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Former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher has insisted Stuart Attwell was right to disallow Ademola Lookman and Wilfred Ndidi's strikes in Leicester City's 2-1 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.

In the match played at the American Express Community Stadium, Neal Maupay opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 35th minute before Danny Welbeck nodded in a Leandro Trossard cross to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute. 

Leicester scored their only goal in the 61st minute courtesy of Jamie Vardy, who converted a Youri Tieleman's cross before VAR denied Ademola Lookman and Wilfred Ndidi for offside in the 67th and 86th minutes, respectively.

In the initial effort by Lookman, Harvey Barnes was adjudged to have interfered with play while the latter's header was scrapped after review.

"Both correct decisions, offside," Gallagher told Sky Sports. "I don't think there's much doubt about the first. He's directly in line with the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper doesn't see the ball until it is past him. 

"The second, he moves towards the ball, so he's impacting on the goalkeeper."

The 64-year-old thinks the Maupay penalty was a wrong decision since the attacker had committed a foul against Jannik Vestergaard in the build-up but concentration was on the handball. 

"Incorrect decision, Maupay foul, and no penalty," Gallagher continued. "When I first saw it I thought it was a really good spot, by the assistant. 

"When you see the replay, you see Maupay definitely brings it back. I wonder if they've concentrated so much on the handball that they haven't seen the foul. I was surprised the foul wasn't given."

After last weekend's loss, the Foxes have six points from five matches and as a result, they are placed 12th on the table.

As for the Seagulls, they are so far placed fourth on the table with 12 points from the five matches they have played. Brighton are just a point behind joint leaders Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United, who are on 13 points.

Barcelona are preparing to part with Ronald Koeman, with Goal learning that the Dutchman will be relieved of his duties at Camp Nou as Belgium boss Roberto Martinez becomes a top target to replace him.

Speculation regarding the future of the former Blaugrana star has raged over several months, but a decision to head in a different direction has now been taken.

The Liga giants are now waiting on the right moment to make a change, as they are in the middle of a hectic domestic and European schedule, but an axe is about to fall in Catalunya.

When will Koeman be sacked?

Barca are seeing matches come thick and fast at present, with a 1-1 draw against Granada on Monday set to be followed by a trip to Cadiz on Thursday and a home date with Levante on Sunday.

No action will be taken in the midst of that run, while they also have no successor to Koeman lined up and are still experiencing financial difficulties that are making a redundancy package hard to fund.

Barca are, however, close to piecing together the €12 million (£10m/$14m) that it would take to pay off their current boss and terminate the final months of a contract that is due to run until the summer of 2022.

After their run of domestic fixtures, Barca also have a Champions League group-stage clash with Benfica fast approaching, before then taking on Atletico Madrid and the familiar faces of Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann.

The second international break of 2021-22 will arrive in mid-October, with it expected that Barca will act then when it comes to parting with Koeman - unless a stunning reversal in fortune on the pitch is enjoyed by a side currently sat seventh in the table.

Who will Barcelona look to appoint?

Goal has learned that the next appointment at Camp Nou will not act as a bridge, with long-term plans in the process of being drawn up.

Former captain Xavi continues to be heavily linked with a retracing of his steps to Catalunya and has made no secret of the fact that he would like to manage Barca at some stage.

He is, however, tied to a contract in Qatar with Al Sadd and is not the top choice for Joan Laporta and Co at present.

Martinez is the preferred option for now, but he is also locked into a deal elsewhere.

The Spaniard is currently focused on the Nations League finals with Belgium in October, while qualification is well under way for the 2022 World Cup.

It could be that Martinez, who is a Catalan native, is open to walking away from his international post after another shot at silverware has been taken in during the next break in domestic action.

Barca, though, are playing their cards close to their chest and biding their time, with no talks opened as yet.

What is clear is that Koeman, who was appointed by ousted former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, is on borrowed time and may soon find himself in the market for another coaching post.

Further reading

Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti has described Victor Osimhen as a “really strong player” after his display led the team to demolish Udinese 4-0 in a Serie A fixture on Monday.

The Nigeria international scored his first Serie A goal of the season at Stadio Friuli in the 24th minute before Amir Rrahmani netted the second in the 35th minute, and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute with Hirving Lozano finishing the job in the 84th minute.

