Premier League news: Carrick vows United will not ease up; Isak saga is behind us, says Howe

1. Taking Fulham lightly would be ‘bang out of order’

Michael Carrick says Manchester United would be “bang out of order” if they take Fulham for granted on Sunday afterimpressive wins against Manchester City and Arsenal. Those victories have lifted United to fourth, on 38 points, four points ahead of Fulham, and Carrick warned there would be no change of approach when Marco Silva’s side arrive at Old Trafford.

“Tough game, tough challenge,” said United’s interim manager. “Marco has got Fulham into a really good team. Just because we are at home, taking anything for granted is bang out of order so it might be a case it’s the same flow of the game as the last two weeks. No shame in that, we will deal with the game in front of us and do whatever it takes to come out on top.”

Joshua Zirkzee, who has returned to training after injury, has been linked with a transfer before Monday’s deadline. “I think Josh has just been trying to work to get fit and get back around the group and it’s been great to have him back training yesterday,” said Carrick. “That’s literally as far as it goes for me and for Josh. I’m looking forward to working with him. Nothing else needs to be said.”

Carrick did confirm Patrick Dorgu will be unavailable for a prolonged period due to the muscle problem he sustained at Arsenal. “He’s disappointed, he’s had such a big couple of weeks,” said Carrick. “We weren’t sure whether it was a little bit of cramp or something more serious and at the moment it looks a little bit more on the serious, so it’ll be a few weeks for that. How many, we’ll have to wait and see.” Jamie Jackson

2. No bad blood over Isak wrangle, says Howe

Eddie Howe is not expecting to welcome any new faces to his Newcastle squad before the transfer window closes on Monday night but travels to Liverpool on Saturday buoyed up by a fine away performance at the Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain.

That 1-1 draw on Wednesday night secured Newcastle a two-legged European playoff against Qarabag. It entails a long trek to Baku but Howe believes his team’s recent struggles on the road should be consigned to the past. “It was a high-level, elite, game in Paris,” he said. “My players showed their quality; we’ve proved how good we are away from home. We should have no fears now.”

More immediately, Newcastle are seeking a first Premier League win at Liverpool since 1994, with Howe maintaining the bad blood provoked by Alexander Isak’s protracted £125m transfer to the Merseyside club last summer is forgotten. “We’ve moved on,” he said. “What happened is irrelevant now. We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward. There’s certainly nothing (animosity behind the scenes) on our side.”

While Isak is sidelined by a broken leg, Newcastle’s captain, Bruno Guimarães, faces a fitness test on his ankle injury. Although Joelinton will be absent, Guimarães’s midfield sidekick appears weeks rather than months away from a return.“Joe flew to Barcelona for an injection into his groin,” said Newcastle’s manager. “And the specialist feels his return could be quite quick, we’re looking at weeks not months.”

The full-back Tino Livramentois pencilled in to recover from hamstring trouble in time for a return in early March. Louise Taylor

3. Liverpool ‘not playing for their futures’

Virgil van Dijk does not believe the squad are playing for their futures as Liverpool seek to get their season back on track in the final four months. Five wins in 18 league matches have left Arne Slot’s side two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United and defeat at Bournemouth last weekend was a setback after a spell of stability.

Midweek qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League provided a confidence boost but the truth is there has been underperformance throughout the squad. Only two players – Ibrahima Konaté and Andy Robertson – are out of contract in the summer but deals for Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Alisson, Curtis Jones, Joe Gomez and Wataru Endo all expire in 2027. There is likely to be some natural wastage within that group as the squad is refreshed but Van Dijk said the current motivation was not to secure personal futures.

“I think the reality is some players are running out of contract, some players still have a year after this, like myself, but we have to see how the season goes and how it’s going to end,” said Van Dijk before the visit of Newcastle. “Hopefully it’s successful, but it’s not about players playing to keep their jobs. I still think we have very good players.”

“I think we are well equipped to deal with the demands of the Premier League,” added the Liverpool captain, who admitted he felt responsible for the Bournemouth loss. “The difficulty we’re having at the moment is that we don’t have the consistency. We can’t, so far, build enough on good performances that we have during this season.” PA Media

4. Fulham sign Bobb for £27m

Fulham have completed the signing of winger Oscar Bobb from Manchester City on a five-year deal. The 22-year-old Norway international has moved to Craven Cottage in what is understood to be a £27m deal.

