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Manchester City begin their Premier League title defence with a trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, and Pep Guardiola should unleash Jack Grealish from the start.

The new £100m signing was limited to an appearance from the bench against Leicester City in the Community Shield last weekend, and whilst the Citizens would go on to lose that game, Grealish showed glimpses of what he will offer City with his dribbling and passing technique.

As City will be without Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden for their trip to North London, the England international could be the man to unlock Nuno Espirito Santo’s defence, as only the Belgian contributed more key passes per game than City’s new signing in the top-flight last season.

You could also argue that the former Aston Villa man will have a point to prove against Spurs, after seeing a move to the Lilywhites break down in 2018 due to Daniel Levy’s refusal to pay the Villans’ £40m asking price, which would have perhaps proved to have been a bargain, in hindsight, considering his superb form since then.

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Whilst the Spanish manager has several options on the wing available to him, Raheem Sterling didn’t feature at all in pre-season due to England reaching the final of the European Championships this summer, with Foden absent through injury for at least another month.

The City academy graduate sung Grealish’s praises earlier this week and suggested that he was looking forward to being in the same side as him, saying:

“He’s fearless on the ball. He can just change a game on his own, so I believe that he’s a really special player and he’s going to be key for us.”

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Spurs are arguably weakest at right-back, with both Matt Doherty and Serge Aurier struggling to perform last season, so the £58.5m-rated beast could cause them all sorts of problems down the left and be Guardiola’s game-changer, in a game that City should be targeting three points from if they are to win the title again this season.

United set the marker on Saturday, so City must spark a reaction here – the inclusion of Grealish could well be key to their hopes of achieving that.

And, in other news… Guardiola provides injury update, City fans will be fuming

John Ward reports on the second day of the Championship match between Worcestershire and Glamorgan at New Road

John Ward at Worcester18-Jul-2008Glamorgan 136 for 4 (Rees 59*) trail Worcestershire 457 for 8 (Smith 99, Davies 83, Mitchell 78, Solanki 69, Moore 57) by 321 runs
ScorecardAfter conceding a total of 457 to Worcestershire, Glamorgan found their top-order batting shattered by a remarkable spell of genuine pace bowling from the home side’s overseas debutant, Imran Arif. In his first six overs in first-class cricket, the 24-year-old former Yorkshire Academy bowler, born in Kashmir and with a Pakistani passport, ripped out three top-order wickets to give his team a fair chance of winning this match – weather permitting.In the morning, Worcestershire continued very capably from their overnight score of 307 for 4. Overnight batsmen Ben Smith and Steven Davies again had to face some good deliveries early on from Jason Gillespie – who again had no luck – but otherwise they had no problem in taking control of the bowling. Davies, who played some superb off drives in particular, dominated the partnership, gaining steadily on Smith, and one wondered if he might beat him to the century.In the event, neither was to reach the landmark. Smith moved smoothly through the nineties, with Davies about 20 behind, until he reached 99. Then came an unexpectedly awkward delivery just outside the off stump from the persevering seamer James Harris, that bounced at some pace and, caught in two minds, Smith appeared to decide too late not to play it and was caught at first slip. The pair had added 143 for the fifth wicket, and Davies soon followed, driving a hard catch straight at cover, where Gareth Rees held it at the second attempt.After lunch, Kabir Ali made 12 before being caught by Mark Wallace at the wicket down the leg side, sweeping at the left-arm spinner Dean Cosker, and by now Worcestershire were looking for a declaration. This was not immediately obvious, as Simon Jones bats the same way in most circumstances. His 25 off 23 balls was very much block-and-slog, containing as it did four sixes, a single, and 18 dot balls. He got off the mark with a six off none other than Gillespie, over long-on, and followed with three more off Cosker, the biggest being over cow corner over the trees into the car park. Going for a fifth, he was held off a skier near the midwicket boundary.Worcestershire immediately declared, with Gareth Batty undefeated with a sedate 18. Their 457 for 8 was their highest total of the season to date. Harris and Cosker took three wickets each, with Alex Wharf the most disappointing bowler, going for more than five an over.Richard Grant began Glamorgan’s reply positively, with some good strokes and some fortuitous ones, mostly off Jones, who was quick but a little erratic at times. At the other end Kabir bowled five tight overs for five runs before Rees off drove him superbly for four. At 42, Grant (27) was strangled down the leg side off Jones, and soon after Imran was called upon to bowl his first over for the first time. He managed two balls before a drizzle started and an early tea was called.It took almost two hours for him to complete that over, and he showed some impressive pace. He struck in his third over, as David Hemp (3) flashed outside the off stump and edged a catch to the keeper. Michael Powell soon followed, after a handsome cover drive for four, also caught by the keeper, a harder one at the second attempt, diving to his right. Two balls later, Jamie Dalrymple no doubt hoped to get away with four leg-byes; unfortunately for him, he was instead adjudged lbw without scoring, and Glamorgan were in trouble at 56 for 4. Imran had taken three wickets in 11 balls; in his spell, he took 3 for 22 in six overs.Not wanting to burn him out, Vikram Solanki rested him after this, and this enabled Rees and Mark Wallace to bat with considerable freedom, the former running to his fifty off 105 balls, after a slow start. It was surprising that the captain did not give Imran even two more overs before the belated close of play – a combination of rain and an abysmal over rate – as by the close the pair had added a further 80 runs with little difficulty.

