Arsenal are considering a move for Oleksandr Zinchenko. Interesting to see if a bid is forthcoming and then whether Zinchenko wants a move away from Man City. Sounds like Arteta may view him as a midfielder.
Man City's incredible 18-game winning run away from home now includes PSG, Chelsea, Man United, Dortmund, Liverpool, Leicester, Everton (x2), Arsenal (x2). Not a bad list. Cheltenham Town arguably ran them closest.
City don’t want to sell Silva. If massive offer came in (major if and likely >£80m) hand forced more but would need a replacement. LBs: Gomez “development” signing, could stay but they’re hoping to sign senior option after ditching Cucurella deal. No definite No 1 target atm.
Grealish on Haaland: “Once he reaches full fitness he will be unstoppable. He actually said to me, ‘I’m only half the price of you so I haven’t got the pressure!’ He’s so down to earth and quite up front with the way he is.”
Guardiola: "In the Champions League, always I overthink. I overthink a lot. Absolutely. That’s why I’ve had good results. I love to overthink and create stupid tactics. Tonight I take inspiration and there will be incredible tactics tomorrow. We’ll play with 12."
Zinchenko has said his goodbyes to City squad/staff and is heading for Orlando to complete Arsenal move. Been a good player for City over the years and well-liked in dressing room.
Confidence around Man City that Jack Grealish will sign in the coming weeks. Remain in talks with Aston Villa, who want £100m. City negotiating down from there. Belief is he wants to make the move.
Extraordinary press conference by Guardiola. Would've been very easy to say no comment and point towards the club's statement. Man City are very fortunate to have him.
Nobody has a better minutes-per-goal record than Sergio Aguero since the Premier League's inception. Not even Henry. Phenomenal striker who redefined his game in 2017. He'd have reached 300 goals for Man City without the injuries. Sad end.
Sterling set to handle new City contract negotiations himself and use law firm to finalise paperwork. Follows De Bruyne doing similar. Wonder if top players going alone will become more common...
Man City expected to finalise signing of Anderlecht’s Sergio Gomez (£11m) over next few days. Still want another left back; gone cool on Sosa. Guerreiro (first mentioned by
@polballus
a while ago) only got a year left on his deal at Dortmund.
Brian Kidd set to leave Manchester City after 12 years as a coach. Thirteen major trophies (five league titles). Served under Guardiola, Pellegrini and Mancini. Hugely popular around the club. End of an era. Story on
@MailSport
De Bruyne on Bernardo Silva: “The way that I see it, I think that he will be here so there's nothing that I'm worried about. Whatever happens he is great for us and I expect him to be here with us this year. I think he knows that he is loved.”
Man City in for Manuel Akanji at Dortmund before the transfer deadline. Would take them to five senior centre halves and doesn't sound like there will be a departure.
Guardiola very worried about Newcastle game. Called on fan support three times in press conference, Silva/Stones out, said team nowhere near their best and light on numbers.
John Stones is doing a meet and greet at Man City’s training ground this afternoon. The event is to find a blood stem cell donation for a young boy with leukaemia 👇🏻
City furious about Jorginho situation. Claim Napoli bullied him into going to Chelsea and said they'd force player to see out last two years of his contract if he didn't go there. Napoli 'unprofessional' and City 'never seen an agreement reneged on like this before'.
Expectation is that Jesus likely leaves City this summer. Wants to prove himself as a No 9, which is a bit of a surprise given Guardiola’s previously said he prefers playing wide.
Ruben Dias surely got to be Player of the Year - 16 clean sheets from his 29 league games. Only two of the last seven Golden Glove winners have registered more than 16 in an entire season.
Joao Cancelo has travelled to London and is available for Man City at Arsenal tomorrow. City satisfied that he’s ready after checking physical and mental wellbeing in the wake of last night’s traumatic burglary.
Major Covid outbreak at Man City. 21 members of first-team bubble isolating, including 7 players. Pep Guardiola has tested positive. Tomorrow’s game at Swindon still going ahead as it stands.
Guardiola on left back situation as Man City negotiate over Cucurella: “If it doesn't happen we have alternatives… Cancelo, Wilson-Esbrand is a young talent, Ake can play there.”
Foden again City's most productive player. Nobody else quite as direct as him. Guardiola will look at first seven games - including Spurs, Leicester, Chelsea and Liverpool all away - as a success.
Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty on six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.
Jury could not reach majority verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape. Mendy is facing a retrial on those two counts.
Touchline after that red card: Guardiola berating Cancelo for even making the challenge; looked like player from the bench was doing the same; Cancelo stood to watch pen, slammed the tunnel before heading inside.
Gabriel Jesus both a cracking and frustrating player for Man City. Best performances often came in the biggest games (Real away in 2020 on left wing). Goalscoring record in the PL around one in three though and wasn’t improving. £45m with a year left looks good business.
England U21s are handing James McAtee a first call-up for the next three games. To get him involved before making a full Man City debut shows how highly rated he is at the FA.
Feisty friendly. Grealish persevered well and looks ready to make an impact. De Bruyne picked up where he left off. Kids looked good off the bench, Alvarez link-up encouraging.
Julian Alvarez arriving in Manchester tomorrow: “City has an amazing history of Argentinian players and I want to put my stamp on the club in the same way Aguero, Zabaleta and Tevez did.”
Cancelo, Haaland, Dias, Rodri, Silva, Foden on the bench for City’s first friendly of the new season against Yokohama.
Meanwhile, this is the queue before the actual queue for merchandise 🇯🇵