Osimhen’s goal came just three days after he helped Napoli to snatch a 2-2 draw against Leicester City in the Europa League fixture as he scored a brace at King Power Stadium.

And against Udinese, he opened the scoring after Lorenzo Insigne did most of the work, beating defender Marco Silvestri and then setting up the Nigerian striker, who slotted the ball home.

Spalletti has now praised the 22-year-old Super Eagle for his latest achievement, stating he is really strong and not easy to catch in open space when with the ball.

“Our strength is our environment. We are overwhelmed with love that can become fuel for players,” Spalletti told DAZN as quoted by Football Italia.

“We have quality in attack. Victor [Osimhen] is really strong, he lacks quality in tight spaces, but it’s hard to catch him in open spaces.

“The wingers are outstanding in one vs. one situations. The road is still long and there are many tough opponents.”

On the win which saw the Partenopei move top of the table, Spalletti said: “The team’s performance makes me happy, the personality and the commitment we had for the whole match.

“It wasn’t only about the attitude, you also need the quality. Look at Insigne, who was able to do that lob while the goalkeeper was running towards him. Look at Lozano’s goal or Koulibaly’s personality. The team played well tonight.”

On whether Napoli can go all the way to win the title, Spalletti said: “The season is still long, but the team has quality.

“Perhaps, we lack those players who can allow us to make substitutions, keeping the team’s level high. And we need to be lasting, how many games we can play at this level? This will make the difference.

“Milan are very strong, Inter have worked well despite a couple of big sales. They brought important players in and they have a strong midfield.”

Osimhen will hope to continue with his fine run when Napoli travel to face Sampdoria at Luigi Ferraris Stadium on Thursday.

Arsene Wenger claims to feel "responsible" for the injury struggles that have blighted the careers of Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey, with two promising midfielders first experiencing fitness problems during their time at Arsenal.

The legendary French coach was calling the shots back then, but there was no VAR to rein in the physicality of English football that inevitably led to the odd bad tackle and untimely knock.

Gunners academy graduate Wilshere, who is now a free agent, and current Juventus star Ramsey, who was snapped up as a teenager from Cardiff, were among those to find themselves on the receiving end of challenges that set an unfortunate tone when it comes to frequent spells on the sidelines.

What has been said?

Wenger told The Telegraph of recent changes that will benefit the British game: "I see more positivity. Before there was more kicking and I must say the media allowed that. The VAR has brought more respect for the offensive game.

"Sometimes the more technical guys were kicked. Why? It was not very encouraging. We have moved forward from that.

"We always tried. It was a frustration sometimes. When I look back at players like Wilshere, Ramsey who have been injured early in their career and when you are a manager you feel very responsible for that."

Was Wenger forced out of Arsenal?

Wenger spent 22 years in charge of Arsenal, delivering three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup triumphs during a memorable tenure.

He did, however, lose the trust of some supporters towards the end of his reign, as the Gunners began to slip out of top-four contention, and a rebuilding project at Emirates Stadium remains ongoing.

Wenger feels he was treated unfairly when being ushered towards the exits, with his record deserving of greater respect given all that he had achieved.

The 71-year-old, who is now FIFA's chief of global football development, added on the end of his spell in north London: "I think people are quite harsh about the last years.

"In 2016 we finished second in the league. Leicester won but other teams were behind Leicester as well, and Leicester only lost three games. In 2017 we did not qualify for the top four for the first time in 20 years but we got 75 points.

"People don't realise. We won the [FA] cup against Chelsea who had just won the championship and had the chance of winning the double.

"And after, in 2018, we lost the League Cup final against (Manchester) City, we lost in the semi-final of the Europa League against Atletico Madrid but by just one goal.

"But look, I gave the best years of my career to develop what I think is important - the stadium and pay it back and put the club in a position where it was capable of facing the future and had the potential to do well.

"At the end of the day, above all, we won and what I am most proud about is putting the club in that position."

Further reading

The draw for the 2020 edition of the AFF Suzuki Cup has seen defending champions Vietnam drawn into the same group as 2018 finalists Malaysia. South-East Asia's premier football tournament was set to be held in 2020 but was ultimately postponed to December this year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

The virtual draw for the tournament, which will be held from 5th December 2021 to 1st January 2022, was conducted on Tuesday. The tournament will be held at a centralised venue which will be finalised shortly. 

