Sport

Manchester City reportedly want to re-sign Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona

He still has two years on his contract at Barca but it looks like the Blues want Gundo back.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 20th August 2024

In a surprise transfer twist, Manchester City reportedly want to resign Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona just a year on from leaving the club as a free transfer.

Having spent seven years at the Etihad Stadium and literally won it all with Man City, Gundogan is up there with the best players to have ever worn the sky blue shirt, and it now looks as though manager Pep Guardiola and co. are keen to bring him back.

The German international and treble-winner joined the La Liga giants last summer after coming to the end of his contract and failing to strike a new deal with City, an impasse which frustrated a good chunk of fans, but it no seems the 33-year-old is looking for an exit from the Catalan club.

Having completed just one full season for Barca and being one of the highest earners employed by the Spanish side, Gundogan is now said to have been given permission to explore options according to multiple outlets.

Given the Spanish side’s ongoing financial struggles, it seems there’s been little opposition to the prospect of the midfielder leaving, with interest from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Turkey – with Gundogan hailing from Turkish parentage – and, of course, the Premier League.

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The ex-City star and German Footballer of the Year for 2023 was left out of head coach Hansi Flick’s side for the opening game of the season, though he has insisted that he appreciates Gundogan as a player and as a person, insisting: “I have the feeling that he will stay.”

As for City, having been hit with a huge blow by losing Rodri for up to four months due to surgery, bringing their former captain back into the fold would present a pretty ideal solution to help take his place in the middle of the park for the time being.

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Guardiola brought in Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea as his replacement for around £25 in the previous summer transfer window, but having both in the same team to help cover the two distinct roles would be a very good plan B.

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Elsewhere, sidelined defensive midfielder Kalvin Phillips might have finally gotten the opportunity to stake a claim in the first team in Rodri’s absence, but the Yorkshireman has already agreed to join newly-promoted Ipswich Town on loan after limited game time over the last couple of years.

Pep himself has yet to address the reports of Gundogan’s return but it goes without saying that the comeback would be a welcome one from a City fan’s standpoint.

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Let’s put it to you then, Blues – it might be a somewhat stupid question but would you be glad to see City re-sign Gundogan and back under the floodlights at the Etihad?

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Featured Images — Steffen Prößdorf (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week

After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.

Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.

In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.

However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.

As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.

Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.

In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.

Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.

The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.

And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

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Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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