Man Utd's Bruno not for sale | Arsenal ready to spend big in summer | Haaland set for extended spell on sidelines
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Welcome to Bat Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm David Garrido. Joining me are The Sun's football editor, Charlie Wyatt, and The Telegraph's football reporter, Sam Dean. Welcome along to you both.

So we're going to start off with Bruno Fernandes. We knew that the papers were going to pick this up. It was in the embargo part of the news conference ahead of the midweek games. So let's have a look, first of all, at the back page of The Sun, which looks like this. So he's not for sale. So this is your paper, Charlie. I mean...

Just give us a little bit of the context of this story, because he has been linked with a move to other clubs, and particularly Real Madrid. But Ruben Amrim kind of giving this one short shrift in the presser, wasn't he?

Really good, strong words from the Manchester United manager today. And the club's fans will be delighted to hear this, that he's really adamant that their best player is going nowhere. Yes, you're right, there's been talk of a potential move, maybe £80-90 million around Madrid, although I'm not convinced yet.

they'd spend that amount of money on the 30-year-old. But look, there'd be lots of takers, of course there will, because he's been Manchester United's best signing in the post-Fergie era, Alex Ferguson, since he left. You could argue that the general competition has not been that good because they've...

Spent a lot of money on a lot of rubbish, overpaid for some really, really average players. And Fernandes is not one of those. Of course they need him. When he signed a new deal last summer, he did mention that he spoke to the club. He did consider leaving. There were other offers on the table, but he stayed. And of course, Amram now will be hoping that he sticks it out for another year in that embargoed.

section today for the newspapers he does stress that he wants to be winning the title next season I think that's a bit optimistic and I think most United fans would agree with that but yeah look it's stats alone 95 goals in 277 appearances you know 81 assists United have to keep them and I'm sure they're going to do everything they can to do so

Yeah, I mean, he said, no, it's not going to happen. In fact, the headline in The Guardian, not going anywhere. This piece from Jamie Jackson. Sam, I just sort of wonder how significant is the dynamic of this relationship? Just picking up one of the quotes in Jamie's piece, he says, sometimes the frustration that everybody sees and the maybe say it's not a good thing in a captain, but it's a sign he wants to success so bad. He's not going anywhere because I've already told him, you know, this actually.

between manager and captain, particularly at Manchester United, where everything feels like it's constantly in flux. It is quite crucial, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely. And obviously Bruno Fernandes is one of the leaders of that team. And there's been a big debate about his leadership over the past few months. I'm sure different people have different views on how good a captain he is, as we know. But fundamentally, Amarim's come in and instantly attached himself to Bruno Fernandes. We know how he's treated other big players. Marcus Rashford, the most obvious example. And he chose, I'm going to side with Bruno Fernandes and basically build my team around him. And he's not the first manager to do that in Man United, which says a lot, I think, about...

the way that Bruno Fernandes carries himself at the club and his standing and his stature within that squad and obviously his character and personality too. So, yeah, fundamentally, Bruno Fernandes is a fundamental and key part to this United squad. But I do think it is interesting though, I think one thing that is worth mentioning that United do need to make some sales. We know their financial situation, we know their difficulties with complying with PSR and bringing in the players they want to bring in over the next few windows.

and they're going to have to sell someone really obviously it's not going to be bruno fernandez as amirim has made very clear here but you have to look around and think which players can they generate significant transfer fees for and as charlie says before based on their

business in the past few windows. There's not a huge amount of quality options there to sell. So, you know, it's a tricky one. Clearly, it's not going to be Bruno Fernandes. That's clearly what Almarim wants. He wants him to stay. But you do have to wonder, if not him, then who is going to be sold and how are they going to generate these funds they need to rebuild their squad? Yeah, it's a really good point, Sam. And I wonder, the back page of the Mirror, it's a no-go Bruno on the right-hand side. They rate him as £50 million, obviously,

I mean, I wonder, Charlie, what's your take on that in terms of what needs to shift around to the Manchester United squad, incomings and outgoings? If they really want to keep him because he's the captain, he's a talisman as well. And yet they do need to generate funds. So how do they square the circle? Well, the obvious one's Marcus Rashford, isn't it?

