Man City consider Alex Grimaldo move and more transfer rumours

Pep Guardiola does not have too much time to decide on his full-back plans.

Pep Guardiola is eyeing up a new left-back as he attempts to continue his shaping of the Manchester City squad.

Benfica defender Alex Grimaldo is already known by the coach , having come through the Barcelona youth setup.

The 21-year-old moved away from the Nou Camp in the summer transfer window, but could be moving on again if Guardiola gets his way.

Portuguese outlet O Jogo reported this week that Benfica will ask for £38.5m for a player they paid Barcelona just £1.3m for, although the Mail say that City will not meet the asking price.

Guardiola needs to decide soon on his plans at full-back.

Gael Clichy's contract runs out at the end of the season, while Aleks Kolarov is coming into the last 18 months of his.

On the other flank, Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta are also out of contract next summer.

Over the order, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has been discussing moussa Dembele, the youngster attracting so much attention at the minute.

“The price tag will be whatever it is,” he said .

“It is not for me to speculate about that. But the kid is clearly one of the great potential strikers in the world. The kid still needs time.

"Every time he scores a goal, his price tag goes up and it seems he has been sold. But he has signed for four years here.

"I think everyone wants to get him in and then sell him off. If he leaves here, at whatever point that will be, it will be for a record transfer fee. There is no question about that."

More games: friv

Should Aleks Kolarov keep his Man City place against Spurs?

Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon in the battle of the Premier League's top two.

Stuart Brennan

After a defensive performance at Celtic Park that was careless to say the least, Pep Guardiola needs to make some changes for Manchester City's tough old trip to Tottenham.

John Stones seemed to be Pep's golden boy, but he was stuck on the bench in Glasgow - his return is an absolute must, and Aleks Kolarov is the obvious man to make way for him.

I would stick with the faster Gael Clichy at left-back, while Bacary Sagna should come in at right back.

Further forward, injury to Kevin De Bruyne and suspension for Nolito restrict the options, and for me Jesus Navas has done enough to warrant inclusion, especially in an away game which should present counter-attacking possibilities.

Stuart's XI: Bravo, Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Clichy; Fernandinho; Navas, Gundogan, Silva, Sterling; Aguero

James Robson

Guardiola is without the injured Vincent Kompany, Kevin de Bruyne and Fabian Delph and the suspended Nolito.

Other than that he has a fully fit squad to pick from. And despite the intensity of the game against Celtic, I expect him to name his strongest team available with an international break coming up.

In what could be the sternest test yet for City the question is who Guardiola considers to be his key players.

My suspicion is Leroy Sane could develop into one, but for now Jesus Navas and Nolito are ahead of him when everyone is available.

Stones MUST be recalled after City's nightmare defensive show in Glasgow.

James' XI: Bravo; Sagna, Stones, Otamendi, Kolarov; Fernandinho; Navas, Silva, Gundogan, Sterling; Aguero

Ciaran Kelly

This game is Pep Guardiola's biggest test as City manager and the Celtic wake-up call will have been a blessing in disguise.

Talk about City setting new consecutive win records and Kolarov being the most improved centre-back in the league is now over.

Sagna and Stones need to come back into the side, but I would keep Kolarov in the back line ahead of Clichy.

In the absence of De Bruyne, the midfield picks itself and I would bring Navas in for the suspended Nolito.

New signing Sane does not yet look up to speed and Navas has proved himself as a useful option against Spurs in the past.

Ciaran's XI: Bravo, Sagna, Otamendi, Stones, Kolarov, Fernandinho Sterling, Gundogan, Silva, Navas, Aguero.

Rob Pollard

Stones should come straight back into the side and partner Otamendi, who was the best of a bad back four on Wednesday in Glasgow. Clichy and Sagna would be my full-backs.

Fernandinho should anchor the midfield, with Gundogan and David Silva ahead of him. Those three need to fill the creative void left by De Bruyne's injury and will be key to City getting a result.

Raheem Sterling is in fine form and with Nolito out injured, Navas and Sane are fighting for a spot on the right. I'd go for Navas.

Sergio Aguero, as ever, leads the line.

Rob's XI: Bravo; Sagna, Otamendi, Stones, Clichy; Fernandinho; Navas, Gundogan, Silva, Sterling; Aguero

Burnley boss Sean Dyche: English managers are just as good as foreign bosses

SEAN DYCHE is ready to fly the flag for English managers when the new Premier League season kicks off.

But he doesn’t believe the dwindling number of homegrown coaching talent is getting the credit it deserves in the face of the growing influence of overseas managers.

