We’ve a report on a suggested Lyon target, plus the Premier League law changes for next season and the City players featured in the most expensive XI on the planet.
Let’s begin with Football Insider who believe the champions and Spurs are focused on bringing a Ligue 1 star across the English Channel this summer.
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They write: “Manchester City want to blow Tottenham away to sign Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele this summer, Football Insider understands.
“Football Insider revealed this week that Spurs are ready to increase their bid for the France international to a club-record £50million as well as offer him a staggering £200,000-a-week contract.
“A City source has told Football Insider the Premier League champions also have a strong interest in Ndombele and learned it would take a figure in the region of £70m to convince Lyon to sell him.
“Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the midfielder, who made such an impression for Lyon during their Champions League group stage matches against City last autumn.
“Ndombele shone in both games, one of which was won by the Ligue 1 club and the other drawn, and the manager is convinced he has the ability to thrive in the Premier League.
“It is a stance shared by Mauricio Pochettino, who has made the six-times France international one of his priority summer targets as he looks to beef up a midfield weakened by the January sale of Mousa Dembele.
“Lyon have made it clear they are open to negotiating the sale of Ndombele, but will refuse to sell him for less than their valuation.
“That could be a major issue for Spurs, who do not have the financial muscle of City and would have to completely smash their current club-record £42million payout for Davinson Sanchez two years ago to win the race.”
Elsewhere, and though not City-specific, Sky Sports’ feature on the rule changes for 2019/20 is well worth a read.
They report: “Do not get caught out on any of the Premier League’s new rules coming in next season - stay clued up with our handy guide.
“Major changes are being introduced to the way handball is penalised, goal kicks are taken and even how red cards can be turned into yellows.
“The new rules have been introduced by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which meets each year to decide on any future changes, and consists of representatives from the English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish football associations, as well as FIFA.
“Here, we look at what the IFAB have come up with...
“Handball: Old law: Handling the ball must be deliberate. The two things taken into account are the movement of a player’s arm towards the ball and the distance between them and whoever last played the ball.
“New law: If a player deliberately touches the ball they are penalised, but a foul will also be given if they create a chance or score a goal from an accidental handball. Any incident where a player’s arms have been raised above shoulder-height is also likely to be given, or if they have made their body ‘unnaturally’ bigger.
“VAR: Old law: For any infringement or stoppage the referee’s decision is final, although they may overturn it before play restarts.
“New law: Goals, penalties, red cards and cases of mistaken identity will be taken on by VAR in the Premier League, having already been adopted in competitions including the Champions League, FA Cup and World Cup.
“Each referee will be assisted by a team of VAR assistants at Stockley Park, the Premier League match officials’ base, who will advise them on those situations, but they will also be able to review decisions through a television screen on the touchline.”
Read the rest of the law changes here.
Finally, The Mirror focus on a study of the most valuable footballers in world football.
You can make your own judgements on this as the Mirror fashion their own starting XI – three City players make the cut but you have to wonder about an XI that DOESN’T include Ederson or Kevin De Bruyne – to name just two.
Find out the Blues who are included as the Mirror write: “Got a spare £1.4billion lying around? Well you can buy this lot then.
“Any ambitious football club owners need to read on, as what follows is the most expensive XI that money could buy you today.
“That isn’t our opinion though, but the opinion of the good people at the CIES Football Observatory.
“That’s right, everyone’s favourite football observatory have compiled a list of the top 50 most expensive players in the top five leagues (the top-flights in England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, as if you didn’t know), taking into account things like age, contract length and position to give what looks to be a fairly accurate transfer value for each player.
And we’ve taken that list, looked at for a bit, had a bit of an argument and knocked it into what we feel would be a working XI that would surely have a more than decent chance of winning the Champions League. Especially as five of them have only just gone and won it the other week.
That’s where we’ll leave it today. Back tomorrow with more of the same…
