Manchester City have received a blow in their reported pursuit of Bayern Munich’s talented full back David Alaba.
Pep Guardiola’s side finished a long way behind Liverpool in the Premier League this season and are looking to close the gap when play finally resumes in 2020/21. One player they are reported to have targeted is Alaba, a 28-year-old who can play at left back and in the centre of defence.
Alaba is no stranger to Pep, having played under the 49-year-old at Bayern between 2013 and 2016. The Austrian international has been at Bayern for almost all his senior career, racking up close to 400 games and winning nine Bundesliga titles, plus a Champions League.
Guardiola’s pursuit of his former player has taken a blow though, as former Manchester City man Leroy Sane urged his new teammate to remain with Bayern and target Champions league success, as reported by The Independent.
“I really hope David stays,” the 24-year-old said after recently completing his own £54m move to Bayern.
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“I would like to play with him. He is a good guy, a great footballer, and we like each other privately. David has proven that he is not only one of the world’s best left-backs, but also exceptional in the centre.”
Real Madrid have also been linked with Alaba, but the Premier League has been a happy hunting ground for Bundesliga players in recent years and could make an attractive prospect for a player looking for a new challenge. Bwin’s post on which Bundesliga players could move this summer, details that Sane is one of three Bundesliga players signed by Manchester City and given a Champions League debut recent years, with Edin Dzeko and Ilkay Gungodan being the other two. In addition to that Kevin De Bruyne left Wolfsburg for the Etihad in 2015 and has won two Premier League titles, as well as five domestic trophies.
However, the chances of adding Alaba to that contingent may now have been significantly decreased as Guardiola looks to rebuild his squad. The 2019/20 season was something of a disaster for City, who failed to challenge Liverpool and retain the Premier League title. They did manage to get their Champions League ban overturned and are still hunting success on that front, carrying a 2-1 lead into their home fixture with Real Madrid in August.
The lure of Champions League football next season should ensure Pep remains in Manchester and it will allow them to expand their hunt for players as well. The 29-year-old Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly is another possible target, but with city rivals Manchester United also interested, there could be a battle for his services.
There’s little doubt Pep needs to strengthen at the back, with City leaking goals at crucial stages this season. The 2-0 defeat against Arsenal in the FA Cup typifies their porous back four, but defeats against Manchester United twice (2-1, 2-0), Tottenham (2-0) and Wolves (3-2), as well as draws with Crystal Palace (2-2) and Newcastle (2-2), truly dented their hopes of a third successive title.
With Manchester United in the ascendency and Liverpool looking for back-to-back wins, the club are facing the most important period in their recent Premier League history, with a rebuild necessary to remain in touch with their rivals.
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Masters Football isn’t just back – it’s coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
The much-loved Masters Football format made its glorious comeback in 2022, and since then, it’s been steadily rebuilding an audience of passionate fans, plenty of whom you’ll find here in the sporting city of Manchester – so it’s a good job the national tournament is heading our way.
That’s right, the official English Masters Football competition is coming to 0161 later this year and will be bringing a host of legendary North West talent from years gone by to take part.
Although the full squads and their team captains have yet to be announced, former professionals from Manchester United, Man City, Liverpool, Everton, and more will be lacing back up their boots.
Manchester Masters Football 2025 lands at the equally iconic AO Arena this September.
Credit: Publicity Pictures (supplied)
For anyone unfamiliar with Masters Football, which developed a die-hard following when it first ran between 2000 and 2011, is shorter, indoor-only six-a-side footy tournament similar to futsal.
Each team will feature eight retired players, and the games unfold in a round-robin format, with each match consisting of two eight-minute halves, meaning that both sides have a little over a quarter of an hour to score enough to make it past the other.
In addition to the quicker matches, they will battle it out on a 60m x 30m pitch – the same size of an international ice hockey rink – and whoever makes it through with the highest points will battle it out in a grand final to claim the Manchester Masters title.
As you can see, players set to star this year include ex-United and City defenders Wes Brown and Joleon Lescott, as well as Liverpool and Everton strikers Djibril Cisse and Yakubu Ayegbeni.
You can see some of the best moments from the year it officially returned to the UK down below:
The Manchester edition of the 2025 English Masters Football Tournament Series arrives at the AO Arena on Friday, 5 September.
Doors will open to the venue from 6pm, with the first match kicking off at 7pm, so you better have drinks and snacks in time for bums to hit seats.
As for tickets, there’ll be two chances at early access, first for Three+ mobile members at 10am on Wednesday, 2 April and then via the venue’s presale window at the same time the following day. General admission tickets will be made available, also from 10am, the following Saturday, 5 April.
The Manc -
28th July 2020 
