Manchester City News

Manchester City have been involved in multiple transfer deals that have seen players move to and from numerous Premier League clubs in recent years.

For example, having brought in the likes of Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and Matheus Nunes from Wolves, City have sold players such as Raheem Sterling and Cole Palmer to Chelsea, as well as Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal.

Even though the next summer transfer window is still some time away, one of City’s top-flight rivals have made a behind-the-scenes move in an effort to land a potential deal for one of Pep Guardiola’s big-name figures in the City squad.

A recent report from Football Transfers claims that Tottenham Hotspur’s sporting director, Johan Lange, has contacted the representatives of Jack Grealish over his current situation and City and a potential move to the North London club.

The report also adds that Lange, who was Aston Villa’s sporting director when Grealish made his £100m move to City in 2021, was involved in trying to lure the winger to Tottenham during the previous summer transfer window, although he wanted to stay at the Manchester club.

With Spurs apparently looking to bring in competition for Son Heung-min and James Maddison during the upcoming January window, Grealish is considered a versatile option who could strengthen both positions for Ange Postecoglou’s side.

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Danny Murphy exposed Grealish’s dip in form

This season has seen the £300k-a-week winger start just six of the 10 matches he’s appeared in across all competitions having had to deal with injury setbacks.

Back in October, Danny Murphy assessed Grealish’s dip in form and highlighted what he needs to do to get back to his most successful period as a City player.

He said: “I think the season when they won the Treble in the second half of that season, he was absolutely outstanding, and Pep played him in all the big games because he was bang on it physically with and without the ball.

“He was producing with the ball and his work off the ball was as good as it’s ever been, and that’s why Pep constantly played him in the big games because he trusted him.

“And what he gave in that City side was lovely balance because they had other match-winners who scored goals. Jack had wonderful ability, as I just said, to keep the ball and get him up the pitch, but he worked really hard off the ball.

“Maybe he’s up and down with that, maybe his physicality is a bit up and down. That’s why sometimes we see him in the team [for] six weeks for City and then out of the team for six weeks.

“He’s got to get back to that second half of the season when they won the Treble is what he’s got to get back to be pushing the first XI for England.”

Even though this season has been similar to the previous one for Grealish in terms of having difficulty getting a consistent role in the City team, the Manchester club should have no intention of selling him anytime soon, especially to another Premier League side.

Manchester City were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

In the last-16 round of the competition, City took on Tottenham Hotspur in North London to try and land a place in the quarter-finals.

With 25 minutes on the clock, Pep Guardiola’s side were 2-0 down after conceding goals from Timo Werner and Pape Matar Sarr.

Even though Matheus Nunes got one back for the away side just before halftime, they couldn’t find the back of the net throughout the second half.

According to Jamie Redknapp, Guardiola’s decision to leave Erling Haaland on the bench summed up how City may not have been totally desperate to win the match.

After the game, one player who completed the full 90 minutes in the capital for the injury-struck City shared his thoughts on what happened on the night.

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Nico O’Reilly reflects on key incidents in Man City’s defeat to Tottenham Hotspur

Speaking to the official Man City website after the match, Nico O’Reilly shared this assessment of the match and two key incidents he was involved in.

He said: “It’s never nice losing. I thought we played well and for the majority of the game, we were the better team in my opinion for the majority of the game.

“We were getting chance after chance and couldn’t take it but that’s for us to go back to the training pitch and next time hopefully it’ll go in.

On the subject of his attempt at goal that saw Yves Bissouma make a crucial goal-line clearance, O’Reilly said this on the matter.

“It was a good block so fair play to him and then I had a header at the end but I mistimed my jump.”

How did O’Reilly perform against Spurs?

Having started and completed 73 minutes in City’s 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Watford at the Etihad Stadium back in September, O’Reilly ended up being one of the five outfield players to play through the entire game against Spurs.

With 54 touches of the ball in total, the 19-year-old accurately completed 37 of the 40 passes he attempted, as well as making three tackles for his side.

