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Manchester City have the chance to bolster their ranks this winter

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Manchester City are ‘exploring’ a deal for Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov before the end of the January transfer window, according to The Athletic. The report adds that the player is also attracting ‘interest’ from fellow Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United this winter.

He is said to be valued in excess of €40million (£33million) meaning Pep Guardiola’s side would have to fork out a big fee to try and lure him to the Etihad Stadium over the coming weeks. The 20-year-old is an Uzbekistan international with 18 caps under his belt.

City could see him as someone to bolster their defensive ranks and provide more competition and depth to their options at the back. However, they will need to see off competition from rivals Spurs and Newcastle for his signature.

Manchester City eye Abdukodir Khusanov deal

Khusanov joins Lens back in 2023 and has since become a key player for their first-team. Prior to his move to the French outfit, he caught the eye playing in Belarus for Energetik-BGU and played 37 matches, chipping in with four goals.

The youngster is under contract until 2027 meaning his current club are under no pressure to let him leave and can wait for the right offer to come in for his services. He has played 16 matches so far this term, 13 of which have come in Ligue 1.

It has been a tough campaign for City so far and they will be eager to hit some form to rise up the league. A new signing or two would help lift their spirits ahead of their upcoming schedule.

Manchester City target Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush

City are ‘pushing’ for a deal to sign attacker Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt. According to The Telegraph, they want to snap up the Bundesliga ace for £50million to boost their attacking options.

The 25-year-old has caught the eye over in Germany over recent times. He has scored 13 goals in 15 league matches so far and has been in impressive form.

In terms of City’s transfer plans, Guardiola said last week: “I don’t know right now, it’s not easy. It will not be easy. Maybe we sign, maybe we don’t sign anyone. The club has to be wise. Don’t do it just to do it. We want to add players for the situation that we have because the players have consistent injuries many times. Club has to do it but I’m not sure if it will be possible.”

They beat West Ham 4-1 at home last time out and are sat in 6th place in the table. They are back in action this weekend in the FA Cup against Salford City. Speaking after their win over the Hammers, Guardiola said: “We saw in eight or nine years our level, and that was not our level. We won and we are so happy, but the performance was not good. You cannot ask me if Manchester City are back, because if you saw the game, we’re not.”

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The EFL has released details of when the draw for the next round of the Carabao Cup will take place.

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The EFL has released details of when the draw for the next round of the Carabao Cup will take place - with Manchester United preparing for their trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.

Ahead of that match, and three other quarter-final games that will be played over Wednesday and Thursday, the EFL have announced that the draw for the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup will take place following the conclusion of United’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

That match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will kick-off at 8pm on Thursday night, meaning fans will likely have to wait until well after 10pm to see who their side will play in the final four. The clash between Ruben Amorim and Ange Postecoglou’s sides is the only tie set to be played on Thursday with Arsenal v Crystal Palace (7:30pm kick-off) and Southampton v Liverpool (8pm kick-off) to be played on Wednesday night alongside Newcastle United v Brentford.

The draw for the semi-finals will be broadcast on Sky Sports with Izzy Christiansen and Jamie Redknapp set to draw the balls alongside Mark Chapman as host. Ange Postecoglou has eased injury concerns regarding defender Destiny Udogie ahead of Tottenham's Carabao Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United later this week.

Tottenham geared up for their huge cup tie with an emphatic 5-0 victory away at Southampton on Sunday night, just hours after United came from behind to defeat Man City at the Etihad Stadium in dramatic circumstance.

Udogie played a key role in Tottenham's fourth goal of the night, but was eventually replaced by fellow full-back Pedro Porro after he felt some tightness in his leg. Postecoglou will hope to have the 22-year-old available when they face United on Thursday night and revealed his withdrawal was little more than a precautionary measure.

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Manchester United picked up all three points over the weekend

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Manchester United beat Everton 4-0 at Old Trafford in Ruben Amorim’s first home game in charge. The Red Devils were too strong for the Toffees.