The Burnley boss is one of only three English managers operating in the top flight, alongside Crystal Palace’s Alan Pardew and his predecessor at Turf Moor, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe.

The arrival this summer of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte at Chelsea has added to the foreign flair factor, but Dyche fears the image being portrayed of the high-profile imports sometimes comes at the expense of the work being done by British bosses.

“Conte got commended for bringing a hard, fast, new leadership to Chelsea, which involved doing 800m runs, 400m runs and 200m runs,” said Dyche.

“Come to my training and see Sean Dyche doing that and you’d say, ‘Dinosaur, a young English dinosaur manager, hasn’t got a clue’.

“Perception is radically different to what is going on with young English managers. I just saw Gael Clichy talking about the diet that Pep has brought in. He’s stopped pizza. Nasri was talking about how this new diet was amazing, saying we don’t eat junk food.

“We’ve been doing that since I got here. I did it at Watford, so are other English managers. Because I’m Sean Dyche you wouldn’t be interested. It’s ‘Go on Pep, tell us about your pizzas’.

“They questioned me playing a 4-4-2 and then everyone played it last year and it was, ‘Amazing Ranieri, amazing, tactical genius’.

“Klopp came in and played sort of a 4-4-2 and ‘let’s run really hard and press’. People thought it was incredible. Wasn’t Sean Dyche doing that three years ago when he got here?

“Pochettino is fantastic. I really enjoy his company. Wenger was very good with me, very good company.

“There’s no problem with me and foreign managers, but generally there is still this edge towards foreign coaches and managers.”

As well as the newcomers, Dyche will also lock horns with Wenger, Pochettinio, Jose Mourinho, Ronald Koeman and title-winner Ranieri after Burnley kick off their campaign at home to Swansea on Saturday.

The former Watford boss will be up against it as he looks to keep Burnley up after leading them to promotion for the second time in three seasons.

The Clarets will again be working with the smallest budget in the Premier League but Dyche insists he won’t be dazzled by the men he is up against as he looks to take on the big boys.

He added: “I don’t judge myself against Pep Guardiola with what their squad is. It’s not a level playing field. 

“There’s that weird thing about pitting your wits against them. I’m not really. If we had equal squads, that’d be pitting my wits against them. 

“There’s massive gaps throughout the Premier League. It’s not interesting for me to go, ‘Oh look, there’s that famous manager, yeah he’s been doing this and that’. It never even crosses my mind. We just take the game on and see what it gets. Afterwards we’ll say hello and off we go. Simple as that.

“I can assure you the schmoozing stuff is not something I over-think. I have total respect to the man stood next to me – some have done amazing things in the game – but I don’t think about it.

“We’re probably out there on our own in that we’re that anomaly club. There’s nobody in the Premier League in the situation we were in two years ago, let alone now.

“Arguably there will be no one spending as little as we spend and if they aren’t spending it this year they spent it the year before or the year before that. And we’ll have by far the lowest wage bill.

“But there’s a big belief in what we do, there’s a big belief in the players, and we’ve earned the right to be there.

“We’ll take all the bad news, all the doubters, take it all on and just go out and see, because the only real truth in football is out there and on the training ground. The rest is opinion and fake. The bit I focus on and the players focus is out there.

“We know about it, everyone writes us off. So what? We don’t write ourselves off.”

Should Arsenal let Kieran Gibbs join Liverpool?

Whilst Arsenal have today been officially rejected by Jamie Vardy, it seems we are not the only club being dealt a blow in the transfer market. It is reported in the media today that Liverpool have been left disappointed in their attempts to sign Arsenal and England left back Kieran Gibbs, with Liverpool not willing to meet the Gunner’s valuation.

It had been reported in recent weeks that Liverpool had approached Arsenal with an enquiry about left back Kieran Gibbs, who is supposedly considering if he has a future at Arsenal, after two years of being primarily placed on the bench. With Gibbs considering his future and concerns that he needs to be playing regular first team football at this stage of his career, Arsenal were supposedly willing to let Gibbs go. However the Gunners value him at £12 million according to the Daily Express, a valuation that Liverpool are not willing to meet.

Gibbs was formerly a first team regular for the years after Gael Clichy and kept Nacho Monreal out of the starting eleven after the Spaniard signed for the Gunners back in 2013. However as Monreal’s English grew, so did his consistency and performances for the Gunners and now we haven’t looked back since. Monreal has gone on to become one of the most consistent defenders in the league and was even in for a shout of Arsenal’s best defender last year.