The two chances to score he mentioned after the game were the only two he had throughout the game.

Now that he has opened up about how it took a good block from Bissouma to stop his first one and then blamed himself for the wayward header later on, this shows how mature he is at such a young age by being able to praise an opponent and accept his own mistake.

Manchester City could take a step closer to winning another piece of silverware this evening.

After beating Watford 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in the previous round, City will be taking on Tottenham Hotspur in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup in North London.

City’s previous match saw them beat Southampton 1-0 at home in the Premier League on Saturday thanks to a fifth-minute Erling Haaland goal to keep their unbeaten start to the season going.

Throughout the first few weeks and months of the season, City have had to deal with numerous injury issues while getting through a packed domestic and European fixture schedule.

Looking ahead to Wednesday night’s Cup clash in the capital, Pep Guardiola has discussed the possibility of him looking outside of City’s senior squad to put a team together to take on Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Pep Guardiola hints at potential academy player featuring against Tottenham

When asked in his recent press conference (via Man City) about the players in City’s academy and whether any of them could feature against Spurs, Guardiola gave this honest response.

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He said: “There is someone. But we play against Spurs when they are coming from a defeat.

“I know what happened, mentally and for the manager and the players playing against City, sorry to tell you again, four Premier League titles in a row, I know they will be at their best.

“The Carabao Cup, also, we won four times in a row. Always, I use the first rounds to play the guys who didn’t play maybe regularly. But now we have a problem. We have a lot of injured players.

“I cannot take as much, but I don’t want to put that much pressure on the young, young players to be in this stage against this opponent for the way they play. That’s why I have to make a mix for the players. Split minutes.

“We will arrive home at 2am or 3am on Wednesday night and Friday we have to travel to Bournemouth. It’s a really intense game, the way they play and the way they are, that’s why we have to try and think about it and keep one eye on that.

“And after travel to Lisbon, the recovery will be so difficult this time. That’s why you have to take a look at how the players come back and today in training, how fresh [they are] and try to minimise the mistakes in the selection.”

Could Guardiola call up Kaden Braithwaite again?

Looking back to the win over Watford in the previous round of the Carabao Cup, Guardiola gave 16-year-old defender Kaden Braithwaite his senior debut for City in the 2-1 win against the Hornets.

In that game, the teenager made two tackles and one interception as well as accurately completing 62 of the 65 passes he attempted and winning three of the four ground duels he was involved in.

After that match, Braithwaite shared what Guardiola told him ahead of making his senior City debut.

He said: “He just said he doesn’t mind if I make mistakes and stuff like that. As long as I work hard and run, that’s all that he cares about.”

Given this previous example of Guardiola giving an academy star the chance to shine in the first team, it could be likely that the player the City star hinted at in his latest press conference could be Braithwaite.

Manchester City are back in action on the road again with a Carabao Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur.

After beating Watford 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium in the previous round, City will be taking on Ange Postecoglou’s side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night to try and secure a place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Since that victory, the Blues have managed to remain unbeaten in all competitions, picking up big wins in the Premier League and the Champions League.

Spurs head into this match having lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Selhurst Park. This would make it likely that the players and coaching staff would want to put that right for their supporters by beating City.

While Pep Guardiola is dealing with several injury issues at City, the Spurs boss has suggested that the North London side could be without one of their key players for Wednesday’s Cup clash.

When asked in his recent press conference if Son Heung-min could make his return from injury against City, Postecoglou gave this response.

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He said: “Son’s almost fit but probably from our perspective we’ll aim for the weekend.”

Guardiola said City have a ‘few’ players out

The South Korean missed Tottenham’s previous Premier League and Europa League matches with a thigh injury.

Having faced off against City on 19 occasions during his time at the North London club, Son has scored eight goals and delivered four assists.

With that in mind, it would certainly be a miss for Spurs to not have him fit enough to feature against the Blues.

However, with the Manchester club having their own fitness issues, Guardiola shared this on City’s current injury situation and what he’s hoping to see from his side against Spurs.