They will be looking to keep their momentum going over the coming weeks. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours regarding the club...

Attacker wanted

United are showing a ‘serious interest’ in Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Omar Marmoush ahead of the January transfer window and have sent ‘scouts’ to watch the player in action in the Bundesliga, according to The Mirror. The report claims that Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and PSG are also admirers of the £60million-rated star, whilst Nottingham Forest are said to have had two bids rejected for him in the summer.

Marmoush, who is 25-years-old, is under contract at Frankfurt until June 2027 so they are under no pressure to sell him this winter and can wait for the right offer to come in for his signature if they are to even considering letting him go. He has scored 17 goals in 19 games in all competitions so far this season, 13 of which have come in the league.

He started his career in Egypt at Wadi Degla and rose up through their academy before breaking into their first-team as a youngster. The forward subsequently emerged on the radar of clubs in Europe and was snapped up by Wolfsburg in 2017.

The Cairo-born man initially played for the B team at the Volkswagen Arena before he went on to find the net on six occasions in 48 outings for their senior team. He also had loan spells away at FC. St Pauli and Stuttgart to get some experience under his belt.

Frankfurt took a gamble on him last year and it has worked out well for them. They are now likely to get a big fee for him when he eventually does move on and United could see him as someone to add more quality to their attacking department and provide competition to likes of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund.

Left-back latest

Liverpool are rivalling United in pursuit of AFC Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, according to CaughtOffside. He is also said to have caught the eye of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund over recent times.

The defender scored his first goal for the Cherries in their latest fixture away at Wolves during their 4-2 win. He said afterwards: “I think we needed to win today. So, we came with a great mentality and the lads did everything. We were aggressive, we were covering the spaces as wellm we were together. So, I’m really happy with the whole team.”

Regarding his goal, he added: “Tav (Marcus Tavernier) was great, (he) waited for me. I shouted to him, he waited to the last second and the guy stepped, thought Tav was going to shoot. Excellent pass from Tav and (there’s) no thinking when yoy get that close to goal. And I wanted to score my first one, so I’m really happy about it.”

Manchester City’s losing run stretched to five games on Saturday as Tottenham Hotspur came away from the Etihad with an incredible 4-0 win.

It’s a run that ends City’s long unbeaten run at home - that had been in place since before the 2022 World Cup - and is an alarming escalation of the champions’ underwhelming campaign to date.

City had hoped for an immediate post-international break bounce and with several key players back from injury and the club basking in the news of Pep Guardiola’s recent contract extension - a return to winning ways felt entirely possible. Rodri’s return with his Ballon d’Or trophy - accompanied by a pre-match light show and video montage - certainly whipped up the home fans ahead of the game.

And it seemed to translate to the players in the early stages, with City demonstrating the sort of poise and penetration that has been often missing without Rodri this season. Erling Haaland twice went close in the opening 12 minutes, the latter stopped via an excellent save from the feet of Guglielmo Vicario.

It proved to be a pivotal moment as a minute later the visitors went ahead. Josko Gvardiol failed to deal with a ball into the wide areas and Dejan Kulusevski pounced. The Swede’s excellent cross was tapped in by James Maddison at the back post after Ilkay Gundogan failed to track his run.

The goal changed the momentum in the game. Suddenly there were misplaced passes, a buzz of irritation around the ground as Spurs began to move the ball with greater confidence. Ederson had to be on hand to keep out Heung-min Son’s curled effort, but two minutes later had to again frustratedly pick the ball out of his goal.

It was Maddison with a second after another Gvardiol error. This time he mindlessly passed inside and ceded possession in his own half. Maddison intercepted, laid the ball to Son, who then slipped it back into the former Leicester City man’s path before he sublimely clipped it over Ederson.

An inability to defend cohesively has been a recurring theme this season, as has City’s unwanted habit of failing to convert chances. Phil Foden poked over after some neat build-up, Haaland curled off target and Savinho saw a low driven effort saved, but there was no breakthrough strike before the break.

