milan.

That failed but De Jong’s signing, albeit far more modest, proved sensible as the defensive midfielder added steel to a side needing a grafter amid a huge influx of exciting attacking talent. Emmanuel Adebayor, Roque Santa Cruz and Carlos Tevez were among the newcomers the following summer.

The Dutchman went on to make 137 appearances for City over three and a half years, helping them win the FA Cup and Premier League, before leaving for Milan.

He later had spells in the United States, Turkey and Qatar and also earned 81 international caps before retiring in 2021.

Manchester United have named Omar Berrada as their new chief executive after raiding rivals Manchester City in a dramatic statement of intent.

United have been looking for a successor to Richard Arnold, who left the club in November, and Berrada appears to fit the bill following his success both on and off the field with City Football Group.

Berrada has been at City for nearly a decade in a variety of different guises, most recently as the chief football operations officer, also bringing significant experience in the commercial sector.

The PA news agency understands owners Joel and Avram Glazer appointed Berrada in consultation with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose Ineos firm has agreed to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club.

Berrada’s start date with his new club will be revealed in due course by United, who confirmed Patrick Stewart will continue as interim chief executive for the time being.

A United statement said: “Manchester United is pleased to announce the appointment of Omar Berrada as its new CEO.

“The club is determined to put football and performance on the pitch back at the heart of everything we do. Omar’s appointment represents the first step on this journey.

“As one of the most experienced football executives at the top of European football, Omar brings a wealth of football and commercial expertise, with a proven record of successful leadership and a passion to help lead change across the club.

“He is currently serving as chief football operations officer for City Football Group overseeing 11 clubs across five continents and, prior to this, held senior roles at Barcelona.

“It is our stated ambition to re-establish Manchester United as a title-winning club.

“We are pleased that Omar will be joining us to help achieve that goal, so that, once again, United fans can see, in the words of Sir Matt Busby, the red flag flying high at the summit of English, European and world football.”