While Malaysia and Vietnam were drawn into Group B alongside Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos, Group A headlines Thailand and Myanmar alongside Singapore, Philippines and Timor Leste/Brunei.

Thailand and Vietnam were the top two-ranked teams in the region and hence were kept apart in the draw. Myanmar and Malaysia (next best ranked teams) were also kept apart. Meanwhile, Timor Leste and Brunei will play a play-of to determine who makes it into Group A.

The 2018 AFF Suzuki Cup, which saw a format change, was a huge success with Vietnam prevailing over Malaysia 3-2 in the two-legged final. Fans and pundits will relish the chance of seeing the two rivals go up against each other, this time in the group stage.

Vietnam have won the competition twice (2008 and 2018) while the most successful team in the history of the AFF Suzuki Cup is Thailand who have five titles to their name (1996, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016).

Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma has revealed his dream is to rub shoulders with the best in the Uefa Champions League and win a trophy with Mali.

The talented West African was consistently linked with a move away from the Seagulls in the last transfer window, with Arsenal and Manchester United believed to be interested.

But a move did not happen for the 25-year-old who believes it was not his time to leave his current team.

"The most important thing for me is to play football; I am just happy when I play football, the rest is handled by my agent, it is his job. Football is all about going step by step and it is all I am trying to do," Bissouma told Brighton's media team.

"If I didn't go [last] summer, maybe it is because it was not my time to go; my time will come.

"I am happy at Brighton, I am happy to play football and I enjoy it. My dream is like every player's; I want to play in the top league like the Champions League; I want to win it and maybe win the World Cup with my national team.

"The best thing is to win a trophy with my country and club as well... I want to compare myself with top players in top leagues like the Champions League. That is my dream."

Bissouma has been instrumental for his team in the ongoing Premier League campaign.

They are so far placed fourth on the table with 12 points from the five matches they have played. Brighton are just a point behind joint leaders Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United, who are on 13 points.

The Mali international played a vital role in helping the Seagulls collect maximum points in a 2-1 win over Leicester City at the American Express Community Stadium on Saturday. 

Neal Maupay opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 35th minute before Danny Welbeck nodded in a Leandro Trossard cross to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute. 

Leicester scored their only goal in the 61st minute courtesy of Jamie Vardy, who converted a Youri Tieleman's cross before VAR denied Ademola Lookman and Wilfred Ndidi for offside.

Chelsea star Marcos Alonso has expressed his belief that taking the knee is "losing a bit of strength" as an anti-racism gesture, while admitting "I prefer to put my finger to the badge".

Players and staff across the Premier League have been taking the knee before matches ever since the resumption of the 2019-20 campaign in June last year, initially as a showing of solidarity towards the Black Lives Matter movement.

The gesture has been continued in a bid to help stamp out racism in football, but Alonso believes he has found a better way to show that he is "against every type of discrimination".

What's been said?

Speaking after Chelsea's 3-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday, Alonso told reporters: "I am fully against racism and I'm against every type of discrimination, and I just prefer to put my finger to the badge where it says 'no to racism', like they do in some other sports and football in other countries.

"I don't know, I just prefer to do it this way. It's my way to do it, I think it's another way.

"And maybe I think it's losing a bit of strength the other way, so I just prefer to do it this way and to show I am fully supportive of fighting against racism."

Asked if he has discussed his decision with the rest of the Blues squad, the 30-year-old replied: "No, we haven't talked about it.

"We are in the changing room and we are like a family. I have a very good relationship with everyone, I love everyone and up to now we haven't talked about it. I don't think there is a need to, but, of course, if I have to speak to anyone, I will say the same thing I just told you and I don't think there will be any problems.

"For now, I prefer to point to the sleeve and that’s what I will do.”

Who else has stopped taking the knee?

Crystal Palace winger Wilfred Zaha was the first man to denounce taking the knee , as he labelled the gesture "degrading" before ceasing to participate in the pre-match gesture in March.

There was also plenty of controversy around the subject at Euro 2020 as certain groups of supporters booed whenever the players took the knee at Wembley, having wrongly construed that the action had political connotations.

England boss Gareth Southgate has, however, vowed that his players will "continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice" and reiterated his stance after hearing his side booed by Hungary supporters before their World Cup qualifying clash at the start of the month.

