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Left-back Luke Shaw is ready to fight for his Manchester United place and remain at Old Trafford beyond next summer, according to the Daily Mail.

Meanwhile, the Manchester Evening News report that the Red Devils have absolutely no plans to sell pacy wideman Anthony Martial in this transfer window.

What’s the story, then?

The Mail report that despite Shaw’s issues with Jose Mourinho in the past two seasons, the England international is prepared to stay and fight to get back into the first team at Old Trafford, as he goes into the final year of his contract.

The MEN say that Martial remains very much in Mourinho’s plans for next season and that the former Inter manager will only sanction a transfer if the Frenchman demands it.

Shaw and Martial can add pace and youth

Ashley Young has shown impressive professionalism and adaptability to establish himself as United’s first choice left back but he is nothing more than a quick fix; Shaw’s potential is much greater and the fact he wants to stay and fight shows the attitude Mourinho is looking for.

Martial has Alexis Sanchez and Marcus Rashford to battle past to make the United first team and while that may mean that he doesn’t start every week, the Frenchman should see more gametime.

Before Shaw broke his leg early on in the 2015/16 season, he was forging an impressive link-up with Memphis Depay, another pacy wide forward who likes to cut inside from the left and there is no reason why he could do similar with Martial.

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This United team lacks pace and intensity in a major way; Young cannot provide it as well as Shaw could while Martial deserves more opportunities to play in front of him.

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West Ham United have been linked with a surprising move for Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Gotze, according to Sky Sports.The German World Cup hero was not long ago touted as one of the finest young players in Europe, but he has since been troubled by a number of injuries that have halted his progress.Gotze made a big move to Bayern Munich back in 2013 but soon headed back to Dortmund after he failed to make a serious impression.The playmaker is only 26 and has plenty of years left in him, but his luck needs to change with injuries for him to reach his full potential.If West Ham want the World Cup winner, they’ll have to see off interest from Arsenal, Everton, Marseille and Valencia, according to Sky Sports.However, West Ham fans have reacted to the news with derision, not believing their team has any chance of sealing what would be the transfer story of the summer.

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Fulham are set to grant Sascha Riether’s wish to stay put at the club when his loan deal comes to an end this summer.

The 30-year-old full-back, who has been capped twice by Germany, has enjoyed a successful season with the Cottagers since joining from FC Koln last summer and has played in 32 games for the Londoners.

And, after Riether recently revealed that he is hoping to stay with the club and will hold talks in the next couple of weeks, boss Martin Jol has also confirmed that he will look to do a deal with the player who is contracted to Koln until summer 2014.

He said: “With Sascha Riether, we’ve got an option on him, so it’s an easy one. I’m very keen to keep him – we’ve got an option, as I said, so if we want to keep him, we will keep him. And we want to keep him.”

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Manchester City will host Gianfranco Zola’s Watford at the Etihad Stadium, while Manchester United were handed an away trip to West Ham in the FA Cup Third Round draw.

The Premier League champions, who lifted the trophy in 2011, will fancy their chances of progressing to the fourth round against the Hornets, who are sixth in the Championship table, with Roberto Mancini facing off against former Italy international teammate Zola.

Meanwhile, local rivals United will travel to Upton Park to renew FA Cup acquaintances with West Ham in one of the ties of the round. It will surely evoke memories of one of the competitions most controversial moments that saw Paulo Di Canio score a controversial winner for the Hammers during a fourth round tie at Old Trafford.

Holders Chelsea will travel to Southampton, Swansea will be hoping to inflict more pain on Arsene Wenger and Arsenal, while Hastings United,  the lowest ranked team left in the competition, will be eager to make home advantage count in their replay with Harrogate Town and earn a trip to Championship high-flyers Middlesbrough.

FA Cup Third Round Draw as follows:

Crystal Palace v Stoke City

Brighton & Hove Albion v Newcastle United

Tottenham Hotspur v Coventry City

Wigan Athletic v AFC Bournemouth

Fulham v Blackpool

Aston Villa v Ipswich Town

Charlton Athletic v Huddersfield

Barrow or Macclesfield v Cardiff City

Barnsley v Burnley

Manchester City v Watford

Swansea City v Arsenal

Leicester City v Burton Albion

Millwall v Preston North End

Cheltenham or Hereford v Everton

Derby v Tranmere

Crawley Town v Reading

Aldershot Town v Rotherham or Notts County

Middlesbrough v Harrogate or Hastings

Accrington Stanley or Oxford v Sheffield United

Southampton v Chelsea

QPR v West Brom

Peterborough v Norwich City

Lincoln City or Mansfield v Liverpool

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Bolton v Sunderland

Nottingham Forest v Oldham

West Ham v Manchester United

Hull City v Alfreton or Leyton Orient

Blackburn Rovers v Bristol City

Leeds United v Birmingham City

Bury or Southend v Bradford or Brentford

Luton Town v Wolves

Sheffield Wednesday v MK Dons

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a move to Serie A in the future, goal.com reports.