Two seasons ago City had trailed by the same scoreline at the break but came back to win. There was no repeat this time around. When the next goal came, it Spurs who netted after they again sprinted in behind the City backline, and Dominc Solanke laid the ball back for Pedro Porro to smash beyond Ederson.

City were shell-shocked, the drive and determination had left a side renowned for producing spirited displays. Haaland hit the bar but it was the only real chance of note City produced in the the first 30 minutes of the second period. It was Spurs who carried the threat; Ederson denied Kulusevski with a superb stop in the 66th minute.

City did liven up in the latter stages with Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Haaland creating scoring opportunities - none of which were converted. Instead, it was Spurs who got another. This time Timo Werner flew down the City right and tapped it across for Brennan Johnson to score the simplest of tap-ins.

It was a day to forget for Guardiola and raises serious questions about this side’s ability to challenge for the title this season. Here’s how we rated the City players...

Pep Guardiola might have to wait and see how his players return from the international break before selecting his line-up to take on Tottenham Hotspur this weekend.

Manchester City return to action following the two-week pause with a home game against Spurs in the Premier League. They have typically been tough opponents for Guardiola over the years, as highlighted by the 2-1 defeat in North London just three weeks ago.

That was the second match of City’s four-game losing streak prior to the international fixtures, along with defeats against Bournemouth, Sporting Lisbon and Brighton & Hove Albion which inflicted on Guardiola the worst run of his career in England.

Spurs are not the sort of opponents that City will have wanted immediately after the international break, albeit Ange Postecoglou’s side lost to Ipswich Town in their last outing. The champions have lost four of their last eight meetings against Tottenham, who earned a credible 3-3 draw at the Etihad in this fixture last season.

The availability of Guardiola’s squad will go a long way to deciding whether City slip up again this time. Up to 12 players had some form of injury concern hanging over them at the start of the break, a huge factor in the club’s recent run of form.

But with several players returning and news expected imminently on Guardiola’s new contract, there’s already a rejuvenated feeling to the team after a much-needed pause in the campaign. With all that in mind, here’s how we think City will line up this weekend…

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A Tottenham Hotspur star will miss upcoming games against Manchester City and Manchester United.

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been handed a lengthy suspension after he was alleged to have made racial slurs aimed at Spurs teammate and captain Son Heung-min.

The ban relates to an incident where Bentancur was speaking to the media in Uruguay back in June. He was asked by the presenter of the show for a Tottenham shirt, to which he replied: ‘Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same.’

Following this, the 27-year-old issued an apology to his followers on social media, condemning the comments he made stating that they were a ‘very bad joke’. Additionally, he also personally apologised to Son. Bentancur will miss no less than seven domestic games as a result of the ban. This will include Tottenham’s Premier League game against Manchester City on November 23 and their clash with Manchester United in the quarter finals of the League Cup on December 19. As well as this, he has also been fined £100,000 by the FA and will be required to attend a ‘face-to-face education programme’.

Bentancur will also miss games against Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton and Liverpool. He will, however, still be available to play in the Europa League during this period as the ban is only applicable to domestic competitions. The Uruguayan international has been an important player for the Lilywhites so far this season and losing him for seven games will be a massive blow for Ange Postecoglou’s men. Thus far, Bentancur has made 15 appearances in all competitions for Spurs, scoring a single goal and notching up a solitary assist along the way.

Prior to his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Bentancur played for Boca Juniors and Juventus. He is a senior Uruguay international - at the time of writing, he has picked up 66 caps for his country, scoring three goals along the way. As such, Spurs could be short of options in the middle of the park when they play the two Manchester clubs - Pape Matar Sarr will likely take his place in the box-to-box role.

What has the FA said following the decision to hand Bentancur a ban?

The FA’s full statement on the matter reads as follows: “An independent Regulatory Commission has imposed a seven-match suspension and £100,000 fine on Rodrigo Bentancur for a breach of FA Rule E3 in relation to a media interview.