Further reading

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Rhulani Mokwena says they are nowhere near their best ahead of their encounter against Orlando Pirates on Saturday.

This is despite Masandawana making a good start to their PSL campaign as they are placed at the top of the standings having recorded three wins and one draw in their first four matches.

The Tshwane giants thrashed a hapless TS Galaxy side 3-0 in their most recent league game over the weekend, but Mokwena is not satisfied as he made it known that they want to dominate matches. 

“We can’t start singing a different song now that we won a few matches. We knew from the first match that we were not going to be at our best in the early stages, and that is still evident," Mokwena told the media.

“We are still playing well in patches, but we don’t want a team that competes. We want a team that dominates. We are showing that in periods at the moment. We are still looking to play a perfect game.

"And maybe perfection doesn’t exist but the desire to want to be perfect is very important because when you chase perfection, even if you don’t attain it, you will reach a level of excellence and that’s what we want.

“We want to have every pass perfect, every build-up perfect, and every scheme perfect. We want to be a team that is very difficult to play against."

Sundowns are set to face Pirates at the Mecca of South African football, Orlando Stadium, with the Buccaneers also undefeated in the league this season.

The Buccaneers are hoping to challenge for this season's PSL title and they are currently placed fourth on the league standings - two points behind the defending champions Sundowns. 

"We don’t want a team that comes to play Mamelodi Sundowns and thinks it’s going to be a walk in the park. The league is a marathon. We have to be professional, and we have to be diligent," Mokwena added.

"It’s all about resting now and recovering, and then we will analyze our game and check for corrections before we prepare for a very difficult game against Orlando Pirates. They are a very good side."

David Beckham has seen his son Romeo make a professional debut for Fort Lauderdale CF, and the Manchester United legend wants Inter Miami coach Phil Neville to be "harder on him than anyone else".

At 19 years of age, Beckham Jr is looking to follow in the illustrious footsteps of his former England captain father.

He will be given no special treatment in that quest, having previously spent time in the academy ranks at Arsenal, but is showing the potential that suggests he could have a career in the game.

What has been said?

After watching Romeo play 79 minutes of a 2-2 draw with South Georgia Tormenta FC for Inter Miami's sister club, first-team coach Neville - a former United team-mate of Beckham - has told reporters: "The first thing that David said to me was, 'You have got to be harder on him than anyone else'.

"He has got to work harder than anyone else to get into that team because there will be questions, there will be expectations on his shoulders."

On Romeo Beckham's performance in his first senior outing, Neville added: "I thought he did really well.

"I think the measure of his performance was that he was only planned to play 45 minutes, and he played nearly 80 minutes because he is a boy that is hungry.

"He has got a lot of pressure and expectations on his shoulders, but what he has got is he has got his feet firmly on the ground.

"He knows he has got a lot of development to do, and he has got all the right attributes, character, determination, good person, to have a really good opportunity of making it in professional football."

Who else is on Inter Miami's books?

Romeo Beckham is not the only offspring of an ex-England international to be working his way through the system at MLS outfit Inter Miami.

Neville's own son, Harvey, is also part of the set-up, taking in 15 appearances this season, but he is another that will have to put up with some tough love in order to reach the top.

"He knows when he is in this football club he is no different than any other player, and it is the same with Romeo," Neville, who has overseen a reversal in fortune for Inter Miami during the 2021 campaign, added.

Further reading

Kenya international Erick Ouma opened his account for AIK with a 33rd-minute goal on Monday to help them to a 3-1 over Goteborg in the Swedish Allsvenskan at Friends Arena.

The Kenya defender pressured substitute August Erlingmark to play a backpass which turned out to be short. The full-back sprinted, took the first touch before comfortably beating Giannis Anestis in the opponent's goal.

The Gnaw started the match on a high and were rewarded after just five minutes when Mikael Lustig found Nabil Bahoui inside the 18-yard area and the latter comfortably found the back of the net.

In the 13th minute, the forward completed his brace, this time around, connecting with a Henok Goitom effort. 

It took the Angels some time to settle, but they eventually did. With 25 minutes gone, Oscar Wendt beat his markers before feeding Simon Thern to pull a goal back.

Despite the first half seeing four goals, the second one had none despite a handful of chances created.