The 31-year-old Serbian who is set to return to the Manchester United team for the weekend visit of Sunderland, has continually been linked with Italian league leaders Juventus among others including a big money move to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.

“My future in Italy? Who knows? In the past I was close to Fiorentina and Parma. Juventus and Milan have the quality to compete for Champions League.” He told Corriere dello Sport.

Vidic became a key figure in the Red Devils recent success and took over as club captain when Gary Neville retired in 2011. He has however been plagued with injuries in the last two years, missing the majority of last season while not featuring in this campaign since the 4-0 home victory over Wigan in September.

United have struggled defensively in his absence but the attacking prowess the team possesses has seen them cope and they currently sit top of the Premier League table, six points clear of rivals Manchester City.

Vidic is refusing to get carried away with his clubs position though saying, “I don’t know if Manchester United is the favourite club to win Premier League.”

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Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted to see his captain return to help sure up his sides leaky defence which has already conceded 23 goals in the league.

At 31, Vidic still has time left in the game. If he can steer clear of injuries upon his return, he could once again become a vital component of United’s team.

Mladen Petric has insisted he is fit for Fulham’s trip to Stoke, while Mahamadou Diarra could also return from injury for Saturday’s game.

Petric was subbed off in Fulham’s 3-1 defeat to Sunderland last week just after scoring his side’s only goal but the Croatian striker, who has struck four goals in seven games since moving to the English Premier League, is convinced he will be fine to play Stoke.

Sunday’s defeat at home was a shock for Fulham and they want to bounce back quickly against a team similarly placed on the Premier League table.

“I got a kick on my calf when I scored,” Petric said, “It made a cut so I had to come off to have stitches put in and then by the time I got back on the pitch it was 2-1. It was a bit painful but I had injections so it was OK.”

Stoke will draw level with Fulham on 16 points if they win on Saturday but with the visitors having not won in four matches, they are due a victory.

Fulham manager Martin Jol may be keen to bring Diarra straight back into his starting line-up as his team have struggled defensively this season.

Diarra would add much-needed stability in defensive midfield as Fulham have conceded the equal third most goals in the Premier League (22 in 12 games).

Stoke held on for an impressive 1-1 draw away to West Ham last week and have picked up five points in their past four fixtures as they have moved up to 14th position.

For Stoke to win against Fulham they will most likely need to keep the visitors scoreless.

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Tony Pulis’ side have only scored more than one goal in three Premier League matches this season with Peter Crouch Stoke’s main attacking weapon.

Crouch has hit the back of the net four times this season but has not scored in his past six matches, a record that must improve if Stoke are to cause an upset against Fulham.

Prediction: Stoke 1 – 1 Fulham

Manchester City relinquished the lead twice in a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

The Premier League title holders were handed the most difficult Champions League opener possible with a trip to the Spanish capital, but acquitted themselves well, with the scoreline still 0-0 at half-time.

Despite Jose Mourinho’s side have the bulk of possession and territory, the visitors went into the lead when Yaya Toure played substitute Edin Dzeko through to slot home.

City’s lead was short-lived however as Marcelo fired home from the edge of the penalty area, with the shot taking a deflection off Javi Garcia.

The Etihad Stadium side refused to give up however and went back into the ascendancy when a devilish Aleksandar Kolarov free-kick evaded everyone to nestle in Iker Casillas’ goal.

With the English team looking for a hard-fought victory, a late flurry by Los Blancos broke City hearts when firstly Karim Benzema fired home after a neat turn, and then Cristiano Ronaldo’s dipping effort beat Joe Hart in the 90th minute.

Roberto Mancini has admitted that he is disappointed with his side dropping too deep and berated the loss of Samir Nasri and Maicon to injury.

“We didn’t lose concentration,” the City boss told Sky Sports.

“We went too deep with the team. All it is, is a mistake.

“In this moment we are disappointed but I think everything has to be more strong in the future.

“We lose two players for injury – Nasri and Maicon.

“And we had a problem because we wanted to change Aguero because we wanted to attack more. Instead we should do this change,” he concluded.

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Borussia Dortmund beat Ajax 1-0 in the other fixture in City’s group.

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Steven Fletcher arrived at Sunderland well aware he had to hit the ground running after Martin O’Neill paid a hefty fee for the Scottish striker.

However an incredible early run of goals for the Black Cats has gone some way to silencing critics of his £12 million pound move.

The 25-year-old netted his fifth goal in four games against Wigan Athletic and has scored every league goal for the Wearsiders this term.

Fletcher told the Journal, “I’m delighted with the way it has started here.

“When I came here I knew I would get chances with the players we have and the delivery the boys are putting in has been fantastic. They are always giving me tap ins or first-touch finishes.

