Sport
Manchester City’s Cole Palmer ‘undergoing medical’ ahead of £45 million Chelsea move
While Pep made it apparent he's a big fan, the London club look to have offered enough cash to secure his signature.
Manchester City’s Cole Palmer is reportedly undergoing a medical today ahead of his move to fellow Premier League side Chelsea.
The 21-year-old winger and attacking midfielder has excelled throughout Man City‘s youth ranks and has already impressed in the 25 senior appearances he made across all competitions last season, seeing him find his way onto the bench more regularly at the start of this new campaign.
Having most recently scored in the Community Shield and during the UEFA Super Cup over the past month — both in fine fashion, might we add — City fans have been enjoying seeing the local youngster make the most of his cameos but look to soon be saying farewell.
Chelsea launched their first bid earlier this week and after agreeing on an estimated £45 million fee (£5m being add-ons) for the Wythenshawe-born youngster, the likes of David Ornstein, Fabrizio Romano and more are reporting that Palmer is undergoing his medical today (Thursday, 31 August).
Manager Pep Guardiola insisted that he has been impressed with Palmer thus far, adding that “he showed character” in the Super Cup and did well to not only put more established defenders through their paces but score a crucial goal as well.
However, when questioned about his future, the Spaniard accepted that he will obviously want to play more regularly this year but added the caveat: “I don’t think a loan is going to happen. He’s going to stay or he’s going to be sold.”
Now, just 24 hours later, it looks as though the latter is the case and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino is about to secure his 11th signing of the season as they begin yet another season of expensive restructuring, with several other players heading out the door.
How much Palmer will actually feature in what is still such an oversaturated squad remains to be seen.
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With personal terms also already said to be agreed, Palmer to Chelsea is expected to be confirmed by both clubs imminently, though the specifics of his contract and weekly earnings etc. are still yet to be revealed.
What do we reckon, Blues, would you rather he’d stayed and tried to fight his way into the first team more regularly a la Phil Foden or is it the right move for him?
From news out soon-to-be-announced outgoings to other incoming this summer, it was also confirmed yesterday that the club had agreed on a fee just shy of £50m for Wolves midfielder Matheus Nunes, with another City youngster, Tommy Doyle, heading the other way.
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Featured Image — Cole Palmer (via Instagram)
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 -
31st August 2023 