The win ensured AIK retained the top position with 40 points after 19 matches after winning 12 games, drawing four and losing three. They have further scored 29 goals and conceded 15 in the process.

Djurgarden are placed second with two points fewer. They have collected 11 wins, five draws and three losses, scoring 31 goals and conceding 15.

The third position is occupied by Elfsborg who have won 11 matches from the 19 played. They have collected three draws and lost five, scoring 34 goals and conceding 20; and as a result, they are on 36 points.

After Monday's defeat to the leaders, Goteborg are 11th on the table. They have managed just five wins this season, drawing seven matches and losing as many.

They have 22 points with a goal difference of negative two after scoring 24 goals and conceding 26.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has singled out forward Frank Onyeka for his defensive role that helped the team to secure a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

The Bees produced a resilient display at Molineux Stadium to emerge 2-0 winners after goals from Ivan Toney in the 28th minute and Bryan Mbeumo in the 34th minute.

At 2-0, the game turned into Wolves' favour after Brentford’s Shandon Baptiste was sent off in the 64th minute and four minutes later, Nigeria striker Onyeka was introduced, replacing Sergi Canos.

The 23-year-old resorted to playing from the back and Brentford held on to snatch their second win of the season, but what impressed their manager most is how Onyeka and the other substitutes defended well to the end.

“It says a lot about the players and also those coming off the bench in Zanka, Mads Roerslev and Frank [Onyeka] who were ready to step in, that Wolves had no shots on target,” Frank told the club’s official website.

“We have that defensive mentality where we want to press and defend as high as possible away from our goal, but we can also defend box when needed and that’s a massive thing we need to continue with.

“We defended very well with bodies on the line and made the pitch smaller with our willingness to run and work hard.”

Frank went further to praise his charges after the win: “I believe in my boys, in the team and the whole squad so surprising me is not the word. They constantly impress me because I know how much they are capable of and the potential they have.

“If people are surprised because we are a bus stop in Hounslow and we have the lowest budget by a mile, then I agree. But it’s impressive we have eight points after five games, three clean sheets – should have been four – and performed consistently well.

“I think it says a lot about the job we’re doing, but we’re also humble so we only celebrate for 24 hours, and then it’s back to work.”

The promoted side are placed ninth on the table with eight points and will next host Liverpool at Brentford Community Stadium on September 25.

South Africa head coach Hugo Broos has announced a provisional 34-man squad for the back-to-back 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Ethiopia.

Bafana Bafana are scheduled to face Walia Ibex away at Bahir Dar Stadium on October 9 before welcoming the East African side at the iconic FNB Stadium on October 12.

Broos has called up several youngsters, who represented South Africa at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games including SuperSport United defender Luke Fleurs, AmaZulu FC centre back Tercious Malepe and Goodman Mosele of Orlando Pirates.

While Cape Town City full-back Terrence Mashego has been rewarded with his maiden national team call-up having impressed with his outstanding performances for the Citizens this season.

Mashego's club teammate Mduduzi Mdantsane, SuperSport midfield maestro Jesse Donn and Thabani Zuke of Lamontville Golden Arrows are among the new faces in the Bafana squad.

Arrows keeper Sifiso Mlungwana, who failed to make the cut for the final squad for Bafana's clashes against Zimbabwe and Ghana last month due to weight issues, has also been named in the team.

Senior players such as Ronwen Williams, Siyanda Xulu and Percy Tau have kept their places in the squad, while Vincent Pule has been recalled to the national team after producing some good performances for Pirates this term. 

Bafana are sitting at the top of Group G with four points from two games having drawn 0-0 with Zimbabwe away at the National Sports Stadium in Harare, before beating the Black Stars of Ghana 1-0 at FNB Stadium.

Only the group wInners will advance to the next stage of qualifying and two victories over Ethiopia would see Bafana maintain their position at the top of the group with two matches left. 

Broos will whittle down his final 23-man squad on Saturday, September 25 in an announcement that will be live on SABC 1 at lunchtime (SA Time).