I can understand why Gibbs may want to leave, as he really has struggled to make a regular run of appearances on the pitch in recent years. At the moment I can’t see him overtaking Monreal for that first team slot, however Arsenal did formerly rate the Englishman as the club’s next Ashley Cole and I think with Monreal not getting any younger, there is still a future at Arsenal for the 26 year old.

Or do you think we should let him go and bring in someone younger?

Manchester City Season in Review: Gael Clichy

During the close season, Man City Square is going to review each member of the 2015/2016 Manchester City squad and grade them for their year. Next up, number 22 – Gael Clichy

Gael Clichy is an enigma. The Manchester City left back is, at times, the very definition of a defensive box of chocolates and they are either way past their sell by date or fresh and delicious. Rarely in between. At some clubs this kind of wild and unstable approach to the game, as likely to commit a series of game losing clangers as to be impenetrable wall, would be considered a risk not worth taking. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 2015/2016 season at the Etihad.

If there’s one thing City have struggled to find in their back four it’s consistency. Mr Consistency himself – the skipper Vincent Kompany – was anything but, managing to play in a mere 13 league games all year. Then you’ve got Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala and, I know you guys are excited for our reviews on their performances this year, they seemingly compete for who can be the bigger liability at the least opportune moment. And finally you have Bacary Sagna and Clichy and they are, well, pretty good on the whole. At least in comparison.

Certainly this applies in Clichy’s case. His competition this year was Aleksander Kolarov who, when we were forced to endure his presence at left back, limped lifelessly around the park looking for the ice cream he dropped. I can imagine a more spirited, and perhaps not much less inept, performance if I was playing there than Kolarov. It’s like he knows he’s gone at the end of the year and, hey, why bother?

Against this backdrop, Clichy really only has to turn up and not be self-destructively bad to be an improvement. Unfortunately, there were times he didn’t quite manage it. Most recently his near-own goal, which ended up in a goal regardless, in our penultimate game of the season at home to Arsenal. Misjudging a routine head-back-to-goal from a cross, Clichy sent it way too wide for Joe Hart, and anyone not named Stretch Armstrong, and it only just grazed the post for a corner. Olivier Giroud would then score thanks to catastrophic marking from Mangala, fancy that.

All that said however, Clichy has, in general, improved as the season has gone on. It’s hard to find any positives in the Blues’ back four right now, but if there was he would certainly be one of them. When he plays well, after all, he really is that impenetrable wall. Perhaps the Arsenal gaffe sticks out more because we thought we saw the back of such amateurish errors from Clichy and we came to depend on him.

Certainly for incoming manager Pep Guardiola, Clichy presents an easy and reliable option. Guardiola will need to plug the holes that sank the ship way too many times this year and Clichy, for better or worse, is one of the smaller ones. There’s only so many defenders available and honestly Clichy has shown enough this year, if only just, to justify his place in the squad for next.

In fact, statistically at least, there’s much to be said for what Clichy did get right this year. Another injury candidate, he made only 20 starts on the year and provided 1 assist. While that isn’t stellar, his pass accuracy on the year of 80.9% in all competitions is quite good and his actual defensive stats are even better. On average, Clichy made 4 interceptions and 3 clearances per game. Kolarov meanwhile managed to average only 1.6 interceptions and 2.4 clearances each outing.

The point is we are better when Clichy is in and Kolarov is out. Would we be better with another left back in? Maybe yes, maybe no, but of all the improvements that need to be made in the squad, Clichy’s position shouldn’t be a priority. With that in mind, I’d rate this year as a relatively positive, if unspectacular, year as a whole for Gael and feel that even with his warts he’s worthy of a place in the team next year and a 6.5 rating from me. The former being worth just a bit more, of course.

EPL – Player Ratings – Manchester City 2 West Bromwich Albion 1

Manchester City only just managed to edge past a determined West Brom side to come away with all three points at the Etihad overnight.

Stephane Sessegnon opened the scoring inside the initial five minutes with a wonderful strike that beat Joe Hart at his near post. It did not take too long for City to respond though as they pushed for the equaliser. Aleksandar Kolarov was brought down inside the penalty area and Sergio Aguero dispatched the resulting spot kick to score his 130th goal for the Sky Blues in his 200th appearance for the club.

City continued to dominate possession thereon but lacked the creative vision in the final-third. The Baggies also had a handful of efforts in the second-half, although they failed to finish off their chances. Manuel Pellegrini brought on Kevin De Bruyne and Yaya Toure on the hour mark and they had an immediate impact on the game. De Bruyne’s darting run down the right resulted in a good chance for Aguero, whose shot was initially saved but the ball fell right in the path of the incoming Samir Nasri for a simple finish.