Brentford now look set to make a new bid for Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Ajer not happy; Celtic sticking to their guns

Ajer has made it clear this summer that he wants to leave the club, however, the Hoops haven’t made it easy.

Norwich and Bayer Leverkusen had offers in the region of £10m turned down, whereas Brentford saw a bid which could’ve totalled to £15m rejected.

The 23-year-old was left furious at the situation earlier this week after a new £20m valuation emerged, but it seems as if the Bees haven’t given up hope of signing the Norwegian just yet.

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The Latest: Source shares update

According to Football Insider, Brentford are returning with a new offer for Ajer.

A £15m bid will include a higher guaranteed payment, with this story coming after Celtic agreed on a deal with Rubin Kazan for centre-back Carl Starfelt.

You’d expect Starfelt could well end up replacing Ajer, should both moves officially go through.

The Verdict: McKay seems to have worked his magic

With no director of football in place yet, CEO Dominic McKay will of course be at the heart of discussions regarding Ajer’s Parkhead future.

The club have rejected three bids, two of which were worth £10m and another worth an initial £12m.

Should they now accept a fee closer to an initial £15m, McKay seems to have worked his magic by getting more than those three figures upfront, allowing cash to be invested towards the likes of Starfelt.

Of course, the Hoops may still decide to turn the new Bees bid down once again, but McKay is continuing to get clubs to increase their bids closer to the club’s demands.

Remember, Ajer is into the final year of his Celtic deal, so it’s a risky game to play by McKay, but one which could come with a huge pay-off if Brentford and others get desperate.

In other news: Celtic now want to sign £6.3m-rated defender as well as Starfelt; talks already opened. 

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow in their efforts to bring Harry Wilson to The Hawthorns this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football Insider, who claim that newly-promoted Premier League side Brentford have made an approach to Liverpool regarding a deal for the winger, with an offer expected to be made in the coming days.

It has been reported that Jurgen Klopp’s side would be willing to part with the 24-year-old in the summer transfer window, as long as a buyer meets the club’s £15m asking price for the Wales international.

West Brom and Fulham were both believed to be keeping tabs on the situation of the forward ahead of a potential move this summer, however, with a top-flight side now firmly interested in his services, it would appear both teams will struggle to get a deal over the line for Wilson.

Ismael will be gutted

With Wilson having proven to be a fantastic player in the Championship in recent years, the fact that a deal to bring the winger to West Brom now looks unlikely is sure to have left Valerien Ismael gutted.

Indeed, during his most recent loan spell in the second tier with Cardiff City, the £15.3m-rated man highly impressed over his 37 Championship appearances for Mick McCarthy’s side, scoring seven goals, registering 11 assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates.

These returns saw the man Marcelo Bielsa dubbed an “exceptional” player earn a rather remarkable average SofaScore match rating of 7.20, ranking him as the Bluebirds’ second-best performer in the league last season.

These impressive stats only add to the £41k-per-week forward’s impressive returns in the Championship, having scored seven goals and provided four assists over 13 appearances for Hull City and 16 goals and four assists over 43 appearances for Derby County.