Bafana's Provisional 34-man squad:

Goalkeepers

Ronwen Williams (Supersport United FC)
Veli Mothwa (AmaZulu FC)
Bruce Bvuma (Kaizer Chiefs FC)
Sifiso Mlungwana (Golden Arrows FC)

Defenders

Sydney Mobbie (Sekhukhune United FC)
Thapelo Morena (Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
Njabulo Blom (Kaizer Chiefs FC)
Terrence Mashego  (Cape Town City)
Sifiso Hlanti (Kaizer Chiefs FC)
Vusi Sibiya (Baroka FC)
Rushine De Reuk (Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
Siyanda Xulu (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
Thibang Phete (Belenenses SAD)
Njabulo Ngcobo (Kaizer Chiefs FC)
Mosa Lebusa (Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
Luke Fleurs (SuperSport United FC)
Tercious Malepe (AmaZulu FC)

Midfielders

Thabani Zuke (Golden Arrows FC)
Mothobi Mvala (Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
Sphephelo Sithole (Belenenses FC)
Yusurf Maart (Sekhukhune FC)
Teboho Mokoena (SuperSport United FC)
Goodman Mosele (Orlando Pirates FC)
Ethan Brooks (TS Galaxy FC)
Jesse Donn (SuperSport United FC)

Forwards 

Thabiso Kutumela (Mamelodi Sundowns FC)
Bongokuhle Hlongwane (Maritzburg United FC)
Evidence Makgopa (Baroka FC)
Victor Letsoalo (Royal Am FC)
Luther Singh (F.C Copenhagen)
Percy Tau (Al Ahly FC )
Vincent Pule (Orlando Pirates FC)
Mduduzi Mdantsane (Cape Town City FC)
Tshegofatso Mabasa (Orlando Pirates FC)

Liverpool should "buy Raheem Sterling tomorrow" but Manchester United would also take him, insists Rio Ferdinand, who believes the Manchester City star is now in "the wilderness" at the Etihad Stadium.

Sterling has been a key part of Pep Guardiola's plans since signing for City from Liverpool for £50 million ($68m) back in 2015, helping the club dominate the English football landscape and emerge as genuine contenders in the Champions League.

However, the winger has fallen out of favour at the start of the 2021-22 campaign, starting only two of City's opening six games across all competitions, and Ferdinand believes he could end up seeking a transfer if his situation does not improve.

What's been said?

Sterling has been strongly linked with a move to Spain, but the former United defender believes a return to Anfield, or even a surprise switch to Old Trafford would be better options for the 26-year-old.

Ferdinand said on his FIVE Youtube channel: "If I’m Liverpool, I’d buy Sterling tomorrow … If I’m him, I wouldn’t go to Barcelona or Real Madrid right now, that’s why I said Liverpool … Man United will take him!"

The Red Devils legend went on to express his confusion over Sterling's recent decline, with it his belief that Guardiola is wrong for reducing his minutes.

"Where is Raheem Sterling? He’s lost confidence because he’s been taken out of the team," Ferdinand added. "He was the go-to guy when they needed a goal, for so many years, and now all of a sudden he’s in the wilderness.

"I’m baffled by it, I just don’t understand. With Pep, he gets things right more often than not, but with this one there must be clubs sitting there going ‘let’s see how this pans out because I would take Sterling all day!"

Sterling's City record

Sterling has appeared in 298 games for City over the past six years, recording 115 goals and 87 assists.

The England international has also won nine trophies at Etihad Stadium, including three Premier League titles, and helped them reach their first Champions League final in 2020-21.

Sterling could return to Guardiola's starting XI when City take on Wycombe in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, and will also hope to make his lineup when the Premier League champions travel to Chelsea at the weekend.

Further reading

Manchester United, Chelsea and any other suitor of Declan Rice have been sent another transfer warning by those at West Ham, with Hammers coach Kevin Nolan saying he "wouldn't sell for £100 million ($137m)".

David Moyes has made similar remarks in recent months, with those at the London Stadium reluctant to part with a prized asset that still has plenty of potential in his game to unlock.

Premier League rivals are ready to buy into that, and will dig deep in order to get a deal done, but Nolan believes even a nine-figure bid - with another British record potentially on the cards - would not be enough to land the talented England international.

What has been said?

Nolan told BBC Sport of Rice: "When you watch him play, he just seems in control of everything.

"For me, he’s going to get better. Putting a price tag on him, I wouldn’t sell him for £100m."

Will Rice get even better?

At just 22 years of age, Rice has already passed the 150-appearance mark for West Ham.

He has also undergone a positional change from centre-half to a holding midfield role and switched international allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to England.

