Manchester City
2 England, 1 Belgium, 2 Switzerland – Best XI from the round of 16
As the group stages came to a close, the knockout rounds of Euro 2020 begun, and the round of 16 certainly didn’t disappoint. We’ve had everything you could possibly want. Penalty shootouts, giant killings, last gasp winners, eight-goal thrillers, screamers, VAR drama – it’s what we live for as football fans. Here are our picks for the best XI from the round of 16. Jordan Pickford (GK) – England’s goalkeeper position has been the subject of debate for a while now, with many of the fans preferring the likes of Nick Pope and Dean Henderson over the Everton stopper. However, Gareth Southgate stuck with Pickford and has been rewarded for his faith. Against Germany, the 27-year-old was on top of his game, making crucial saves to deny Timo Werner and Kai Havertz at 0-0. Cesar Azpilicueta (R...
‘What a player’: Some Man City fans praise ‘masterclass’ performance of £22.5m-rated star
Some Manchester City fans on Twitter hailed the performance of Oleksandr Zinchenko during Ukraine’s 2-1 win over Sweden at Euro 2020. The 24-year-old has had a fantastic tournament and he played a key role for his nation last night with a goal and an assist against Sweden. He opened the scoring for Ukraine in the 27th minute. He unleashed a powerful shot on the half volley after a clever cross from Andriy Yarmolenko. Zinchenko, who started at left wing-back, was lively throughout the game, and he eventually produced a moment of brilliance for the winning goal. The game appeared to be heading for penalties at 1-1 before Zinchenko came up with sumptuous long-range cross that was headed in goal by Artem Dovbyk. With just two minutes left, Sweden had no time to respond. Ukraine reached the qua...
Gabriel Agbonlahor shares how he’d react if Grealish leaves for Man City
Aston Villa attacking midfielder Jack Grealish has been linked with a summer move to Manchester City, with the Premier League champions said to be willing to part with £100 million for his signature. The England international is not expected to make a decision until after Euro 2020, and Villa fans are hoping he remains at the Midlands outfit beyond the current transfer window. Dean Smith’s side are not keen on selling Grealish, but the opportunity to win continental and domestic silverware at Man City could be too attractive for him to turn down. Villa legend Gabriel Agbonlahor has insisted the fans would not hold anything against the academy graduate if he chooses to leave. “I think if I’ve got my Villa head on, disappointed,” the ex-striker replied when asked on talkSPORT how he feels ab...
46y/o boss to snub Spurs, reportedly holding out for Man City & Anfield jobs
Brighton & Hove Albion manager Graham Potter is not keen on becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s next manager, reports The Sun. With four years left on his contract, Spurs would have to part with £15 million in compensation to land the 46-year-old, but he will only leave the Seagulls for a top-four job. Potter is willing to wait and enhance his reputation, hoping that Liverpool or Manchester City will eventually come calling. Tottenham appear to be fully focused on Nuno Espirito Santo at the moment, but an agreement between both parties is far from being sealed. Sportslens View Spurs have spent two months trying to get a replacement for Jose Mourinho, but that task has proven extremely difficult. While they remain a big club, the north Londoners have lost their Champions League status, only qu...
Romelu Lukaku backed to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
Former Belgium striker Emile Mpenza has tipped Romelu Lukaku to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old has excelled at Inter, scoring 64 goals in just 95 matches since joining the Serie A side from Manchester United in 2019. The forward has a similar record for the national team, having struck 63 times in 96 caps for the Rode Duivels, including three at Euro 2020. Mpenza has been amazed by the ex-Chelsea and Anderlecht player’s development and believes Bayern would be smart to look at him if they need to replace Poland sensation Lewandowski following his 48-goal campaign in Germany. “Romelu’s strength in a duel and his speed are outstanding. That makes it so difficult for the defenders against him,” Mpenza told Sport Bild. “If they go into a duel with him, he uses his...
The Athletic: Man City want Chelsea star, Guardiola hugely admires him
Manchester City want to bring Chelsea right-back Reece James to the Etihad Stadium this summer, according to The Athletic. Manager Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the England international having been impressed with his last two performances against his side. James’ ability to play at centre-back and midfield has also caught the eyes of the Man City boss, and is looking to lure him away from Chelsea before the end of the summer transfer window. Sportslens View Guardiola wants to strengthen his side for next season’s Premier League title defence, while also hoping to go one better in the Champions League. The Chelsea star stopped Raheem Sterling in last season’s final, and the Man City manager reckons his defensive and attacking abilities would help strengthen his squad going forward. Th...