He said: “Few players [out], but we’re going to try and do a good game, try and go through. Last season we were out against Newcastle, played really well.

“So perform well, this is what I want, no injuries please, and go to the last week before the international break.”

Given the injury issues involving both sides, both sets of supporters will undoubtedly be interested to see the starting XI’s on the night.

Manchester City are in Carabao Cup action on Wednesday night against Tottenham Hotspur.

Pep Guardiola is looking for his side to continue their terrific start to the new season, and face a Spurs side who have just lost to Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

The day after City beat Southampton 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Ange Postecoglou’s men then became the first team to lose to Palace in the Premier League this season.

They will be looking to bounce back, and may fancy their chances against Manchester City are home, having enjoyed good results there in previous meetings.

But City have actually now won on their last two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and that psychological barrier is no more.

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Here is a team Guardiola could field tomorrow night in London.

Man City predicted XI v Tottenham in Carabao Cup – Nathan Ake and James McAtee to start

Guardiola suggested after the win over Watford in the second round that it is his intention to make changes in the Carabao Cup.

He sees the competition as an opportunity to get minutes into the legs of those on the fringes, so City fans can expect several changes against Spurs.

Stefan Ortega tends to play the cup games for City and there is no reason why he would not start against Spurs.

John Stones came off the bench at the weekend and is likely to come into the backline. Manuel Akanji might be his partner, with Ruben Dias having played a full game against Southampton and then attended the Ballon d’Or ceremony.

Rico Lewis could continue inverting from right-back if Kyle Walker remains unfit. Nathan Ake will surely replace Josko Gvardiol. Gvardiol has emerged as a big threat now for Ake, so this is a chance for the £41 million Dutchman to try and raise his stock a little.

In midfield, one would imagine there will again be chances for youngsters Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee.

Ilkay Gundogan started on the bench against Southampton and should be relatively fresh to play from the beginning against Spurs. It could be that O’Reilly and Gundogan operate as a double-pivot with McAtee playing as a number 10.

With Guardiola potentially wanting to give Erling Haaland a rest, we could well see Phil Foden play as a false nine, perhaps interchanging with McAtee.

Matheus Nunes and Savinho could both keep their places as the wingers, providing they are feeling fit.

With Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku both unavailable, Guardiola may not really have any other choice than to start the pair once again.

Should Guardiola go with this exact team, then it would mean six changes from the side that started against Southampton.

Manchester City have another midweek game ahead of them in what has already been a very busy 2024/25 season.

For their sixth and final match of October, City will be taking on Tottenham Hotspur away in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup.

Their previous match saw Pep Guardiola’s side snatch a narrow 1-0 win over Southampton at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.

To get into this stage of the Carabao Cup, the Blues beat Championship side Watford 2-1 thanks to goals from Jeremy Doku and Matheus Nunes.

With their attention now turned to their meeting with Spurs in the capital, the City boss has shared an update concerning the injury situation surrounding his squad and what he’s hoping to see on the night.

Pep Guardiola assesses Tottenham Hotspur clash amid Man City injury crisis

When asked about the current fitness situation ahead of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Spurs, Guardiola gave this assessment in his latest press conference.

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He said: “Few players [out], but we’re going to try and do a good game, try and go through. Last season we were out against Newcastle, played really well. So perform well, this is what I want, no injuries please, and go to the last week before the international break.”

Who is currently out injured for City?

In terms of long-term injuries, City have Rodri out injured for the rest of the season as well as Oscar Bobb not being likely to return to training until December.

In addition to that, the Blues were also without Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku for their win against Southampton, which is likely to be the case again against Spurs.

In fact, Guardiola hinted that he could turn to City’s academy for the match against Tottenham, saying this after the Saints win.

He said: “We will see what happens. In this calendar, the Carabao Cup is just to play with the young players.

“We will see if we play with academy players or see how they come back fresh from that.”