“Normally there is one player who can really get the ball in like this, but we have several whose delivery we can rely on.

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“People tried to put pressure on me with the price tag and stuff. You need goals and I have scored them early doors. They are big boots to fill [ Darren Bent’s who scored 25 goals in his only full-season at Sunderland] but hopefully I am doing that with five goals in four games and hopefully I can keep that going and everyone will be all right,” he added.

Andre Villas-Boas could well secure a major coup over his former club after Willian stated he would be tempted to join Tottenham despite interest from the European Champions.

The Spurs manager is now considered to be a ‘friend’ of the attacker who has been speaking ahead of the Champions League tie this week against former suitors Chelsea and realises all eyes are on him with the opportunity to showcase his talents on a bigger stage.

After failing in a bid for the versatile Brazilian in the summer Chelsea look set to battle once again for the player and face stiff competition from Spurs amongst other clubs after Willian basically confirmed his desire to leave in an interview with Lancenet.

The player elaborated further on his dilemma and relationship with AVB, confessing  “he always sends me messages. We are in touch and he has become a friend for sure. Chelsea is Chelsea. They are a great team and the Champions of Europe.”

Despite inviting AVB to make an offer this January the player claims he is still focusing on the imminent match against Chelsea with Shakhtar boss Lucescu warning Chelsea that they will be made to pay for failing to appreciate the players “true worth” in the summer when making an offer with the club failing to get “anywhere near” the valuation of the player ahead of the crunch tie on Tuesday.

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New York City FC was only founded 15 months ago and isn’t set to join the MLS until the 2015/2016 season. The football club is 20% owned by Yankee Global Enterprises and 80% owned by City Football Group, who also own Manchester City.

Since the creation of the football club, New York City FC have acquired six players, with two of their most notable players being Englishman Frank Lampard and Spaniard David Villa. With the money available for the football club thanks to their wealthy owners and the quality of the players they have already brought in, New York City FC will be looking to have an immediate impact on the MLS and possibly change the landscape of the league. Some people may say thanks to their wealth, they have already bought an MLS title.

Until New York City FC joins the MLS for its inaugural season in March 2015, Lampard has gone on loan to Manchester City whilst Villa has gone on loan to Melbourne City FC, also owned by the City Football Group. The Australian side is yet to begin their season but the Spaniard is predicted to set the league alight. On the other hand, Lampard has already demonstrated he is still a quality player after scoring the equalizer in City’s 1-1 home draw against his former club, Chelsea, in the Premier League.

If that isn’t enough to satisfy you, maybe you should know that Lampard is the highest scoring midfielder in the Premier League from the 2009/10 onwards with a total of 65 goals. These goals would have mostly occurred thanks to Lampard’s characteristics of taking long shots and being excellent at direct free kicks. Lampard averaged 40.2 passes per game and also had a pass success percentage of 82.4% during his last season at Chelsea. He also averaged 1.3 key passes per game. New York City FC manager Jason Kreis will be hoping Lampard can replicate or increase these statistics in the MLS.

Villa finished last season as Atletico Madrid’s second top scorer, with 13 goals from 36 La Liga games. He was outshone by attacking partner and fellow Spaniard Diego Costa, who is now at Chelsea, but Villa’s contribution shouldn’t be understated. He averaged around 2.1 shots per game and has the characteristics of being a good finisher and playing through balls. He has won basically every top competition available including the World Cup, European Championship, Champions League, La Liga, and the Copa Del Rey, and he is also Spain national team’s all-time leading top goal scorer with 56 goals.

Villa should have a similar impact to the MLS as Robbie Keane. In his first full season (2012) following the Irishman’s moved from Tottenham Hotspur to LA Galaxy in 2011, Keane scored 16 goals from 28 league games. Villa is a much better finishing than Keane as proven by the goals he scored last season in La Liga for Atletico Madrid. Villa is still good enough to play for many European teams.

Could we see more clubs in the Premier League owning or partly owning teams in the MLS in the future? The MLS is fast developing into a league for older players to continue to play, but also as a league that is producing some great players, so I think we will see more clubs in the Premier League owning or partly owning teams in the MLS in the future for that reason.

Some people, such as Arsenal manager Arsene Wegner, have questioned if the loan of Lampard to City is in line with Financial Fair Play rules. Some believe they have bent the rules to meet the five home grown players they are required to have in their restricted 21-man Champions League squad. UEFA rules state Lampard’s loan move falls inside the Financial Fair Play rules provided City pay the midfielder’s wages, which they insist they do. Although Manchester City, New York City and Melbourne City are all owned by City Football Group, they are run as standalone businesses but some believe New York City FC is helping City by loaning out Lampard to them and bending the rules.

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We could therefore also see more Premier League clubs owning or partly owning teams in the MLS in the future in order to try to get around the Financial Fair Play rules.

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