Premier League

Heather's Analysis| the takes that matter

EPL

Everyone wants to know where Rodri lands, Madrid or Barcelona, and City are letting the clock run. That's the mistake. He's 30, in the last year of his deal, just won the World Cup and the Golden Ball as player of the tournament, and he still hasn't signed fresh terms. City either get an extension done now or sell this summer, because the one outcome they can't survive is watching the best defensive midfielder alive walk for free next year. They renew him before the window shuts, or this becomes every free-transfer regret in the book.

Salah just turned a nine-year Liverpool legacy into a two-year Trabzonspor paycheck, and I get it, he's 34 and the body has a shelf life. But don't sell me the "new challenge" line. This is the Ronaldo and Messi playbook, cash the last big cheque somewhere the pressure is off. The difference is those two chased trophies for a decade and left on a high. Salah left after a public falling-out with Slot and a terminated contract. He'll score 15 in Turkey and everyone will call it a fairytale. It's a pension.

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Arsenal spent all summer dreaming on Vinicius and Real Madrid just slammed the door, tied him to 2032. Honestly, dodged a bullet. He's 26, brilliant, and the package he wanted to stay was up around €30m a year. That's a 30-something wage bill on a winger whose whole game is legs and burst, right as those start to fade. Let Madrid pay the peak-years premium into his thirties. Arsenal are better off spending that on a spine that lasts.

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Today's Klaxon

with Heather Quinn