Taking all of that into account and this latest cryptic update from Guardiola about his available players, it could be a very interesting starting XI the Catalan comes up with for Wednesday’s match against Tottenham.

Either way, the main objective could be leaning towards getting through the match with no extra injury problems rather than just focusing on winning.

Manchester City have signed multiple players from fellow Premier League sides during Pep Guardiola’s reign in charge of the team.

Since taking the reins at the Etihad Stadium back in 2016, Guardiola has brought in players such as Jack Grealish, John Stones, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes from numerous top-flight clubs.

Now that the 53-year-old has kicked off his ninth season in charge of City, one of the players he signed from another Premier League club has shed some light on the way in which he left his former team to join Guardiola’s side.

Kyle Walker sheds light on Tottenham Hotspur exit and Man City move

When asked how his exit from Tottenham Hotspur to join City panned out back in 2017, Kyle Walker had this to say in response during a recent edition of You’ll Never Beat Kyle Walker.

He said: “I had a couple of good seasons towards the back end of it.

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“I kind of knew that [Mauricio] Pochettino’s mind was going in a different direction, that it was leaning more towards [Kieran] Trippier. But when I was playing, I was putting in the performances.

“So City spoke to my agent, seen that there was a little gap that they could probably persuade me to go.

“I went up to the manager. I know he’s written different stuff about me in his book, and he tells his version. But I went up to the manager and said, ‘I’m not in your plans, am I?’

“And he said, no. He’s going to push more for Trippier next season. So I said, ‘Please can I go?’ And he said, ‘Well, I won’t stand in your way.’

“That was it. There was no hard blood. There’s no bad feelings or anything. He was just honest and I respect him so much for that.

“But yeah, he just put it to bed. He was just like, you know what? That’s the direction he’s going to go in. Obviously, he said, go and speak with Daniel [Levy].

“I had to go and have a conversation with the chairman and say, ‘OK, Mr. Chairman I want to leave. Please can I leave? They’re willing to pay the money.’

“They thrashed the deal out. And that was it. It wasn’t as smooth sailing as I’d have liked it to have been.

“You know, there was a lot of this price, that price. But that’s probably a good businessman doing what he does and getting the most for the club, really.

“What probably people don’t understand is, I won’t say Daniel as such, but as a whole in chairmans, we are humans and we want to be happy.

“Now, I think our manager is unbelievable.

“If you come to him and say you want to leave, he doesn’t stand in your way. Go. Because I don’t want an unhappy player playing football for this club and playing for me. Because we’re not going to get the best out of each other. “

Walker has had a very successful time at City

Back in June, Jason Cundy said that Walker is the best right-back England has ever produced.

City paid Spurs £50m to sign the Englishman after he made 229 senior appearances for the North London club.

During his time with the Blues, the defender has made 301 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with six goals and 23 assists.

In addition to that, Walker has lifted numerous domestic and European trophies, captaining City to their historic fourth consecutive Premier League title last season.

This highlights just how prominent the full-back has been in the team since his arrival and how much success he’s had, showcasing how right he was to leave Spurs when he did.

One of Pep Guardiola’s most important signings saw Manchester City sign Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur back in 2017.

Since the Manchester club shelled out £50m to sign the right-back from Spurs, he has gone on to make 301 appearances for the Blues across all competitions and even captained them to their historic fourth consecutive Premier League trophy last season.

Now though, the tables look to be turning as the North London club have set their sights on another right-back currently on the books at the Etihad Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur eyeing move for Man City’s Issa Kabore

In a recent post on his official X account, journalist Mike McGrath had this to say on the matter.

He said: “Manchester City full-back Issa Kabore a leading contender for Tottenham should they sell Emerson Royal this summer.

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“Kabore, 23, lined up after impressing at #LTFC Luton on loan. The £12m-rated Burkina Faso int has caught eye of clubs looking at position. Emerson pushing for Milan.”

City should cash in on Kabore

Back in the 2020 summer transfer window, City signed Kabore, who Galatasaray have also been linked with in this window, from Belgian club KV Mechelen.

