Sport
Man City agree £30m deal for Mateo Kovačić as Ilkay Gündogan prepares to leave for Barcelona
As one Champions League winner leaves, another one arrives.
Manchester City look to have got their transfer business underway this summer as they have reportedly agreed a deal with Chelsea to sign Mateo Kovačić just as outgoing captain Ilkay Gündogan prepares to leave the club after seven years.
There had been rumblings that both Gündogan and Bernardo Silva would be departing Man City at the end of the season and while there has been no more movement on the 28-year-old Portuguese international, it is reported his midfield partner has sealed a move to La Liga at the end of his contract.
Donning the armband and helping the club lift not on their first Champions League trophy but complete the treble this past season, they couldn’t have asked for a better parting gift.
With the Euro 2024 qualifiers now over, the 32-year-old is set to be unveiled as a Barca player imminently, joining the Spanish giants on a two-year deal with an option for another year.
City fans will no doubt be gutted to see Gündogan, having been one of their best players for the past couple of seasons, the board aren’t wasting any time in plugging the gaps (not that there really are any in that squad) as Pep Guardiola looks to have already found his replacement.
As Chelsea look to be off-loading a number of players to balance the books and restore some equilibrium following a campaign that was defined by too many signings and too few points, a key player in their own Champions League winning season, Mateo Kovačić, looks to be one of the first out the door.
The 29-year-old former Real Madrid man has won the UCL a total of four times, as well as winning the league in Spain and Croatia, not to mention multiple Supercups and Club World Cups, which makes a reported £30m deal and even better bargain.
Better still, he’s about as like-for-like a replacement as you could hope for, playing a very similar shuttling role as Gündogan has for the last few years, able to play further forward in the number 10 role and also as a defensive midfielder if needed.
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It looks to be a deal that suits everyone all-round and while City are obviously loving a fan-favourite of great talent, you wouldn’t see many people turn their nose up at signing Kovačić for under £50m.
It goes without saying that there aren’t many more players City actually need, but with the Blues reportedly set for the “biggest transfer budget in history“, we expect this won’t be the last bit of business they do.
Who would you like to see make the move to the Etihad?
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Featured Image — Steffen Prößdorf (via Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Both Manchester United and Manchester City named as teams with the least amount of local fans
Emily Sergeant
Both Manchester United and Manchester City have been identified as being teams with the least amount of local fans, according to a new survey.
We all know that supporting a local team can be seen as a mark of credibility among a certain kind of football fan, while on the flip side of that, not following a local team is often associated with being a ‘glory hunter’. But which Premier League clubs have the highest – and lowest – proportion of supporters living close to home?
Well, YouGov decided to use its profiles data to analyse the fanbases of all 20 Premier League clubs for the 2026-27 season to get the answer to this once and for all.
And it’s fair to say that it’s not looking the best for the Manchester teams.
The study found that, overall, Brighton & Hove Albion is the Premier League’s most local team – with 56% of fans based in the South East.
Sunderland (50%) and Nottingham Forest (49%) supporters are the next-most likely to live in the same region as their teams, followed by Aston Villa, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Fulham, Hull, and Crystal Palace fans rounding out the top 10.
At the other end of the table, Manchester United has the second-lowest proportion of local supporters, with only a quarter based in the North West (23%), with one in six (17%) actually living in London instead.
And then as for Manchester City – who are widely considered to be the most successful team of the modern era – it has ranked fourth-bottom for local fans, as a quarter of the club’s supporters are based in the North West, with a fifth based in London (19%).
But although both United and City have found themselves towards the bottom end of the ranking, they are not the worst offenders.
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That title, unfortunately, does belong to another North West team though – Liverpool.
Liverpool is the club with the lowest proportion of ‘local’ supporters, as just a fifth are based in the North West (21%) with the next highest concentration of fans can being found in London.
Featured Image – Johnny Gios (via Unsplash)
Sport
Manchester Storm game postponed just one week after AO Arena return due to ‘technical issue with the ice’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Storm’s second game back at the AO Arena had to be postponed over the weekend due to a ‘technical issue with the ice’.
The ice hockey team made a record-breaking return to the venue earlier this month, attracting some 11,000 fans to watch their match against Sheffield Steelers.
But just one week later, as Manchester Storm prepared to face off against The Nottingham Panthers, the game had to be postponed.
Fans were already inside the legendary venue when a ‘technical issue with the ice’ became apparent and the game was called off.
Manchester Storm and the AO Arena said they ‘sincerely apologise’ to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption.
The game has now been rescheduled to Wednesday 14 October, with tickets valid for the new fixture.
The full statement read: “Unfortunately today’s Manchester Storm game vs The Nottingham Panthers has been suspended due to a technical issue with the ice.
“We sincerely apologise to supporters and ticket holders for the disruption and would like to thank everyone in attendance for their patience.
“We advise attendees to retain their tickets which will remain valid for the rescheduled fixture.
“Those with single-game tickets for this game and seeking a refund are advised to contact their point of purchase.
“The rescheduled game will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026.
“Manchester Storm and AO Arena would like to thank attendees for their understanding.”
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Featured image: Supplied
Danny Jones -
22nd June 2023 
