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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Category Archives: Man City Fan’s Blog
Guardiola Lavishes Praise on Defender Nicolas Otamendi
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 vying for Jack Wilshere
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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Pep Guardiola admits Yaya Toure is back in favour for selection
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.
The Citizens have now progressed to the fourth round of the competition where they face off against Championship promotion hopefuls Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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
Conte slams FA for Fixture Scheduling ahead of City Clash
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.
He is fuming at the FA for scheduling the game less than 72 hours after the energy-sapping win in Madrid. Chelsea made history by becoming the first English side to win at the Spanish giants. The Londoners fought back heroically after going a goal down just before half-time when Antoine Griezmann tucked away a penalty.
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
Manchester City boss confirms Benjamin Mendy will miss start of the season
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 France international became the world’s most expensive defender earlier this month after the Citizens coughed up a £52m sum to sign him from AS Monaco.
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 Complete the Signingof Danilo from Real Madrid
Manchester City have finalised the signing of Brazilian full-back Danilo from Real Madrid for an initial of £26.5m.
The 26-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-year contract with the Citizens, and he has now joined his new teammates on their pre-season tour of the United States.
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
Manchester City sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City have landed the signature of defender Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur after they parted with an initial £50m offer for the Englishman.
The 27-year-old joins the Citizens after eight seasons at Spurs, where he established himself as one of the Premier League’s best right-backs. Walker was listed in the PFA Team of the Year for the 2016/17 season, but he still had his differences with manager Mauricio Pochettino, who snubbed his advances for Kieran Trippier in the backend of the campaign.
A move to the Etihad was on the cards over the past month, but the deal was eventually finalised last week after City agreed to match Spurs’ asking price. The Mancunian giants will pay an initial £50m for the England international with the potential package rising to £53m with add-ons.“I am thrilled to be signing for City and can’t wait to get started,” Walker told City’s official website. “Pep Guardiola is one of the most respected managers in the world and I feel he can help me take my game to a new level.” Continue reading
Turkish pair keen on signing Manchester City outcast
Manchester City outcast Samir Nasri is reportedly attracting interest from a whole host of clubs following Sevilla’s decision to neglect the buy option on his temporary contract.
The former France international fell instantly out-of-favour under Pep Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad, and this pushed him for a move to the Estadio Ramon where he produced a mixed bag. The 29-year-old back at his parent club for the summer, but it will not be long because he is offloaded to one of his suitors.
Preferably the Citizens would demand a sum of around £20m for the former Arsenal man, but his hefty wages have forced City to lower their asking price to just £11.38m. In recent days, Chinese heavyweights Shanghai Shenhua have express an interest in Nasri, but it is uncertain whether the Frenchman would be open to a Far East move. A fresh report from L’Equipe now suggests that there are three more parties keen on the attacker with Besiktas and Galatasaray both willing to match the Citizens’ valuation. Continue reading
IHEANACHO MUST REALIZE TALENT IS NOT ENOUGH
The clock signaled injury time and in that moment Sergio Aguero somehow managed to skip past Bailly, flick the ball across David de Gea’s goalpost for Gabriel Jesus to tap in and wriggle away towards the stands, chased by his team mates until the linesman cut short their joy.
As it turned out, the Brazilian youngster was offside by a fraction thus was denied the fairytale of the 20-year old who came back from a supposed season-ending injury to score a 90th minute winner against archrivals Manchester United; at least not yet.
Not to worry though, he only waited three more days to get a slice of such ecstasy courtesy of his 85th minute equalizer against Middlesborough to keep The Citizens’ hope for a top four finish alive.
Gabriel Jesus’ arrival at the Etihad has proven to be worth every sweat and penny expended to make such signing possible. His stay so far has churned out a sellable success story and sadly at the same time illuminated the not so a success story of the another youngster kelechi Iheanacho whose shortcomings single handedly triggered the no. 33’s purchase from Brazilian outfit, Palmeiras. Continue reading
