Author: cimi

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has offered an update on the fitness of full back Benjamin Mendy, while the returning Angelino has admitted his aim is ‘to make the position mine’.

On Thursday night, it was announced the World Cup winner would likely be out for the first month of the season, as he continues his rehabilitation in Barcelona. The Frenchman will not return to training with City until next month, meaning his most feasible return date will likely be the clash with Norwich on September 14. 

PEP ? @benmendy23 is getting better.

Hopefully when we get back from the tour he will join us.

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 19, 2019

And, speaking to the press ahead of their clash against Wolves on Saturday, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account, Guardiola revealed: “Benjamin Mendy is getting better. Hopefully, when we get back from the tour he will join us.”

However, one man who won’t be hoping for such a return is recent re-signing Angelino, who the Citizens brought back for £6m after triggering their buy-back clause following the departure of Fabian Delph and the continued struggles of £52m left back Mendy. 

And, speaking to the Mirror, the former PSV Eindhoven man admitted, with just him and Oleksandr Zinchenko currently vying for the position, he is determined to make the role his.

The 22-year-old declared: “Zinchenko is doing really well even though he is playing out of position, but my aim is to make the position mine.

“It was always my objective to get back to the club – and it worked. I had the clause in the contract to come back so it was up to me to have a good season and see what happened.

“Thanks to the two seasons I had at Breda [on loan] and PSV, I am here again. I started here at ?City so that was my main focus. I think I have improved. I’m not the same player I was when I was here before. Now it is my aim to play as much as I can and enjoy everything I can.

“I played in the Champions League at PSV and it was amazing. But there have been big changes at City. Pep has changed the style of play. He has made the team very dominant. I would say every player wants to play for a team that wants to dominate the ball.”

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?It once seemed inevitable that Callum Hudson-Odoi would leave Chelsea, but a lot can change in a short time in football. 

Back in January, the 18-year-old was in a state of flux, unsure of his role in the ?Chelsea team going forward, with Bayern Munich looking like a more tempting prospect by the minute. 

Now, however, he is set for a key role under Frank Lampard, and one that will be pre-empted with an eye-watering new deal worth a minimum of £100,000 per week, if reports are to be believed.

Yep, according to the ?Mail, the new boss has made tying down the 18-year-old England winger (who has made fewer than 30 competitive first-team appearances for the Blues) one of his first orders of business. The club have tabled the offer of a new five-year deal that will see his salary match the contributions he is expected to make in the first team once he recovers from injury. 

He is now ‘ready’ to sign the deal, having been given a new lease of life under Lampard and his former Under-18s boss Jody Morris, as he now feels he will be given the opportunities he was uncertain of under Maurizio Sarri.

While many nonetheless expected him to press on and nail down a place in the side this season, his new-found importance is perhaps necessitated by circumstance, with the Blues unable to bring in any new signings to replace outgoing talisman Eden Hazard. 

Christian Pulisic, who signed from ?Borussia Dortmund in January, will go some way towards doing so, but the size of the task means it is likely to be a two-man job – especially with Pedro and Willian both now the wrong side of 30.  

If he can find the form which saw him score five goals and register five assists despite starting just 12 matches and making a cluster of substitute appearances last campaign, it certainly seems as if the 18-year-old will be worth the investment. 

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Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted he would have considered stepping aside last month, had his side been able to win the Champions League final against Liverpool.

Spurs brought an impressive season to an end as they contested first ever final in the competition against the Reds in Madrid, and were it not for a contentious early penalty decision and some first-class goalkeeping from Alisson Becker, it could easily have been Pochettino, and not Jurgen Klopp, who lifted the trophy.

As it happens, the Argentine feels there is a job left unfinished in north London, but feels as if that had his side won the most prestigious trophy in club football, that may have changed his outlook – for the club’s benefit and his own. 

?“When you touch the glory, you behave differently, the players behave differently, the challenge becomes different,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the ?BBC. 

“If the result had been different, maybe you can think it is a moment to step out of the club and give it a possibility for a real new chapter with a new coaching staff.

“But, to finish like this? I am not a person who won’t face problems or avoids difficult situations.”

When a reporter suggested that some coaches may take the opposite view, Pochettino added: “I agree with you, but I know ?Tottenham. It is not the same as another club.

“Myself and the coaching staff are not the same, no better or worse, just different. That is a normal mindset but we are getting results with ours.”

Ultimately, it was another instance of flying too close to the sun for Spurs in Madrid, but having added ?new number 28 Tanguy Ndombele to their ranks, Pochettino will feel his side are well-placed to build on last season’s ‘dark horse’ status and put up a fight on all fronts once again. 

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?Huddersfield Town will officially be ‘unsponsored’ by Paddy Power this season after the online bookmaker revealed that the club’s viral shock kit launch was actually a hoax as part of a new social media campaign.

Set for life back in the Championship in 2019/20, Huddersfield unveiled a brand new home kit earlier this week. The design was the Terriers’ customary blue and white stripes, but it also featured a huge diagonal sash across the front emblazoned with the Paddy Power branding.

The away kit even featured 110 Paddy Power logos to mark the club’s 110th anniversary.

With sceptics unsure if it was legitimate, and critics highlighting the prevalence of betting companies in football sponsorship, many on social media were quick to dub it the worst kit they have ever seen. It even drew attention from the FA because the size and positioning of the enormous ‘Paddy Power’ logo contravened strict shirt sponsorship rules.

To further the myth that it was the real kit, Huddersfield actually wore the home shirt, complete with the sponsor sash, in a pre-season friendly against Rochdale.

Now, however, the truth has come to light after Paddy Power explained what is really going on.

In reality, as part #SaveOurShirt, this season’s Huddersfield shirts will have no sponsor, returning to a more classic look before football jerseys became tantamount to ‘billboards’.

Huddersfield will kick of the 2019/20 EFL Championship season with a home game against Derby County, last season’s losing playoff finalist, on Monday 5 August.

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Everton’s proposed move to Arsenal has been thrown into doubt, as a new report from Brazil claims that Gremio are yet to even receive an offer for the winger.

The 23-year-old has been touted as one of Arsenal’s primary targets in recent weeks alongside Celtic’s Kieran Tierney and Saint-Etienne William Saliba.

Negotiations were believed to be in advanced stages, with the Arsenal medical team even ?reported to have travelled to Porto Alegre already in order to seal the deal. 

However, Brazilian paper Guild (via ?Esporte) insist that Gremio are yet to field an official offer for their prized asset this summer. 

This would mean that ?Arsenal, while quite possibly interested, are no further along than the ‘avalanche’ of other sides that Gremio expect offers from. 

In the absence of official bids, the Gremio board have admitted that ‘consultations’ over a potential transfer have taken place, although they remain firm on holding out for the entirety of his €40m release clause, which would see the Gunners a huge chunk of their reported transfer budget on the 23-year-old. 

While many reports this week may have jumped the gun somewhat, the sheer amount of smoke surrounding the speculation suggests there is a fire burning somewhere. 

Everton would become Arsenal’s second signing of the summer after fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli arrived earlier in the window.

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