There is, however, still the promise of much more to come, with Nolan excited about how far a man that helped his country to the final of Euro 2020 over the summer can go.

He added: "When you’re in the room with Declan Rice, you know you’re in the room with Declan Rice, but he doesn’t make you feel uneasy. He’s one of those kids who wants to learn, wants to get better, always willing to take advice on, always willing to try and get better and want to get better.

"The biggest thing for me as a coach is he listens to me, he respects me for what I’ve done, but I feel that this lad can go on and I feel he’s already done more than I have in terms of England appearances, being in Europe and things like that.

"He’s going to keep going because [of] his athleticism. He trains every day, he wants to train every day, he can hit it from one side of the pitch [to the other] with his right foot or his left foot.

"He can run with the ball, he’s got everything that you could possibly wish for as a footballer and plus he’s got a good footballing brain where he’s now learning for West Ham, and he’s done it with England, he’s now learning how to control games."

Further reading

Kepa Arrizabalaga has revealed that he is close with Senegal international Edouard Mendy despite the Chelsea rivalry between the pair.

Mendy, 29, was signed from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes in a £22m ($31m) deal as the six-time English top-flight kings sought to find greater solidity between the sticks as costly errors had crept into the Spaniard’s game.

The Senegal star has since proven to be one of the bargain signings, helping the Blues win the Champions League and the Uefa Super Cup.

The Spain international was brought into Thomas Tuchel’s side in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur after the African was unable to shake off an injury suffered against Zenit St Petersburg.

Asked how he gets along Mendy, Arrizabalaga said in his latest Chelsea interview: “Edou and I have a very good relationship.

“We are training together every day and support each other whoever is playing.

“You could see in the Super Cup the relationship we have, he was one of the first players to congratulate me after the penalty shoot-out and of course we celebrated together.

“Hopefully he can return to training soon from his injury.”

He also tagged his return to action as ‘perfect’, with a clean sheet and three points to show for his efforts against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men.

“I was really happy to help the team,” he continued.

“It’s been quite a while since I played in the Premier League, so I was happy for the opportunity to help the team.

“To come into the side in such a big game like this, a London derby, and to keep a clean sheet and get the three points, it’s perfect really!

“It was a London derby, so we knew it was a big game against a very good team, so to get the win was fantastic and we are all so happy.”

Meanwhile, manager Tuchel delivered an update on the injury which kept Mendy out of Chelsea's derby win at Tottenham.

"We tried throughout the week and on Saturday in training it was so-so,” he told the media.

"It comes from the last-minute kick against Zenit in the Champions League. 

"It is very painful and he did not feel 100 per cent comfortable going for a full stretch or to land on it. He didn't feel comfortable to fight at set-pieces or corners.

"So we decided to go with 100 per cent and that was Kepa and have Edou with us to be supportive and have good energy.”

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman says he does not want to speak about his future anymore after a 1-1 draw with Granada.

The Dutch manager conceded that "today's Barca is not the Barca of eight years ago" after the club needed a late equaliser from Ronald Arauajo after trailing for 88 minutes.

And, despite rumours that Koeman could be sacked if Barca fail to perform in the coming weeks, the man himself refused to comment on his own future.

What did Koeman say?

When asked about his role at the club going forward, Koeman simply replied: "I'm not going to talk about my future anymore."

'Not the Barca of eight years ago'

Reflecting on the match itself, Koeman said that he doesn't believe Barca have the players to play the way they needed to against Granada on Monday.

Pointing to several notable absences, the Dutch coach said Monday's game required a different style, especially after conceding just two minutes in and allowing Granada to strictly defend the entire rest of the match.

"Today's Barca is not the Barca of eight years ago," he said. "We played Barca's way, but we don't have the speed on the break because [Philippe] Coutinho goes inside, [Yusuf] Demir doesn't go too deep and that's the way it is. With Ansu [Fati] or [Ousmane] Dembele it's different, you have more speed, but you have to look for alternatives."

He continued: "Before the game you think about winning, especially at home, but our bad start made the game difficult for us. We didn't come in strong, it was our fault.

"The opponent, after scoring, wasted time from minute two, defended more, did not leave spaces and this is difficult.

"We improved during the game. We changed and we played with crosses from the wings. We put energy into scoring. We wanted more, but one point is better than nothing. We deserved the draw."

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