As such, with Ismael hoping to build a West Brom side in the summer transfer window that is capable of securing an immediate return to the top flight next season, the addition of Wilson would have certainly appeared to provide the club’s chances of going on to achieve this feat with a huge boost.

However, with Brentford now appearing to be leading the race for the 24-year-old this summer, the Frenchman may well have to turn his focus elsewhere in the transfer market in order to add more goals to his Albion side.

In other news: Get it done: West Brom plotting swoop for “quality” £5m machine, Ismael would love him

Celtic’s summer is wrapped in uncertainty as they desperately try to improve upon a disastrous 2020/21 campaign.

They face the prospect of star striker Odsonne Edouard departing, which would leave the Hoops severely light in attack.

On the chalkboard

In the eventuality that Edouard moves on, their primary options in a centre-forward position would be Albian Ajeti and Leigh Griffiths.

The Swiss international only scored six times last term and has found the net just once for Celtic since last September, while Griffiths can find himself fortunate to still be at the club.

As the calendar flicked over into July, it looked as though the Scot was heading out of Parkhead on a free transfer. However, in a surprising announcement, the club revealed that he had signed a one-year contract extension on Thursday morning.

Fans were divided on the matter but the vast majority of supporters were perplexed at why a rebuild included someone who has already been given numerous opportunities at Celtic.

The solution

Everyone is right to be given a clean slate under new manager Ange Postecoglou, but one player they should consider forgetting is Griffiths.

That’s because they have a menacing striker waiting in the wings for his own second opportunity at Paradise.

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That happens to be Vakoun Issouf Bayo. The Ivorian has only ever played 17 times for the Bhoys but caught the eye during his loan spell with Toulouse last season.

The 24-year-old found the back of the net on 13 occasions for the French Ligue 2 side, also providing four assists. It wasn’t the most outstanding of tallies but crucially he possesses similar qualities to Edouard, who could be heading for the departures lounge.

Speaking about Bayo during his first campaign with Celtic, Chris Sutton was impressed with what he saw, remarking: “He has some really good raw attributes. I think he’s powerful, and he is good in the air.”

The 24-year-old has beaten the goalkeeper just twice in a Hoops shirt, but if Griffiths is being handed a chance under Postecoglou, Bayo deserves one too.

The attacker has one year left on his current terms in Glasgow which could be problematic, but there would be no harm in providing a small extension to that contract. He certainly deserves an opportunity to prove his worth in pre-season at the very least.

AND in other news, Celtic told to sign 28y/o who’s been “outstanding” at Euro 2020, he’d be a big upgrade…

Hampshire have lodged an appeal with the England and Wales Cricket Board over their eight County Championship point deduction enforced for the state of the pitch during the game with Lancashire last week.Having lodged the appeal within the 24-hour time limit permitted for appeals, Hampshire are now waiting on a time and place for the hearing, which will be heard in front of an ECB panel soon.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos definiu, enfim, a lista dos 28 inscritos para a primeira fase do Campeonato Paulista. A principal novidade é o nome do zagueiro Fabian Noguera. Última opção para a zaga do Peixe, o argentino não estava nos planos de Dorival Júnior e participa das atividades como reserva.

Na preferência de Dorival Júnior aparecem primeiramente Lucas Veríssimo, Yuri (improvisado), Cleber e David Braz. O treinador também não concordou com atitudes do defensor fora do campo.

Matheus Oliveira, de 19 anos, venceu a concorrência do meia Thaciano, que era constantemente elogiado por Dorival Júnior por atuar como volante.

A última vaga será do atacante Vladimir Hernández. Ainda sem documentação, ele entrará no lugar de Caju, cortado por lesão, assim que tiver condições legais.

Confira a lista dos 28 inscritos até o momento:

Goleiros: Vanderlei, Vladimir e João Paulo
Zagueiro: Lucas Veríssimo, David Braz, Cleber e Noguera
Laterais: Victor Ferraz, Zeca, Matheus Ribeiro e Caju (lesionado, será substituído por Vladimir Hernández assim que o colombiano estiver com sua documentação legalizada)
Meio-campistas: Renato, Thiago Maia, Lucas Lima, Vitor Bueno, Léo Cittadini, Jean Mota, Leandro Donizete, Rafael Longuine, Matheus Oliveira e Yuri
Atacantes: Ricardo Oliveira, Arthur Gomes, Copete, Rodrigão, Thiago Ribeiro, Kayke e Bruno Henrique

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Lee Ryder has dropped the latest insight from the Reuben brothers on the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Reubens part of takeover consortium

The Reuben brothers are part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium looking to take over at St. James’ Park from Mike Ashley, along with KSA crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley.