“It was alleged that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder breached FA Rule E3.1 as he acted in an improper manner and/or used abusive and/or insulting words and/or brought the game into disrepute. It was further alleged that this constitutes an ‘aggravated breach’, which is defined in FA Rule E3.2, as it included a reference – whether express or implied – to nationality and/or race and/or ethnic origin.

“Rodrigo Bentancur denied this charge, but the independent Regulatory Commission found it to be proven and imposed his sanctions following a hearing. Its written reasons for these decisions can be seen below.“

A wave of recent injuries is threatening to derail Manchester City’s 2024/25 campaign.

An early-season stumble isn’t exactly uncharted territory for City and in recent years it’s often taken a herculean run of results in the second half of the season to win the title, but the team’s current form is particularly alarming. Indeed, a run of four losses against Tottenham Hotspur, Bournemouth, Sporting Lisbon and Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the international break is the worst during Pep Guardiola’s premiership.

“I think everybody needs [the international break],” the City boss said in the wake of Saturday’s loss at the Amex. “I think in our heads, it will be good for all of us; for the players, for ourselves, but especially for Ruben [Dias] to come back, hopefully John Stones comes back, and hopefully the other players.”

Dias and Stones were among the eight players who missed the game, while there are 12 injury concerns at present. To underline the severity of the problem, five players dropped out of their various international squads on Monday.

It leaves City with just nine representatives over the upcoming games, with Ederson, Stefan Ortega, Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol, Mateo Kovacic, Bernardo Silva, Savinho and Erling Haaland called up by their countries.

Guardiola will be hoping they all emerge unscathed from the final international fixtures of the year, and that several more are back for the next City game on 23 November against Spurs, before facing Feyenoord and Liverpool. Of the 12 injury concerns, it’s possible 10 might be fit when club football resumes. We’ve rounded up the latest on every single player suffering from injury at present…

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Manchester United picked up a point over the weekend in the Premier League

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Manchester United drew 1-1 with Chelsea on Sunday afternoon. Bruno Fernandes scored their goal from the penalty spot against the Blues but it was quickly cancelled out by Moises Caicedo’s impressive volley from the edge of the area at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils are preparing for life under new boss Ruben Amorim. With that in mind, here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours coming out of the club....

Striker latest

Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres doesn’t plan to join Amorim at United anytime soon, according to a report by Portuguese news outlet Record. The attacker has no intention of moving to the North West club at this moment in time and is focused on his duties with his current club right now.

Gyokeres, who is 26-years-old, made the move over to Portugal in July 2023 and penned a long-term deal until 2028. Therefore, Sporting are under no pressure to sell him anytime soon and can wait for the right offer to come in his for his services to consider cashing in.

He has been prolific for them since his switch and has scored 59 goals in 65 games in all competitions, 16 of which have come this season already. The Sweden international moved over to England in 2017 as a youngster from IF Brommapojkarna when Brighton and Hove Albion came calling.

Gyokeres spent four years at the AMEX Stadium and played eight times for the Seagulls’ first-team. He was loaned out to FC St. Pauli, Swansea City and Coventry City to get some experience under his belt before the latter snapped him up permanently.

The attacker was a hit during his days with the Sky Blues under former United man Mark Robins. He fired 40 goals in 97 outings to earn his transfer abroad to Sporting and he has since carried on his form under Amorim.

Left-back eyed

United have shown ‘interest’ in signing Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu ahead of the January transfer window, according to Football Insider. Fellow top flight teams Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea have also been mentioned as potential suitors in the report with it appearing that there could be a battle for his signature.

The 20-year-old is being tipped for a bright future in the game and could be a useful option for the Red Devils down the line if they were to lure him over to England. His position has been an area of concern over recent times due to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia’s injury issues.

Dorgu grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark, and started out at Husum Boldklub. He then switched to Nordsjælland and rose up through their academy ranks and represented them at various different youth levels.

Lecce then snapped him up in 2022 and he penned an extension to his deal last year running until 2027. He has broken into their first-team despite his tender age and has become a key asset. The defender has featured for the Serie A outfit on 45 occasions, 11 of which have come this term, and he has found the net on four occasions from the past as he likes to get forward.

