Mohamed Salah has openly discussed his ongoing contract drama at Liverpool, declaring "we are far away from any progress" while gaffer Arne Slot adamantly states Trent Alexander-Arnold remains dedicated to the club despite Real Madrid's interest. Strategists Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have been pondering potential winter window manoeuvres for Manchester City and Arsenal.

Salah's Future in Doubt?

Entering the new year without a fresh deal at top-tier side Liverpool—with his current contract set to end this summer—Salah is now free to negotiate pre-contract terms with clubs across Europe. During a candid Sky Sports interview, when quizzed about his stint at Liverpool drawing to a close, he confessed: "So far, yeah. It’s the last six months. We are far away from any progress, so we just need to wait and see."

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Despite the uncertainty surrounding his Anfield journey, the Egyptian ace maintains a cool head, refusing to be "concerned or stressed" while focusing on enjoying a campaign boasting 17 strikes and a dozen plus one assists.

Alexander-Arnold Staying Put.

As rival suitors circle, Trent Alexander-Arnold, whose agreement too expires at season's end, remains steadfast in red, as affirmed by boss Slot. In light of Real's bid being spurned earlier this week, Slot reassured fans in a presser before Sunday's showdown with Manchester United: "He is fully committed to us and he will play on Sunday."

Harry Maguire, whose contract is set to expire this summer, has seen a resurgence in his career under the new management of Amorim after losing his captaincy and falling down the pecking order under former boss Erik ten Hag. In his pre-match press conference, Amorim confirmed that the centre-back would be staying beyond this season, with Amad Diallo "near" to agreeing a new deal.

An update was also provided on Marcus Rashford, who was an unused substitute for the 2-0 loss to Newcastle on Monday after being left out of the previous four matchday squads. Regarding the forward, who last month told journalist Henry Winter he was "ready for a new challenge", Amorim said: "It’s the same situation. At the moment he is ill. He is not training. We will see but I think this week he is out."

Meanwhile, Guardiola has warned that injury-hit City must be "wise" in January.

The league champions, currently sixth, are not expected to have any of their injury absentees back when they host West Ham on Saturday, with key players like Ruben Dias, John Stones and Ederson still out. The sidelined list also includes Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in September.

On potential reinforcements in January, boss Guardiola said: "It will not be easy. Maybe we sign, maybe we don’t sign anyone."

"I think the club has to be wise. Don’t do it for (the sake of) doing it, just to add players. Of course, for the situation that we have the club has to do it, but I don’t know if it will be possible to do it."

Arteta: "The focus is on what we have" Arteta, whose second-placed Arsenal went into the weekend six points behind Liverpool having played a game more, suggested at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brighton that the Gunners signing a striker in January was unlikely. "I am very happy with the players we have and when you look at the amount of goals that we have scored, too, it is more than enough to win the Premier League," he said.

"If something extraordinary is on the market that we can afford and we think they will have a real impact on the team, we have to be open for that possibility always. But at the moment, the focus is on what we have."

What’s on today?

As well as the Arsenal and City matches, Saturday’s Premier League action also includes Chelsea playing at Crystal Palace, in-form Newcastle facing Tottenham in north London and Aston Villa hosting second-bottom Leicester. In the Championship, table-toppers Leeds are at Hull and second-placed Burnley take on derby rivals Blackburn at Ewood Park.