Manchester City

Joe Hart – 4: Should have done much better to cover his near post for the opening goal after he was beaten far too easily by Sessegnon’s powerful effort. Did not have much to save thereon.

Pablo Zabaleta – 5: Let James McClean get the better of him on more than a few occasions after being beaten by his pace. Managed to perform better as the game progressed.

Nicolas Otamendi – 7: A much better performance than we have seen from the Argentine so far this season. Did extremely well to make up for Mangala’s mistakes. City will need more defensive efforts like this from the 28-year-old.

Eliaquim Mangala – 5: Made far too many errors as the Frenchman still has not adjusted to speed of the Premier League. Could have easily given away a penalty after a poor challenge.

Aleksandar Kolarov –8: One of City’s best player on the night. Moved forward with great attacking intent, winning a penalty while also having a fair go at the Baggies goal. Did well to keep Sessegnon under wraps following the opener.

Fabian Delph –5: The English international returned to the starting XI following a long injury lay-off but failed to make any sort of positive impression on the game.

Fernando –6.5: Was very good on the ball, rarely making any mistakes. Sat deep to provide defensive cover but also moved forward when he got the chance.

Jesus Navas –6: Threatened down the right-hand side with his pace and whipped in a few testing crosses. Was involved in the build-play that led to City’s winning goal.

Samir Nasri – 7: The Frenchman had a decent outing after returning to the starting XI after almost seven months. Scored the winner and was heavily involved in almost of the Sky Blue attacks. Combined well with Kolarov on the left-wing.

Wilfried bony – 4: The Ivorian could not get into the game and evidently struggled up front. Was substituted on the hour-mark.

Sergio Aguero – 7: Converted the equalising penalty on his landmark appearance for the club. Was given a slightly different role in the No.10 position and did a good job. Tested Ben Foster on a few occasions and it was his pass that found Nasri for the winning goal.

Substitutes

Kevin De Bruyne – 6.5: Changed the game after he came on, providing a creative spark from midfield.

Yaya Toure – 6: Replaced Delph to get some much needed minutes under his belt before the crucial Champions League tie. Did well to hold possession well from the centre of the park.

Gael Clichy – N/A: Replaced Aguero in the final minutes.

West Brom

Ben Foster – 6: Could not do much more for either of the goals he conceded, while he made a few good saves to prevent City scoring more.

Craig Dawson – 6: Had a tough task of dealing with Nasri and Kolarov and did a decent job of curtailing the threat.

Gareth McAuley– 6: Frustrated City attackers for most parts of the game along with Evans.

Jonny Evans – 6: Solid defensive display from the Northern Irishman, who will be disappointed to have conceded two goals in an otherwise fine performance.

James Chester – 5: Had to deal with Navas’ speed and made no mistakes against the Spaniard, but De Bruyne caused him a bit of worry when he came on.

Darren Fletcher – 6.5: A spirited performance from the Scottish international, who did extremely well in the middle of the park.

Sandro – 5: Did well in a defensive sense but did not offer much going forward.

Stephane Sessegnon – 7: Although Hart was easily beaten, Sessegnon’s shot was struck with venom and accuracy. He did a good job in attack, but was a bit unfortunate to give away the penalty.

James McClean–6.5: Was proving to be a handful for Zabaleta and provided the cross for Sessegnon’s opener. Nearly snatched the equaliser with the last kick of the game, but his shot went narrowly wide of the post.

Saido Berahino –6: Moved into the striker’s position after Rondon came off and got himself into good positions, only to be let down by poor finishing.

Salmon Rondon – 5: Suffered an injury in the opening 10 minutes and could not shake it off, forcing a substitution in the first-half.

Substitutes

Graig Gardner – 5: Had a number of shots on goal but was a bit wayward with his finishing. Tested Joe Hart with a fine effort from a free-kick in the second-half.

Jonathan Leko – N/A: Came on for Sessegnon for the final 10 minutes and tried his best to get involved in play. A promising few minutes for the 16-year-old.

Gael Clichy wears gloves to shake hands because he’s terrified of germs

Gael Clichy is so afraid of little tiny germs that he dons a pair of gloves to shake hands with opponents.

The French full-back wears black gloves for the pre-game ceremonies before removing them just prior to kick-off.

The Man City star’s phobia is well-known among team-mates and fellow professionals.

A source said: “Gael is a real germaphobe and always washes his hands and tries to avoid handshakes. All the lads are aware of it but there’s not much mickey-taking as he’s quite precious and doesn’t like attention being drawn to it.”

He’s not that fond of spiders either…