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola missed media duties before his side’s trip to Tottenham for personal reasons on Friday. The Manchester City manager was due to hold a lunchtime press conference to preview Sunday’s Premier League game but the club later confirmed the assistant Pep Lijnders would take his place.

It comes after Guardiola gave a speech in support of Palestinian children at a charity concert in his home city of Barcelona on Thursday. The club said Guardiola was not present due to a personal reason. The Spaniard was expected to be back for training on Saturday. PA Media

5. Frank convinced Spurs owners ‘super committed’

Thomas Frank talked up the “big commitment” of Tottenham’s owners despite a quiet January and insisted transfers were not as easy as Football Manager after they missed out on Antoine Semenyo. Spurs will face Semenyo on Sunday when Manchester City visit and Frank revealed the former Bournemouth attacker had been a big target for this winter transfer window before he decided to join Guardiola’s title-chasing side.

With only days of the window left, Tottenham have signed Conor Gallagher from Atlético Madrid and the teenage Brazilian left-back Souza, but sold last season’s leading scorer Brennan Johnson and lost Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Lucas Bergvall to serious injuries in January.

It led Frank to acknowledge his current squad of players to choose from was weaker than at the start of this month, but he rejected any notion that the majority owners ENIC – run by the Lewis family Trust – were not committed to this project with Spurs down in 14th in the Premier League table.

Before a daunting run of fixtures in February, which begins with the visit of City, Frank said: “I think we lost, I can’t remember, six or seven players inside three weeks in January? That’s crazy. There were definitely too many, so yeah of course [the squad] it’s weaker than we started the first of January.

“I can promise that the Lewis family is super committed to this project. They want to do everything and I would go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there’s no doubt it’s clear that the club wants to sign Semenyo. They did everything. I think that’s a clear signal.

Frank revealed a late call would be made on Micky van de Ven after he missed the impressive midweek victory at Eintracht Frankfurt with a “minor” injury, but Spurs could still be without eight players despite Pedro Porro and Richarlison being primed for a return at the end of February. PA Media

6. Nuno believes Traoré can boost survival drive

Nuno Espírito Santo believes he can get the best out of Adama Traoré and that the “unique” winger can boost West Ham’s efforts to beat the drop after the manager was reunited with Traoré, having coached him at Wolves, rescuing the 30-year-old from a disappointing season at Fulham.

“I’ve worked with him for many years, and I know him well,” said Nuno. “He’s unique – there aren’t many players with his ability one-on-one, or with his pace. He’s going to give us many things that we need. He possesses great threat, and he has great energy, not only on the pitch, but in the dressing room and at the training ground too. He’s a special person to have around. It’s not up to me to judge what’s happened to him before. I’m just happy to have him here.”

The Hammers briefly closed the gap to 17th-placed Nottingham Forest to two points last weekend after beating Sunderland, but Forest responded a day later by winning at Brentford to leave Nuno’s side five adrift of safety going into Saturday’s trip to Chelsea. “We just have to focus on ourselves, and ignore what our opponents are doing,” Nuno added. “We have to try to compete well, play well, achieve results and keep going. We can’t focus on what the other teams are doing, because we can’t control that.” PA Media

7. Rosenior reinforcements ‘must be right’

Liam Rosenior said Chelsea are ready to move in the final days of the transfer window if the right players are available. The Blues are in the market for a central defender and have been optimistic that a deal for a long-term target could be reached before the end of January.

A long-term injury to Levi Colwill which is likely to see him miss the whole season has left Chelsea short of options in the position, but it is understood no emergency cover is likely to be sanctioned with the club preferring to stick with their recruitment plans from before the England defender’s injury.

The deadline for deals is on Monday night and Rosenior confirmed that the sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Lawrence Stewart are actively working on strengthening the team and are ready to back their head coach. “The guys are working hard to stay on top of things in terms of information on what’s out there, who’s interested in our players,” said Rosenior. “It’s about being prepared for any development.

“My job along with the guys is to make the squad in every area as strong as it can possibly be. Certain players come up that you don’t expect to come up, and then can strengthen you. Whether that’s a striker or a wide player or a defender. If we see something, I know the guys are willing to do it. I don’t want to bring in players for the sake of bringing in players. There’s a possibility it could be busy, a possibility it could be quiet.” PA Media