The Athletic shares what KDB told Grealish in November as Man City plot bid
Manchester City are preparing a bid to sign Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish this summer, according to The Athletic. However, the Midlands outfit are not keen on selling the attacker, and City would need to part with around £100 million to have a chance of landing him. Grealish is admired at Man City, with Belgian midfield sensation Kevin de Bruyne a huge fan of the playmaker. The PFA Player of the Year made it clear how much he rated the Villa star and asked to swap shirts after Belgium’s 2-0 win over England in the Nations League last November. Sportslens View Villa clearly are no longer a selling club due to their current owners, but Grealish could be strongly contemplating an exit this summer. Playing alongside de Bruyne and under manager Pep Guardiola are the stuff dreams are made of...
Villa braced for record-breaking bid for 25-year-old star — report
Manchester City are determined to break their bank for Jack Grealish in the summer transfer window. Earlier today, Daily Mail wrote an exclusive about the Grealish transfer saga where the tone of the report gives you the impression that City have already agreed a deal for the 25-year-old, and that it is only a matter of time (the end of Euro) before he joins the champions. Check the report here — I’ve deliberately used bold letters to quote the lines from the Mail. All the major media outlets have now covered the story, but I find the versions slightly different from one another. Sky Sports They claim that it’s not a done deal yet, which is obvious. Man City are merely planning to make a formal offer to sign Grealish. They have added new info that was absent in the Dai...
Manchester United man leads Euro 2020 Best XI while Ronaldo leads from the front
The Euro 2020 group stages have come to a close, and it’s just a short wait before the knockout rounds begin. The opening two weeks of action have been nothing short of enthralling. We’ve seen some incredible goals, great drama, and an inexplicable amount of own goals. What’s not to love? Here is our best XI from the group stage. Lukas Hradecky (GK) – Hradecky can count himself unlucky to be going home early, having put in some excellent performances in the last three games. He kicked off his tournament with a crucial penalty save in the 1-0 win over Denmark and followed this up with another good performance in the 1-0 defeat against Russia. His final game was impressive but ended in heartbreak. He made several brilliant stops to keep Belgium at bay but scored an unlucky own goal to s...
Anderlecht move for 19-yr-old Man City defender could be a good thing
Anderlecht are in talks with Manchester City to sign defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis on loan, according to reliable European football correspondent Kristof Terreur. The 19-year-old struggled for consistency while on loan with Blackburn Rovers during the second half of last season, although he did improve towards the end of the campaign. However, he does not look ready for City’s first team just yet, and another temporary move is likely to help his development. Harwood-Bellis did finish the season with an 80% pass completion rate, highlighting that he possesses some of the attributes required to succeed. In his defence, he played for Blackburn who were far from the most gifted Championship team so he may shine in a better environment at Anderlecht. At best, he could have got the oc...
1 from Portugal, 1 from France, 2 from Netherlands – Euro 2020 Best XI of Round 3
The group stage has come to an end, and now we have to endure two whole days without Euro 2020 action. How will we cope? At least the groups ended on a cracker, with several exceptional performances from the final round of fixtures. Here is our best XI from round three of Euro 2020. Lukas Hradecky (GK) – It feels a bit bizarre to include someone who scored an own goal, but here we are. Hradecky kept Finland in the game for as long as possible, producing several excellent stops to keep Belgium out before being cruelly robbed of his clean sheet. Nelson Semedo (RB) – The selection of right-backs from the latest round of fixtures was somewhat slim, but Nelson Semedo gets in for a solid performance. He got a lot of criticism for his performance against Germany, and many feared that it...
Report: Arsenal sound out two players from same club, including three-time league winner
Manchester City are looking to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur and they are ready to offload some of their big-name players. According to reports from The Atheltic, the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez were mentioned as potential makeweights in a deal for Kane. It gives an indication that these players are expendables in Pep Guardiola’s squad, and that the club could be ready to cash in on them. Arsenal are showing keen interest in two Manchester City players as they look to find ways to bolster their attacking department this summer. The Gunners, who finished eighth last season, want to show ambition in the market, and they have decided to check on the status of both Sterling and Mahrez, according to reports from EuroSpo...