He clearly has no future at Manchester United under Amarim. And even today, when he was asked about Rashford's encouraging form for Aston Villa, he said he's a top player if he wants. And he said the same about Anthony, who, of course, they'd be willing to...

to do a deal and for him to stay in Spain as well. So they're the two obvious ones. And, you know, whether they can get the 70, 80 million pounds in total for those two players remains to be seen. But obviously they're going to be hoping that Marcus Rashford can continue his good form at Aston Villa. There's still a lot more to come from him at Villa. That's for sure. He's been encouraging.

But yeah, it's not been absolutely brilliant. He needs to score more. But yeah, I'm sure Villa would like to keep him and the supporters want him to stay at Villapark. So I think that's, yeah, that's a key one. And I think it would be a real shame if they lost Kobi Mainu, of course. Brilliant player, potentially. But if United want to progress, they need to be keeping him as well.

OK, let's move on to your piece, Sam. And it is, you know, we were discussing this before, you know, whether to go on Mbakao Saka or whether to go on comments from Mikel Arteta about, you know, their plans for the summer. You've kind of found the perfect solution. You've got a picture of Saka and then you've got the headline on Arsenal ready to spend big. So well done, everyone at The Telegraph, for that. But in terms of, you know, how significant these declarations were for Mikel Arteta,

You know, we know that the winter transfer window was so disappointing for Arsenal fans not being able to sign a striker. They had these issues up front and in those four positions, hence the picture of Saka because he is finally back and that is a significant piece of news because there's a little bit of relief in that sense. But, you know, what did you make of his comments and the fact that, you know, he expected this summer's transfer window to be a big one?

Yeah, I think this is the news that Arsenal fans wanted to hear above all really. Obviously the Saka news is big too, but I think we know that's been coming for a while. He was back in training last week, for example. So for us at the Telegraph, we thought the transfer line was the way to go. And I think the reason for that is also partly because it's only two days now since he's also in San Berta, the new sporting director arrived. So the business can really kick on now. The man in charge of doing the deals is in the building. He was there in London Colney today.

So they can now crack on. And Arsenal fans know where they want to strengthen, where the club wants to strengthen, and that's up front. They tried to do that last summer, couldn't do it. They tried to do it in the January window as well, couldn't do it. So they really can't afford to go three consecutive summers without signing a centre-forward, especially given that Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are dealing with serious injuries that could affect the start of next season too.

So that's clearly got to be the place to go. But the focus will not be just on strikers. And I think it's important to note that they want to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad and he could cost around £50 million. They're also looking at a goalkeeper. I think people in Spain are very much expecting Joan Garcia from Espanyol to go to Arsenal too.

so there's plenty of work to be done and arteta was quite bold in saying that himself today calling it a big one in terms of the summer and the window they need and spoke also about his excitement for getting it done so uh i think it's front foot it's bold it's aggressive and it's almost saying to andrea burton here you go go and get the deals done my friend yeah we'll talk maybe a little bit about uh the new sporting director that is now in place at the emirates but before we do so

You know, the quote from Arteta is, it's going to be a big one, a big summer, and we're very excited about it. What exactly does a big summer look like in terms of cold, hard numbers, Charlie? Well, they need a striker. You know, as Sam said, you know, the central midfield position looks as though it's sorted and another keeper. They do need a striker. We know that. It's obvious. Just look at the league table. Just look at Arsenal's form, performance.

Obviously, Bakayo Saka has been a big loss. He's going to be back. But even had he been playing the last three months, Arsenal have been missing something. And I thought Arsenal would challenge for the title this year based on last season. And I think the fans certainly did. But it's not just a big summer for Arteta in the transfer market. I think it's make or break. It's make or break for him. Because I think if they don't get it right and Arsenal

they're not improving. Come September, October, there'll be a lot of pressure on the manager. You know, there's been a bit of pressure from some of the fans now who've been very, very frustrated with him and frustrated with the performances. And it's been a bit flat, hasn't it, the last few months there. Obviously, the fact that he's still in the Champions League could still be an amazing season for the club and Arteta. But if that doesn't happen, he has to get the transfer right, has to get the right striker in. And whether they can, you know,

you know, somehow get Izak from Newcastle, which would be a tough task, or maybe Jokeres or Sesko from Leipzig. I don't know, but they're going to have to spend a lot of money to get those type of players in. Yeah, well, I've got to ask you the same question, Sam. What is a lot of money? Are we talking £200 million? Is it £250 million? Give me an idea of what you think

Arsenal will need to spend to make this the big transfer window that will get their fans excited.

