Runaway English Premier League leaders Manchester City have signed England under-21 international winger Jack Harrison from sister Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC.
Upon signing a three-and-a-half-year contract with Pep Guardiola’s hot title favourites, 21-year-old Harrison immediately joined English Football League Championship club Middlesbrough on loan for the rest of this season. Continue reading
Barcelona are open to offers for Andres Gomes, according to reports in Spain. The La Liga giants are willing to release the player to any interested side at the right price. Gomes faces a fight to retain his shirt at the Nou Camp after joining from Valencia for €35+ million plus add-ons in 2016.
Barca had to beat competition from Rea Madrid and others to sign the Portugal international but they seem to not have recouped their investment. In the one year and a half at Barcelona, Gomes has not quite hit the target expected of him.
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says that defender Nicolas Otamendi is extremely crucial to the club’s success this season. Manchester City have been the best team not just in English football as the club has been able to establish an immense 15-point advantage over Manchester United. This is the biggest gap in English football throughout history. Players like Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero, and Raheem Sterling have been attracting a lot of positive reviews for the start made by Manchester City, but Guardiola has also heaped praise on some of the lesser concentrator players at the club – like Otamendi.
The defender was initially criticised when he came to the club, but he has been able to come in with some impressive performances. The 29-year-old came in from Valencia in the summer of 2015 for around £ 28 million. He has been able to make more than 40 appearances in his first two campaigns of the club. However, he may have just been hit by the worst period for City in terms of trophies, as the League Cup in the 2015-16 campaign is the only success achieved by Otamendi. At 29 years of age, Otamendi has the mix of experience and quality and is more than capable standing and as the replacement for Vincent Kompany.
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Manchester City and Chelsea could reportedly compete for the services of Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere at the end of the current campaign. The England international has just eight months left on his present deal, and talks over an extension are yet to progress.
Wilshere, 25, spent the previous campaign on loan with Bournemouth where he impressed before sustaining a season-ending injury in April. The playmaker has since managed to impress Arsene Wenger in training, and he is presently a regular for the Gunners in the League Cup and Europa League games.
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola took a subtle dig at manager Arsene Wenger following the Citizens’ 3-1 win over Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium last month. The Premier League leaders dominated for large periods of the game, but they were eventually fortunate to have won by such a comfortable scoreline.
Following the game, Wenger was critical of the referee’s performance after he adjudged Raheem Sterling to have dived for his penalty, which put City 2-0 ahead in the second half. The north London side got a goal back via Alexandre Lacazette, but their chances of a comeback were diminished after the linesman failed to spot David Silva being offside prior to City’s third goal scored by Gabriel Jesus. Continue reading
Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has indicated Yaya Toure is back in favour after he played captained the side in the 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup.
Toure was left on the bench for the opening three games of the league campaign before being excluded from the matchday squads altogether owing to sporting reasons. The Ivorian suffered a similar treatment from Guardiola last year after an outburst with agent Dimitri Seluk saw the veteran miss out on the Champions League squad.
Guardiola has decided to proceed without Toure once again in Europe this term but insists that the midfielder will have a key role to play with the extended number of games across all competitions, he said: Continue reading
On a night where Chelsea will rightly lap up all the plaudits thrown at them for their brilliant Champions League win at Atlético Madrid, boss Antonio Conte has immediately turned his attention to Saturday’s mega clash with Manchester City and he is not a happy man.
In-form striker, Alvaro Morata equalised with a deft header from Eden Hazard’s cross on the hour, his 7th of the season. Then as the pulsating battle looked to be headed for a share of the spoils, up popped up substitute, Michy Batshuayi with the winner four minutes into injury time. Cue bedlam on the Chelsea bench. This win was massive. It put Chelsea clear at the top of Group 3 but could also prove to be a pivotal result in Chelsea’s season. Continue reading
West Bromwich Albion defender Jonny Evans is reportedly prepared to snub advances from Arsenal in order to pursue a move to Manchester City.
Evans, 29, currently has two years left on his Baggies contract, but he has yet to reopen talks over a suitable extension amid the uncertainty over his future at the Hawthorns.
According to The Mail, the former Manchester United graduate is expected to knock back a late approach from the Gunners with the Citizens having courted their interest earlier in the summer. Pep Guardiola’s side have already failed with a £18m bid for the centre-back this month, but they are expected to up their bid significantly to come close to the Baggies’ £30m valuation.
On the other hand, Leicester City have also had a £21m bid rebuffed for the experienced defender but they are likely to pull out of their pursuit of the defender. Playing in the Champions League remains a dream for every footballer, and it appears that Evans is eager to return to the competition, although he may not be the first-choice in the starting lineup. Continue reading
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has admitted that summer signing Benjamin Mendy will miss the start of the new season due to a muscular injury.
The full-back position has been the main focus for Pep Guardiola during this summer’s transfer window, and he has managed to deliver with the signings Mendy, Kyle Walker and Danilo. While Walker and Mendy can feature in the right-back and left-back spots respectively, Danilo is more versatile as he can slot into both sides whilst also playing as a holding midfielder.
Speaking to reporters, Guardiola confirmed that Mendy will be on the sidelines for the next two or three weeks, thus deeming him doubtful for the opening games of the new league season. Despite this, the Catalan tactician is pleased with his options in hand after Danilo put up a couple of impressive performances at left wing-back against both Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. Continue reading
Manchester City have finalised the signing of Brazilian full-back Danilo from Real Madrid for an initial of £26.5m.
Both Chelsea and City were credited with an interest in Danilo earlier this month, but the Citizens managed to gain the advantage after they finalised a transfer fee with the European champions. Danilo had travelled alongside Zinedine Zidane’s side for the International Champions Cup in America, and this enabled him to quickly sort out necessary formalities with his new club.
“I am very, very happy to be joining Manchester City. There has been strong interest from other Clubs, but it has always been my ambition to play for Pep Guardiola. As soon as I heard of his interest, I knew immediately I wanted to be a City player. I can’t wait to get started and I’m looking forward to getting to know my new teammates over the coming weeks.” he told the club’s official website. Continue reading