Since then, the 23-year-old has completed loan spells at the club City signed him from as well as Troyes, Marseille and most recently, Luton Town.

During his season with the Hatters, Kabore made 24 league appearances and chipped in with two assists.

He also ended the campaign with the third-highest total of progressive carries (60) and successful tackles (28) in the Luton squad, highlighting how effective he can be on and off the ball.

This also shows why Kabore has now popped up on Tottenham’s transfer radar as a potential replacement for Royal.

In our view, we feel that if the Burkina Faso international isn’t likely to be getting regular game time with City this season, cashing in on him could be an ideal move for all parties if Spurs offer a suitable fee for him.

Manchester City are not the only team gearing up for the 2024/25 season.

After becoming the first side to win four consecutive Premier League trophies last season, Pep Guardiola’s side have seen numerous players move in and out of the Etihad Stadium.

In addition to that, the Blues have been preparing for the new campaign with a pre-season tour of America where they have played against the likes of Celtic, AC Milan and Barcelona.

In terms of how the other Premier League sides have been getting ready for the new season, a journalist has now made a claim regarding what sort of strategy one particular top-flight side have in regards to eventually being in the frame to potentially knock City off the top spot.

Journalist suggests Tottenham Hotspur have a strategy to topple Man City

Speaking in a recent edition of the Transfer Talk podcast, journalist Dan Kilpatrick had this to say on the subject of Tottenham Hotspur signing young players this summer such as Archie Gray rather than more seasoned names to help the North London club climb up the table.

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He said: “That’s a little bit surprising because [Ange] Postecoglou said again last season that he expects to be challenging for the title this term, that’s the aim.

“He’s had his foundation year and now it’s about kind of kicking on and trying to win stuff.

“But the signings Spurs may suggest that their strategy is more about maybe waiting for Guardiola to leave Man City at the end of the season and perhaps being ready to kind of kick on in a year’s time.”

Spurs have a lot of work to do to overcome City

In Postecoglou’s debut season in charge of the Lilywhites, the 58-year-old saw his side win 20, draw six and lose 12 of their 38 Premier League games.

Having racked up 66 points, scoring 74 goals and conceding 61 goals along the way, Spurs finished fifth.

In our view, not only is there no guarantee that Guardiola won’t sign a contract extension before his current deal expires next summer, we feel that Postecoglou and Spurs shouldn’t spend too much time concerning themselves with City and should instead focus on themselves.

Numerous Premier League clubs have secured deals to sign players from Manchester City in recent years.

For example, Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko during the 2022 summer transfer window, whereas Chelsea bought Cole Palmer last summer after previously landing a move for Raheem Sterling.

Now though, some behind-the-scenes information has come to light regarding another London club who have recently tried to secure the signature of someone on the book at the Etihad Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur tried to sign Yan Couto before Borussia Dortmund agreement

According to a recent report from SportBild, Tottenham Hotspur were eager to land a deal for Yan Couto but the defender ultimately chose to sign for Borussia Dortmund.

Earlier this week, Fabrizio Romano claimed that an agreement is now in place for the Brazilian to join the German club in a deal worth £21m.

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Interestingly, Spurs signed Pedro Porro last year after he had spent some time at the Manchester club before leaving to join Sporting CP in 2022.

Spurs have missed out on an exciting full-back

City signed Couto back in the 2020 summer transfer window from Brazilian club Coritiba.

Having completed loan spells at Braga and Girona, the 22-year-old hasn’t made an appearance for Pep Guardiola’s side.

During his time with Girona last season, Couto made 39 appearances for the Spanish club across La Liga and the Copa del Rey, scoring two goals and delivering 10 assists in the process.

In La Liga, the full-back ended the campaign with the second-highest total of crosses into the penalty area (17) and successful tackles (34) in the Girona squad.

This shows how much of a capable player he is in a defensive and attacking sense and why he’s had the likes of Dortmund and Spurs looking to sign him this summer.