Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has explained the reason behind the decision to sell Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah to Italian Serie A giants AS Roma while he was the Chelsea boss.

According to the Portuguese tactician, Egyptian international star Salah was not mentally ready for the Premier League while he was a Chelsea player.

Jose Mourinho spoke about Salah during his pre-match thoughts ahead of the Red Devils clash with Liverpool billed for Sunday evening.

Liverpool started the weekend at the top of the table and a win against rivals Liverpool at home will take them back to the Premier League summit.

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English champions Manchester City are at the top of the table following their 3-1 win over Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Jose Mourinho signed Mohamed Salah from Swiss side FC Basel for £11m in 2014 but the Egyptian didn’t make the grade at Stamford Bridge.

He made just 13 Premier League outings for the Blues before he was sold to Italian giants AS Roma in 2016.

Salah became an instant hit at Liverpool following his transfer from Roma last summer.

The 26-year-old scored a whopping 44 goals for the Reds in all competitions in his debut campaign as he helped Liverpool to the Champions League final.

Mourinho would be plotting how to stop Salah ahead of his side’s away league meeting with Liverpool.

Liverpool legend Phil Thompson has hailed Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira as the best signing of the summer in the Premier League.

The former Reds assistant manager and interim manager praised the impact of Lucas Torreira on English football in an interview monitored by Gunnersphere.

According to him, Torreira is an upgrade on previous options like Swiss international star Granit Xhaka and Egyptian player Mohamed ElNeny.

Lucas Torreira signed for the Gunners in the summer after his World Cup exertions with the Uruguayan national team.

The 22-year-old was part of the Uruguay squad that reached the quarterfinals of this summer’s FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia before they were eliminated by eventual champions France via a 2-0 defeat in their last eight clash.

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Lucas Torreira teamed up with his Arsenal teammates at the start of August and he has not looked back since then.

Arsenal agreed to a £26m transfer fee with Italian Serie A side Sampdoria for Torreira.

It was also decided that the money would be paid in three instalments.

Torreira has been very impressive for Arsenal since he signed for the club in the summer.

He recently scored his first goal for the Gunners in the 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the league before netting the winner in the last league game against Huddersfield Town.

He has now scored two goals in his last three appearances in the Premier League.

West Ham United are interested in a move for Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira who has been previously linked with London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.

The Hammers could try to sign him when the transfer window reopens in the next few weeks.

The interest of West Ham United in the Belgium-born Brazilian player was revealed by the Daily Mirror.

The 22-year-old has set his sights on an exit from Manchester United on a search of regular first team action and the Hammers could offer him that.

It would be easier for him to get constant first-team action at West Ham United than at Arsenal or Chelsea.

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Andreas Pereira has just six months left on his current contract with the Red Devils though the club can activate the clause of an extra year in his contract to possibly extend his stay until the end of the 2019/20 season.

He has made six appearances for Manchester United in all competitions this term.

Pereira started the first two league games of this season against Leicester City (2-1) and Brighton and Hove Albion (2-3) before losing his place in the starting XI.

His other start came during the week when he was part of the Manchester United side was beaten 2-1 by Valencia in the Champions League.

Arsenal are reportedly plotting a £40m move for Boca Juniors forward Cristian Pavon ahead of the upcoming winter transfer window.

This according to the publication from The Sun via the Daily Mail.

New Gunners boss Unai Emery is keen to boost his injury-depleted Arsenal squad for the second half of this season and the Spanish tactician has identified the 22-year-old as a potential signing for the club.

It was revealed that Argentine side Boca Juniors have slapped a £40m transfer fee on the young winger which the North Londoners are ready to pay.

Cristian Pavon has been an important player for Boca Juniors since he joined them in 2014.

He has scored 19 goals in 72 appearances for his team.

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Pavon and Boca Juniors recently lost the Copa Libertadores final to arch rivals River Plate following a 5-3 aggregate defeat.

The young winger was affected by a slight hamstring injury as he failed to make any meaningful impact for Boca Juniors especially in the second leg which ended in a 3-1 defeat after extra time.

Struggling Premier League side Fulham have also been credited with an interest in him but it remains to be seen whether they can splash £40m on an unproven Premier League player.

Respected Spanish journalist Kike Marin has revealed that Arsenal manager Unai Emery will try to sign Ajax Amsterdam defender Matthijs De Ligt.

The Arsenal interest in the young Dutch defender was reported by DailyCannon.

De Ligt, 19, is attracting the interests of many European sides following his sensational performances for both club and country.

He was at the heart of Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam’s qualification for the first knockout stage in the Champions League this season.

Matthijs De Ligt has also been a big part of his club’s bid to wrestle the Dutch Eredivisie title back from the claws of reigning champions and fierce rivals PSV Eindhoven.

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The young centre-back formed a potent defensive partnership with Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk to help the Netherlands qualify for the semifinals of the maiden UEFA Nations League campaign.

The three-time World Cup finalists surprisingly finished at the top of League One Group A ahead of world champions France and immediate past world champions France.

Arsenal are in need of defensive reinforcements ahead of the second half of the season and Matthijs De Ligt could be a quality option.

The Gunners were depleted at the start of December following the serious knee injury suffered by English defender Rob Holding.

German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are reported to have entered the race for the signature of Thorgan Hazard who has been followed by English Premier League side Liverpool.

It was earlier expected that the Reds will have the signature of Thorgan Hazard in coming weeks when the winter transfer window reopens but with the interest already shown by the German Bundesliga side, they will have to miss out of the contest.

Thorgan Hazard has been excellent for Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach and that has drawn this level of attention from top European sides as they are all keen on his signature.

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With manager Jurgen Klopp seeking to maintain the lead in the Premier League table, it is believed that he will do all it takes to have the signature of the 25-year-old who has scored 11 goals so far this season and six assists with the dew games under his belt.

However, Thorgan Hazard’s suitors have been told he will cost more than the £26 million in his release clause because of the impact he has made and his development so far.

Meanwhile, the German Bundesliga side are desperate for Thorgan Hazard because of the obvious reasons that Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben who are both set to leave the club.

English Premier League giants Liverpool are confirmed to be without England international Trent Alexander-Arnold when they welcome Manchester United to the Anfield in their Premier League tie.

The 20-year-old sustained an injury in their Champions League game against Italian Serie outfit Napoli and was forced to leave the pitch before 90 minutes.

Although the situation was unsure at first but it has been confirmed with manager Jurgen Klopp describing his loss as “painful”.

However, the English lad was seen wearing a protective boot which hints that he will not be available for the highly anticipated game between both sides.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold would no doubt be a miss for the Reds as he has established himself in the heart of the team.

The Reds team have been able to top the Premier League chart ahead of Manchester City for the first time in two seasons and they will be looking forward to extending it when they host the Red Devils.

Meanwhile, United are looking forward to giving the league leaders a shock with manager Jose Mourinho stating that he has got a quality squad that is capable of defeating their host team when they meet later on Sunday at the Anfield.

North London giants Arsenal are reportedly plotting a €50m bid for highly rated Italian Serie A winger Cengiz Under ahead of the upcoming transfer window scheduled to start in two weeks time.

According to the publication from lastwordonfootball, the Gunners are preparing a big bid for the Turkish international winger as they try to snap him up ahead of the second half of the season.

Cengiz Under currently plays his club football for Italian Serie A side AS Roma.

The 21-year-old winger has emerged as one of the most exciting young players on the European football stage since he joined the club from Turkish club Bursaspor in the summer of 2017.

His impressive outings helped the Italian capital club reach the semifinals of the Champions League in the last campaign before they were knocked out by Liverpool.

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He has maintained his form this season after netting five goals and providing four assists for his team in all competitions.

Earlier reports claim that Arsenal had a €32m (£29m) bid rejected by Roma for the exciting winger.

The North Londoners are in need of quality reinforcements in the forward areas mainly due to the serious ankle injury suffered by Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck.

Former Manchester United and Sunder land star Welbeck has been ruled out for the rest of this season.

It has been revealed that Premier League giants Manchester United are keen to sell their defenders in a bid to fund the transfer for a new centre back in the upcoming transfer window.

The Telegraph claim that Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho is ready to axe the defensive trio of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo to free up funds for a new defender.

Mourinho is determined to boost his ailing defence with the addition of a new centre back and the aforementioned trio could be sold to achieve his aim.

Bailly, Jones and Rojo won’t be short of suitors if they are to leave Old Trafford.

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Ivorian international star Eric Bailly is attracting the interests of European sides like Arsenal, AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspur.

Englishman Phil Jones had previously been linked with the Gunners, while Everton were said to be interested in Argentine international defender Marcos Rojo.

Jose Mourinho has already identified Napoli centre back Kalidou Koulibaly as his top defensive target for the January transfer window.

Reports say that the Red Devils made two separate bids for the Senegalese international star and both were turned down by Napoli.

Apart from Koulibaly, Manchester United have also been linked with Harry Maguire, Milan Skriniar and Toby Alderweireld.

English premier League side Liverpool are reported to be willing to stand down their interest in long-term target Christian Pulisic as they will no longer be needing him anymore.

The alleged decision by the club is informed by the fact that there has been great improvement and development from summer signing Xhender Shaqiri which makes him win the heart of manager Jurgen Klopp.

Before now, the Reds were keen on the signature of Christian Pulisic had had the intention of having his signature in the winter transfer window which reopens in coming weeks.

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However, the Swiss has been impressive in every opportunity handed to him which gives the manager what exactly Christian Pulisic would have given to the club.

Xhender Shaqiri joined the Reds in the last summer from Stoke City and had a slow start as he was initially not paid attention to by the manager.

With the latest development, the Reds will now be out of the race for Christian Pulisic, leaving Chelsea alone to have their way as they are also interested in his signature.

Meanwhile, the Reds are beginning to see more hope in a title win this season as they now sit top in the Premier League table.