Manchester City have an alarming injury crisis heading into this weekend.

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Manuel Akanji has said he expects to be ready to face Bournemouth this weekend and should be back in training today (Friday).

The Swiss defender was named in the starting line-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday but had to pull out at the last minute after suffering from an injury niggle in the warm-up.

Speaking after the game, Pep Guardiola said: “Akanji yesterday in the last action felt something muscular in the meniscus and today in the warm-up he didn't feel good. He said he could take a risk but I said no.”

But Sky Sports have since revealed Akanji is hopeful of returning this weekend. Reporter Anton Toloui posted on X: “Chatted to Man City defender Manuel Akanji earlier. He’s hoping to be back in training tomorrow and ready for Bournemouth on Saturday.”

The 29-year-old was one of seven players that missed the Spurs defeat in the Carabao Cup, while Savinho had to be replaced after suffering a foot injury during the match. Guardiola also revealed that Ruben Dias has been ‘struggling’ recently.

The City boss is likely to give an update on the fitness of his squad in Friday’s pre-match press conference, but has already confirmed that Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish won’t be back. Rodri and Oscar Bobb are long-term absentees.

City may have lost their first match of the season in midweek, but head to the Vitality on the back of an unbeaten league record that stretches back nearly a year. Guardiola’s side are top of the table, having amassed 23 points from seven games.

As for the Cherries, they sit 11th in the table and have taken points off two top-four teams in the last two weeks. Andoni Iraola’s side beat Arsenal in their last home game before emerging from Villa Park with a point last week.

Manchester City’s list of absentees moved up to eight on Wednesday, an alarming number given Guardiola’s small squad.

Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur will have concerned Pep Guardiola for several reasons.

The Blues were cut open too often, there were a surprising number of misplaced passes and City lacked their usual incision in possession. However, none of those were the biggest issue for Guardiola.

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The Catalan made his pre-match fears clear in Tuesday’s press conference: “No injuries, please.”

But that wish was dashed before a ball was even kicked at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Manuel Akanji was forced to drop out of the starting XI after sustaining a knock in the warm-up. “In the last action, he felt something in the muscular part of his body and today in the warm-up he didn't feel good,” Guardiola explained after the game. “He said, 'No I can take a risk', and I said, 'No, no risk’.”

With no Akanji, Ruben Dias was hastily prepared to start at the heart of defence alongside John Stones, but the Portugal international was at fault for the game’s first goal as he followed Brennan Johnson high up the pitch, leaving a huge gap for the opposition to attack into. Seconds later, Timo Werner tapped in at the back post to give Spurs an early lead.

That advantage was doubled when Pape Sarr curled in from the edge of the area and, although Matheus Nunes pulled one back before the break, City couldn’t find an equaliser in the second period.

The disappointing night was compounded when Savinho was replaced with what looked like a serious injury just after the hour. It was an innocuous moment, as Savinho’s cross deflected for a corner. He turned and jogged away, but minutes later was writhing on the ground in agony.

A stretcher was required and the Brazilian seemed in substantial pain as he made his way off the pitch. It looks unlikely that Savinho will be available to face Bournemouth at the weekend, and with Oscar Bobb, Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish out it means City could be without all four wingers for the trip to the south coast.

Guardiola confirmed post-match that Grealish is unlikely to be back in time, along with Kyle Walker, while no return date has yet been provided for Kevin De Bruyne’s ongoing injury woes. Rodri’s long-term absence could bring the number of players missing against Bournemouth up to eight. “Tomorrow we have two keepers and Erling Haaland for a training session,” Guardiola joked.

The only upside of Wednesday’s defeat was a positive impact from City’s youngsters. Nico O’Reilly played a part in the build-up to Nunes’ goal, Jacob Wright nearly found the back of the net in the second period, while late substitute Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was one of the team’s best performers during his late cameo. City fans might get used to the sight of the trio over the coming weeks, Guardiola has no other option.