Transfer news: It appears Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will join Celtic. The Ox is still just 32, and was released by Besiktas in the summer. He has been training with old club Arsenal, though no deal was expected to play for former teammate Mikel Arteta.

Michael Carrick’s Manchester United take on another club he played for on Saturday. Carrick joined United in 2006 from Tottenham for £16m and was rather pointedly given the No 16 shirt by Sir Alex Ferguson: previous occupant, Roy Keane.

“I’ve got really fond memories of Tottenham and being at the club. I was there for only a short time when you look back, but I really enjoyed it. Good team, Martin Jol was the manager and there was a lot of things I learned at the club in that short period of time.

“But, I’ve said it enough times, coming here was a jump and a big jump at the time. I certainly felt that pretty quickly and then I think once you step inside this place as a footballer, it turns you. So, pretty much from the first day walking into the dressing room and meeting the manager, from then on in that was me.”

It will be a weekend of Premier League and EFL initaives.

Premier League With Pride brings together the ongoing LGBTQ+ work the League and clubs carry out across the year to help deliver long-term change. All Premier League matches between 6 and 12 February will be dedicated to ‘With Pride’, aligning with LGBTQ+ History Month.

A collaboration with the Gay Times celebrating LGBTQ+ fans from all 20 Premier League clubs will also be published to mark the launch of Premier League With Pride.

In the EFL: “Every single EFL game up and down the country will kick off one minute later than scheduled, but why? To mark Heart Month, all 36 fixtures across the Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two between 5–9 February will kick off one minute later than scheduled. It forms part of the ‘Every Minute Matters’ campaign from Sky Bet and The British Heart Foundation, with support from the EFL. There are more than 40,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the UK each year, and eight out of 10 of these will happen in the home. And tragically, less than one in ten people survive, often because those around them lack the skills or confidence to perform CPR.”

Krishna gets back in touch and sets out this Cristiano Ronaldo timeline.

• 2009 – Real is my dream. That is where I want to be. Moves

• 2018 – I feel disrespected. No strategy. Moves to Juventus.

• 2021 – OT has always been my home. That is where I belong.

• 2022 – ETH does not know his elbow from his nose. This place is toxic. Moves to (cough) Al Nassr

• 2026 – The club is not spending enough. China or USA USA USA! ?

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has been impressed by Michael Carrick’s start to his caretaker stint in charge of Manchester United but believes comparisons between the two clubs are unfair given the Old Trafford side have no European commitments. He had this to say at his Friday press conference to preview Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off.

It is maybe a nice little context to say that Man Utd don’t play European football. I think we can all acknowledge there is a little bit [extra.] It is an extra challenge, [but] something we embrace and we are happy with. I think let’s judge us when we are on the same challenges. The ambition is that we want to do very well and carry on with the good performances and beat Man United. I think [Carrick] has had a great start. It seems like there was injected a little bit of energy into the team. I think it looks like some of the players are in a good place.”

Exactly three years ago, 10 paragraphs on the Premier League website set the cat among the pigeons. Under the nondescript heading “Premier League statement”, football’s richest and most popular domestic competition announced unprecedented disciplinary charges against Manchester City, champions of the two previous seasons (and the two to come). We are still waiting for the outcome.

More Eddie Howe, asked directly about his future: “That is a surprise to me. As I said to the question earlier, I give my best every day to the football club, to all the players and staff to try and be the best version of myself to inspire the team to win games.

“That is the only thing in my thoughts. I don’t tend to look too far ahead. I try and prepare and plan for the club to move forward in every sense. My individual future is not really relevant.”

Quiz of the week: I guessed my way to a rather decent 12/16.

Virgil van Dijk has hit out at ex-pro pundits in an interview with, er, Gary Neville, ahead of Sky’s broadcast of Liverpool v Manchester City.

For me personally, I can deal with it, but I’m a bit worried for the next generation. I feel like the ex-top players have a responsibility to the new generation. Criticism is absolutely normal and part of the game, and I think it should stay that way. But sometimes criticism also goes into being clickbait, saying things to provoke things, and without thinking about the repercussions for a mental side of players, and especially the younger generation, who are constantly on social media.

Is Virg ruling himself out of a career in punditry?

Mathys Tel is back in Tottenham’s Champions League squad for the knock-out phase of the competition. Thomas Frank has also recalled the fit-again Radu Dragusin and added the January signing Conor Gallagher as part of the three permitted changes.

Dropping out are Brennan Johnson – who has moved to Crystal Palace – Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur, who are injured. Still out are Yves Bissouma and the injured duo Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison. There is no room for the club’s other January signing, the 19-year-old left-back Souza.

Tel was left out at the start of the season only to return for the fifth game of the league phase against Slavia Prague as a replacement for Dominic Solanke. Frank then put Tel back out for the final two league matches when he was allowed to recall Solanke, who had recovered fitness. Spurs are through to the last 16 where they will play Juventus, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid or Club Brugge.

Krishna gets in touch: “James Milner deserves all the praise for sheer longevity. However the mention of Milner only brings me this from Barney Ronay

He ran the length of the field from one end to another, like a swimmer doing laps, unaware that a match was going on around him.

Newcastle play Brentford and Eddie Howe, with his team in 11th, is coming under a modicum of fire. He’s been carrying out his press duties this morning: “I think naturally you can lose focus on the games that we’ve had. Paris, Liverpool and Man City for any team away from home in a really short period of time - all back off three-game, six-day weeks, so the lads were going into them not in the best physical condition - for any team that will be difficult.

“Watching those games, the scorelines look pretty bad but I think the games were very different, all could have been different. We have to acknowledge that and we have to protect the confidence of the players because if you carry that baggage into the next game then that can be difficult.”

Howe defended Anthony Elanga, too. Elanga got the consolation goal against Manchester City: ““He has done a load of good things that could have led to goals but I was just really pleased that he got the reward of the goal. I am delighted for him and hope it is the start of many. There is no doubting his ability, so it’s a really good thing for him.”

Looking ahead to Liverpool v Manchester City, Arne Slot seems to be getting his excuses in early.

James Milner, should he play for Brighton against Crystal Palace on Sunday, will equal Gareth Barry’s all-time Premier League appearance record of 653. His debut was on 10 November 2002, as Leeds beat West Ham 4-3. Milner replaced Jason Wilcox – whatever happened to him? –

Interesting stat via Opta: “Also featuring in Milner’s debut game was Nigel Winterburn for West Ham. Winterburn was born in 1963 and made his own top-flight debut the same year Milner was born.”

He’s played for 21 managers, and is, of course, seven years older than current boss Fabian Hurzeler. Milner was 52 years younger than Bobby Robson, who he played for at Newcastle. The boy from Horsforth, a small town on the edge of Leeds, passed his 40th birthday last month.

Let’s start with Cristiano Ronaldo, 41 on Thursday, who has caused some turmoil at his club, Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo is reported to be discontented with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) for failing to invest in the team in the winter window while rivals Al-Hilal - also 75% majority-owned by the PIF – brought in his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad.