Manchester United will be hoping to continue their storming start to the season when they travel to Stoke City on Saturday.
The Red Devils have enjoyed an unblemished opening to the new campaign to storm to the top of the table with three wins on the spin during August.
Jose Mourinho 's side have smashed 10 goals without reply and will be looking to continue that ruthless streak when they visit the Potteries.
They face a Stoke side sitting in mid-table after a win, draw and a loss from their first three matches.
Unlike their rivals, Mourinho conducted most of his transfer business earlier in the window and could watch from afar as the likes of City, Arsenal and Liverpool tried desprately to get deals over the line.
The Red Devils boss faces the cameras on Friday afternoon, so follow the latest news from Old Trafford right here.
Conte speaks out over transfer dealings
Antonio Conte insists Chelsea “tried to do its best” in the summer transfer window.
But Conte admitted only time will tell if he has a squad strong enough to cope with the demands of the season.
The champions signed six players but still endured plenty of frustration as they missed out on a number of targets.
The Chelsea boss said: “I think the club tried to do its best in the transfer market and sometimes you are able to buy and sometimes you are not able to buy for many reasons but the club tried to do it’s best in the transfer market.”
“We have to wait at the end of the season and we will see and I can reply very well to this question [about if the squad is strong enough].
“Now it is very difficult. Now the window is closed it is time to continue to work and work with these players and I am very happy to work with the players we have.
“It is time to be focused on the present. The window is closed and that is in the past.”
Mourinho: Our squad is strong
Mourinho admits the strength of the squad makes it hard to leave people on the bench, or out of the squad altogether.
The squad is strong, the players are ready to play, the decision to leave people on the bench is hard, the decision to leave people at home is hard.
The fact that we now play every three days in the relation to that is good, the players will feel they are all involved. By the end of September, every player will play and start matches because it’s the normal movement of the squad, that makes my control of my human resources better, easier, simple but the matches are difficult and we always have the risk of can’t keeping a winning run, which is really difficult to do.
Three United stars nominated for player of the month
Mourinho says three United stars were nominated for the player of the month.
“We had three players in the nominees for the [Premier League] Player of the Month,” said the boss. “I know that none of them won it, but we had three players there and Matic was not even one. We could have had four or five in the nominees, because the team is playing really well.”
Mourinho happy with United's dealings
Mourinho was happy with United’s window.
“It was a good market, we were successful, we did it well, we did it on time,” he said.
“So, I think we were quite happy with our market overall.”
Mourinho in favour of early transfer deadline..
...but Manchester United voted against it.
“If I focus just on the training process, of course I want to arrive on day one with my squad. I want to have my players, I want to work with them, I want to travel with them to pre-season. [For that reason], I am in favour of it.
“Man United voted against because there is an element of disadvantage [because] there will be a moment where it is closed for us and open for the other [countries]. So, obviously they can come to the English clubs, they can buy players and they can leave English clubs without the possibility of a quick response, so there is an element of weakness there. I hope that it goes to the perfect situation. The perfect situation is to close for every championship and not just the Premier League.”
Mourinho: Stoke will be difficult
Mourinho knows it will be a tough game at Stoke.
“Stoke are difficult [to play against]; they are aggressive, they defend with a lot of people, and they are dangerous in set-pieces,” Mourinho said.
“It’s a stadium that puts a lot of pressure [on] too. So, I think it’s going to be difficult again.
“Hopefully, we can be better than in previous years and win but difficult it is going to be, for sure.”
Mourinho 'disappointed' in Pereira decision
Mourinho admits he’s ‘disappointed’ by Andreas Pereira’s decision to leave on loan for Valencia.
It was a personal decision that I don’t agree with, a decision I don’t think honestly is the best decision for him, a decision that disappoints me.
He has the potential to be fighting for a position, opportunities and to be a Manchester United player.
His decision can be considered as a young player who wants to play every weekend but also a young player that is not ready to fight for something different and it’s different to play in Manchester United’s midfield.
You have to be ready to fight for the position and I am disappointed he left. But it was his decision. I open the door, he has a long-term contract. We have the option to bring him back on January 1, so is not a drama but it is a decision which disappoints me a little bit.
Why Fergie didn't sign Zidane
Manchester United rejected the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane before he joined Juventus in 1996.
The French wizard left Bordeaux that summer for the Serie A giants, but not before the Old Trafford club decided against making a move.
Then boss Sir Alex Ferguson felt there was no room for Zidane and his countryman Eric Cantona in the same team.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, former United chairman Martin Edwards said: “Zidane and Eric played in the same position and Alex felt if they brought Zidane in it would have upset Eric.”
Hughes gives Stoke injury update
Ryan Shawcross will be absent for Stoke as United travel to the Potteries.
“It’s not disc-related, it’s more a problem with a ligament in his lower back,” he said of Ryan Shawcross.
“We have to wait for it to settle.
“He’s a bit stiff, but it’s not what he had before and hopefully he won’t be out long.”
Rom: I couldn't say no to working with Jose again
Romelu Lukaku has insisted he had no hesitation in working with Jose Mourinho again.
The striker joined Manchester United for £75million this summer and was reunited with his former Chelsea boss.
Lukaku was previously critical of the Portuguese when he spent time on loan at Everton.
But he told BBC2: “I wanted to play for Mourinho since I was 11. When you get another chance like that, you don’t say no. I’m really grateful for the second opportunity.
“You know the expectations are really high [when you play for United]. But I was mentally prepared, I was just waiting for the opportunity to come.”
United stars forced to put on the brakes
Manchester United stars are living life in the fast lane on the pitch, after their outstanding start to the new Premier League season.
But Jose Mourinho’s 100 per cent Red Devils are being forced to slow down off it - after speed bumps were installed at the club’s training ground.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s Ferrari and Juan Mata’s Bentley GT may be able to top 200mph, but they and their teammates have no chance of getting anywhere near that mark around United’s Carrington Complex, with new traffic calming measures having been put in place.
United’s players had already been urged to tone down speeds earlier this year.
Players and staff have used a farm track short cut to get to training in recent years, and the club had urged them to slow right down to 5mph, to avoid potential crashes with tractors.
That dirt track was paved over in August, after stars complained of potholes and having to navigate the road in such a way as to protect their cars.
Yet, the new resurfaced entrance has apparently meant players were once again picking up their speeds on their way into the £60million complex.
But United players on their way to training on Friday found speed bumps have been installed on the new road, to keep speeds down.
United take on Stoke at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday, looking to make it four wins from four.
The Red Devils are yet to concede thus far, and have scored 10 times, while Mkhitaryan will look to match the record of Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas, by landing a sixth assist in four matches.