Well, I certainly think it'd be well over 100. I mean, it's quite hard to gauge what a figure is. And I think fans understandably want to know sort of what a transfer budget is, but that could be affected by a lot of things, including player sales, contract negotiations, for example. They're going to want to tie down William Saliba and Bakayo Saka to new deals, and that won't be cheap. So it's very hard to say they will have X amount of money to spend. But if you consider that Zubamendi is likely to cost around £50 million and then

any striker they go for is likely to cost quite a lot more than £50 million and is going well into the hundreds and possibly up to £150 million, even more. So I think it depends on sales to a degree, depends on contracts. But based on Arteta's comments today and based on what we know they want to do and the players we know they quite like, I think it's fair to expect well north of £100 million, if not £150 million.

Charlie, just coming back on Andrea Berta, who will lead their recruitment efforts in this next transfer window, he's in as a replacement for Edu Gaspar. What do you make of his track record at Atletico Madrid, particularly in terms of forwards that he signed? Because there was an awful lot of money spent, wasn't there?

Yeah, I mean, he's been mixed over the years. I mean, he'll point to Griezmann, which is not a bad one, and Rodri, of course. Then he spent, yeah, £108 million on João Felix and Thomas...

They are from Monaco for, I think, 60 million around the time of the Rodri transfer. So it is mixed. And I think Arsenal fans, yeah, all eyes are going to be on him. He's started and he's going to be under quite a lot of pressure quite early on. So, yeah, he's not going to have an awful lot of time to get it right, I don't think, because it is a really big deal.

window and as Sam was saying, it's probably only three players they're going to be able to get in, so they've got to get them right. Sam, what are your thoughts on Andrea Berta and how much pressure on him particularly? We know there's pressure on Mikel Arteta, as Charlie has said, but what about this new man to try and start the job on the right foot in a critical transfer window?

Yeah, it's a really interesting one because a lot of the groundwork has been laid already by the existing recruitment team led by Jason Ato, who served as interim sporting director following Edu's resignation last year. So a lot of the work has been done, a lot of the preparation has been done, and Arteta made that clear today as well, that Berta's coming in to sort of take over existing plans and existing frameworks that are already there. So, for example, it would probably be quite unfair on the existing recruitment team and on Jason Ato if Berta

if Berta gets all the credit to someone like Sudha Mendi, for example.

but equally he is now the man in charge he is a sporting director his job is to get the deals done so it's at his door now anything they do will be judged sort of through the prism of him doing it even a contract renewal that might be already under negotiation he will now we expect take over that or at least supervise it so it's all going to come to him and he'll know that he's dealt with that situation before and he's obviously as well i think an interesting part of his sort of personality and cv is that he worked with the manager

in Diego Simeone, who was a very powerful, charismatic guy who kind of built the club in his own image. And I think that's almost exactly the same as Mikel Arteta. So he's used to working with that kind of manager and finding the right tools to get along with them for a long period of time.

And I think you'll have to do that again to stay in power at Arsenal and to be successful. Right, let's head to the back page of the Mirror, shall we? A striker, Erling Haaland, with that ankle injury in their win at Bournemouth. Crucial, not crucial? What do you think, Charlie? How would you assess the importance of this injury to City's season right now? Well, I don't think City's fans would have been too delighted last night when they saw the pictures of him

limping out of Bournemouth Stadium with a protective boot. So I guess they feared the worst. City are obviously going to be careful. He's going to have more tests. But obviously where City are at the moment, it's just the FA Cup, isn't it? So...

you know, whether he's going to make a recovery in time for the semifinal against Nottingham Forest looks at this stage unlikely, but until he has the test results and has some more treatment, we won't know for sure. But of course, yeah,

Yes, City will be eyeing that game in the course of the final, potentially, Club World Cup in the United States, which I think is pretty obvious that Haaland will be fit for that. And there's not going to be too much of a turnaround in terms of the end of the season, a couple of international games and then...

City are going to be off to Miami, where they're going to be based for the Club World Cup. So it could have been a lot worse had City been in the Champions League. But equally, yeah, I think they'd rather have Erling Haaland fit and healthy,

than not. So it is obviously a blow, but again, a chance for Mahmoud to start a few more games. Yeah, it's a good point, actually. I know Mahmoud, when he has played, he's had impact, hasn't he, Sam? Do you think that that softens this blow slightly or do you think that City are going to be looking over their shoulders? The likes of Newcastle, Brighton, Fulham, Villa, Bournemouth, they're only all within four points of City and of course they're lying in that fifth place right now.

