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• Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Man Utd share purchase set to be announced early next week

  Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United is very likely to be announced early next week.

  Confirmation of the investment by the 71-year-old’s Ineos Group would conclude a saga which has lasted more than a year, and sources have indicated that an announcement is strongly expected to be just days away.

  The Glazer family who own United first announced on November 22, 2022 their intention to undertake a strategic review of their options, which included the possibility of them selling the club.

  Many United fans, who have resented the Americans’ involvement in the club since their leveraged takeover in 2005, welcomed that news and until October of this year a buyout looked possible, with Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim publicly in the running.

  Sheikh Jassim withdrew his bid for full control of the club on October 14 and Ratcliffe’s focus has now shifted to taking a significant minority stake.

  The deal is set to involve Ratcliffe purchasing a sufficient number of B shares from the Glazer family to secure 25 per cent of company voting rights.

  Each B share carries 10 votes, whereas A shares carry one vote per share. The Glazers have hitherto owned all the B shares in United, affording them 95 per cent of the overall voting rights.

  Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group is expected to pay in the region of £1.25billion for the share purchase, while also acquiring significant control over footballing operations.

  It has also been reported that Ratcliffe is prepared to invest a further £245million to improve club infrastructure.

  The deal had been expected to be done during the November international break, but that came and went and the one-year milestone was passed almost a fortnight ago.

  The club announced on November 15 that Richard Arnold was stepping down as chief executive.

  Sources close to Ineos indicated they were not involved in Arnold’s departure, but it seems likely that further change will be afoot once the deal is signed.

• Alexis Mac Allister delight after opening Reds account with ‘best goal of life’

  Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister admits it was nice to be momentarily freed from the restrictions of his defensive role to score the “best goal of my life”.

  The Argentina international’s superb 30-yard rising drive into the top corner in Sunday’s dramatic 4-3 win over Fulham was his first for the club since signing from Brighton in the summer.

  His attacking qualities have been largely nullified following his arrival as necessity has meant he has been asked to play a deeper role in midfield than he is used to, but his flash of brilliance showed he has not lost any of his instincts in the final third.

  “Not a bad start to my career there in Liverpool as a goalscorer,” he said.

  “I had a nice one against Leicester (for Brighton) but it was disallowed so I think it was the best goal I scored in my life.

  “As soon as I hit it, I knew that it was going to be a goal. When I play as a number six I am not very worried about goals and assists (because) I have other work to do – but it’s always nice to score.”

  Mac Allister’s goal would have been a worthy match-winner but some haphazard defending allowed Fulham to equalise twice before taking the lead with 10 minutes to go.

  That set up a grandstand finish with Wataru Endo and Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring within a couple of minutes of each other to snatch victory and extend their perfect Anfield winning record to 11 matches this season.

  Captain Virgil van Dijk accepted there was a degree of sloppiness in Liverpool’s game but said at the start of a busy December it was important just to secure the points and move on to the next game, which comes at Sheffield United on Wednesday.

  “I think we were a bit too sloppy in possession in the transitions but I am not that kind of guy that wants to look too much to the negative side,” said the Netherlands defender.

  “If we win these types of games the way we do now is not a bad thing so we have to take the positives out of it, especially during this busy period that starts now.”

  Alexander-Arnold was pivotal to the victory as it was his impressive free-kick, which went in via the underside of the crossbar and the back of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, which kicked things off early in the game.

  When Mac Allister was withdrawn with 25 minutes to go it was the right-back who stepped into central midfield to continue to dictate matters with his passing and Van Dijk has been impressed with how his vice-captain has operated mainly in a hybrid role for the last nine month.

  “Well obviously when he has the ball at his feet and he is free he can put the ball wherever he wants and that is a big quality,” added the Dutchman.

  “We all know that and opponents know it as well. They tried to put him a bit more under pressure but obviously for him to (contribute to) two goals and be important on the offensive side is good and it is something we’re going to need, so let’s keep it going.”

• Mikel Arteta says Arsenal face ‘huge marathon’ to try and dethrone Man City

  Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he is not interested in what happens at title rivals Manchester City – either on or off the pitch.

  The Gunners sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League after their narrow 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday.

  Liverpool are their nearest challengers as City were held to a draw for the third league game in a row – with Tottenham sealing a thrilling share of the spoils at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

  Defending champions City will still be in the shake-up come the end of the season and pipped Arsenal to the title last season en route to winning the treble.

  Asked if he has seen a drop-off from that City side that swatted away all comers last year, Arteta replied: “I don’t look at those things. I have enough looking at my team.

  “I think about how we’re going to play better tomorrow and be more consistent and be more difficult to beat and the things that we need to tweak and how we can use our players in the best possible ways to win. It’s still a huge marathon ahead of us.

  “The encouragement comes from watching the team play, watching them behave every day and how hungry and willing they are to approach every training session.

  “That’s what gives me encouragement. What the others do is something that we cannot control.”

  Arteta was also name-checked by friend and former colleague Pep Guardiola in the aftermath of City’s 3-3 draw with Spurs.

  Guardiola refused to be drawn on the decision of Simon Hooper not to play an advantage late in the game as City broke through on goal – saying he would “not do a Mikel Arteta comment”.

  It was a clear reference to former City assistant Arteta, who is still awaiting the outcome of a Football Association charge after he labelled the decision of VAR to award Anthony Gordon’s goal in a recent 1-0 loss to Newcastle as “embarrassing” and “a disgrace”.

  “On to the next one (question) please,” Arteta replied when asked about Guardiola’s jibe.

  Asked if he was aware of the sort of mind-games Premier League managers have utilised in the past, he added: “If I am good at mind games, maybe you don’t notice.”