Ashley has launched two separate claims against the Premier League over the failed deal between him and the group, an arbitration case that is set to take place over the course of the coming months, as well as an anti-competition lawsuit.

The Latest: Reubens insight

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder has shared that the Reuben brothers are patiently waiting on developments in Ashley’s legal battle with the English top flight, just like PIF and Staveley.

A positive result in the forthcoming arbitration hearing could persuade them to come back to the table along with the rest of the consortium, while a negative one may well end all interest.

The Verdict: Arbitration key to Newcastle’s future

The results of the arbitration proceedings are certainly key in terms of the direction that the takeover bid is heading, and thus the entire future of the Toon Army.

While the timing of the case is certainty not ideal for the Magpies, given that the summer transfer window has already begun and the new season is set to start in August, a positive result could accelerate the whole takeover process.

If this is the case, then the North East club could be quietly optimistic that a deal could be pushed through soon after the hearing, which would come as a delight to the Toon Army.

Nonetheless, the Reuben Brothers, along with the rest of the KSA group, will be keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

In other news, find out what Michael Beloff insight has been dropped ahead of arbitration here!

Jack Grealish was voted Man of the Match in England’s 1-0 Euro 2020 warm-up victory against Romania on Sunday evening [Daily Express].

Putting on a dazzling display for the Three Lions, the 25-year-old created the decisive opportunity in the fixture at the Riverside Stadium. Jinking past two opponents, the boyhood Villa man waltzed into the penalty area before being cynically taken out by a Romanian defender, and up stepped Marcus Rashford to convert the spot-kick [BBC].

However, Grealish was the main talking point of the match due to his quick feet and weight of pass, deserving his Man of the Match award for his exploits [TEAMTalk].

Set to play a key part in the European Championship for England this summer, no wonder loads of Aston Villa fans took to social media to voice their pleasure at his well-earned Man of the Match accolade.

Villa fans react to Grealish’s award:

Here is what some of the Villa faithful had to say in response to a 30-second video clip posted on the club’s official Twitter account in which the 25-year-old thanked the supporters who voted him for the award on Sunday:

“What a star #jackgrealish”

Credit: @EthanSimmonds4

“My captain!”

Credit: @JayVtid

“Totally deserved”Credit: @VillaJeanK”Love him”

Credit: @SMGBirmingham

“How can you not love him”

Credit: @DeclanRigby

“England’s Starboy”

Credit: @_WillAVFC

In other news, here’s how some Aston Villa fans reacted to the signing of Emi Buendia.

Manchester City fans are livid after Fernandinho was placed on the list of players released by the club following the end of the Premier League campaign.

Since signing for the club in 2013, 53-time Brazil international Fernandinho has become a club legend. He has made 350 appearances for the Citizens (Transfermarkt), helping the club win the Premier League on four separate occasions. He even succeeded Vincent Kompany as club captain when the Belgian left the Etihad Stadium.

As of right now, the 36-year-old’s contract at the club will run out – but it could still get extended.

However, for now, he has been placed on the list of released players which is published at the end of each campaign (premierleague.com). Having made 37 appearances in all competitions this past campaign, it does seem a bizarre decision from the club if they allow him to go.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Chief, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Fernandinho news below

“Absolutely gutted”

Credit: @grifc15

“What!!!”

Credit: @EKatuta

“HZVSFSVSCDHSHXSVVSVSVZNZN NAH FAM THIS AINT TRUE”

Credit: @FabulousFoden47

“IM FUMING”

Credit: @ManCitehzen

“Im not listening, This have to be a joke”

Credit: @SofiCitizens

“HOPE THIS ISN’T TRUE WHAAAT”

Credit: @RealTalkMCFC

In other news, Man City fans want to sign this Serie A midfielder this summer.