Yeah, I think they need to be looking over their shoulders now. It's certainly not wrapped up, this Champions League place. And you look at the way they played without Haaland against Real Madrid a few weeks ago and against Liverpool, and they offered nothing, really. They're really poor and they went out of Champions League in a very limp fashion and struggled at home to Liverpool. So that will be alarming for Pep Guardiola, I'm sure. You mentioned Marmouch. I think Charlie's spot on in saying that's...

That's obviously a good chance for him now. I think they'll be extremely thankful that they made that move in January and didn't wait till the summer to buy a striker because they're going to need Marmouch's goals now too. I just wonder if Marmouch is now going to play up front, might that just give a chance to Jack Grealish to play a few games and to get a little bit of momentum and rhythm going that he's obviously not had for quite a long time. So potentially a chance for Grealish or perhaps someone else. But you look at Marmouch first and foremost as...

the guy to fill the void, I think. Let's move on to some transfer news. And looking in the Times, in a line here on Milos Kirkes, we know that he's a player of great talent. You can see there on the right-hand side towards bottom, Kirkes to cost Liverpool £45 million. Charlie, how do you see him potentially contributing to what Arnestotter's already creating at Liverpool and potentially in that full-back role that we've seen

both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Danny Robertson fulfill so brilliantly over the last few years? Well, I think it's going to be an intriguing summer at Liverpool because, of course, Arne Slott has done unbelievably well without barely having made any summer signings last year. Of course, they're bringing over a keeper in the summer. That is why potentially Liverpool may have been interested in having Kelleher as part of a deal with Bournemouth.

But I don't think Bournemouth are interested. I think left-back is clearly one area where Liverpool look to strengthen. Andy Robertson has been a brilliant signing for Liverpool over all these seasons since he...

arrived from Hull, but he's not had the best season. I don't think Kostas Simakas is probably a long-term solution. So that is one area. And of course, Liverpool will be potentially looking elsewhere as well in terms of the situations with Salah and Van Dijk. I still think they'll probably end up staying. But then right back, although they've got Conor Bradley, Trent Alexander-Arnold does look as though he's going to be moving to Spain. So it's going to be

A big summer for Liverpool, but equally one they're going to look forward to because, yeah, it's been an unbelievable season. Yeah, does this get Liverpool fans excited? Sam, we were talking about Arsenal fans and, you know, Mikel Arteta setting it up in that way. But, you know, given what's already there, obviously there's more that's, you know, already at a slightly higher level as to where Arsenal are right now.

Yeah, I think this is an exciting move if they can get this one done. I think anybody who's watched Bournemouth this season would probably agree that Kyrkhez has been one of their most consistent and exciting performers. He's a really all-action kind of fullback. I think he gets up and down really well. He's got a great kind of feistiness and character about him on the pitch and he seems like

the kind of signing Liverpool made a few years ago when they built that team for Jurgen Klopp which is taking a young talented player with huge potential for growth ideally from within the Premier League having that experience of English football and

and making him even better. So, yeah, I agree with Charlie that Robertson's not had a great season, and that seems like an obvious area to strengthen. And the deal for Kyrkes at that price, I think, seems pretty reasonable. Obviously, we know Bournemouth's model is to recruit these players and then sell them for profit, a bit like Brighton, but perhaps slightly less data-led. And I think it's a good move for everyone, really, if that can come off. And certainly, I'd expect him to do very well at Anfield.

Charlie, got roughly about 45 seconds or so just to deal with Daniel Levy. Back page of the Mirror, right at the top on the right-hand side, I won't put Spurs at risk, Levy hits back at critics. Just after the financial reports have been published and people get a bit more of an idea of what has been spent where, what do you make of it?

Well, you know, we all know that Tottenham fans are not happy with Daniel Levy. They're not happy, well, with the entire ownership. And they're obviously very frustrated with Ange Postakoglu. The accusations are...

that Tottenham don't spend enough. But I think Tottenham fans are more annoyed, not with the amount they've spent, because, you know, they're third highest net spend. I think it's in terms of the signings they're making and the wages they're paying, but also the players, just the quality of the players they're bringing in. And Daniel Levy has overseen an incredible project, the training ground, the stadium. But in terms of signings, it's not been good enough. And that's why Spurs are where they are at the moment.