Chelsea transfer target  Josko Gvardiol has opened the door to a January move even though he insists he is happy at RB Leipzig. The defender is just 20, but he has emerged as one of the top young defenders in the world now and the Blues were desperate to buy him in the summer. They reportedly offered 90m euros to RB Leipzig for his signature, but the Germans turned it down because they consider him an indispensable member of their team. The Croatian is happy with the decision and insists he wants to remain at the Bundesliga club to improve himself even further. However, he could agree to a move in January. He said, as quoted by Matchplug:  ‘I’m happy at Leipzig, I still have a lot to learn and need to work on myself.  ‘I have people who deal with it, I didn’t think about a transfer. We’ll see what happens in the winter. ‘

Aaron Ramsey has explained Arsenal withdrew their contract offer to him when he was ready to sign and that forced him to leave the club. The midfielder was at Arsenal for 10 seasons before his contract ran into its final year in the 2018/2019 season. Arsenal struggled to get him to agree to a new deal and it seemed the midfielder wanted to leave. Eventually, the club withdrew its offer and he moved to Juventus on a free transfer. The Old Lady offered him a lot of money to join them, but Ramsey explains that it was not the money that made him leave Arsenal. He insists there was no other contract to sign. He said, as quoted by Matchplug: ‘It all happened… I agreed to a contract they proposed. ‘Things went quiet for a few weeks. I was telling my agent, ‘Let’s do it’, then all of a sudden the contract was no longer there. So there was nothing to sign or agree. ‘It was a difficult start for a few months with Unai [Emery]. As the season was going on, I was playing more and playing really well. ‘Then January came and I had to make a decision whether I carried on and saw what happened or whether I agreed [to sign] somewhere [else].’

Pep Guardiola has defended Jack Grealish from criticism and insists it is not the Englishman’s fault that he is underperforming. Manchester City broke their club record to spend £100m on Grealish last season as he impressed in the colours of Aston Villa. However, the attacker has been underwhelming as a City player and he has come under fire for his poor showing. He lacks the goals and assists to help the team and it doesn’t seem to be money well-spent whichever way you look at it. The attacker is struggling to justify such a huge outlay, but Guardiola has jumped to his defence and insists he didn’t sign him because of the goals and assists. He said, as quoted by Matchplug: ‘We didn’t sign him for the incredible goals or assists. ‘It was another reason and when he plays he does it. I want (him) to make goals and I want assists and he does, too. ‘But it’s not about that, it’s about his contribution without the ball and what he can produce for the other ones and the many, many things that he’s able to do. ‘He’s such a nice guy and in the games when he didn’t play, he is the first to help the team and in the training sessions he’s always there. ‘

Erik Ten Hag could be handed as much as £100m to buy new players in the January transfer window at Manchester United. The Dutchman became the club’s latest manager in the summer as they chased more glory and improvement as a team. United has struggled over the last few seasons and they see Ten Hag as the man to get them back to their glory days. They splashed huge sums of money to sign Antony and Casemiro in the last transfer window, among others, but more players are expected to join the club. Matchplug understands United will spend around £70m on new players in the winter, but if Cristiano Ronaldo leaves, they will spend at least £100m. He is the highest earner at Old Trafford and they will save significant sums of money from offloading him in the next transfer window.

Chelsea has assured Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang that he is a part of their future after they sacked Thomas Tuchel. The Gabonese attacker has just joined the club after Tuchel pushed for their reunion before the last transfer window closed. The Blues had been struggling on the field, but they have splashed the cash to bolster the squad after several high-profile departures at the end of last season. Auba is considered the last piece of the puzzle, but the man who pushed to sign him has been fired and now he must consider his future. It remains unclear who the next Chelsea manager would be, but Matchplug understands Auba has been assured that he is a part of their plans. The former Arsenal man has been told he would be taken care of and has no reason to worry much about the German’s sacking.

Former Liverpool flop Loris Karius is set to join Newcastle United and he could be on their bench in a game this weekend. The German is famous for his errors allowing Real Madrid to beat Liverpool 3-1 in the 2018 Champions League final. His career has gone downhill since then and he was released by the Reds at the end of last season after spending most of the succeeding years out of the club on loan. He has been unattached, but Newcastle United need a new goalie after Karl Darlow suffered an injury in training. Matchplug understands they have spoken to Karius and he is set to join them on a short-term deal until the January transfer window roepens. He would become their temporary second choice behind the very impressive Nick Pope who joined them from Burnley this season. Karius has been very unfortunate in his career, with the performance in that final defining it. But he still just 29 and could get it back on track.