Manchester United could yet lose the race to sign Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat, according to reports, after they left him waiting despite agreeing personal terms with the midfielder.
Even as the Premier League season approaches, The Manchester club are yet to actually launch a bid for the Moroccan.
What's the latest on Sofyan Amrabat to Manchester United?
As per La Repubblica, via Sport Witness, Amrabat has had his bags packed and has been ready to go for weeks having already agreed a salary with United, but has been left waiting due to Manchester United's failure to make their first bid to Fiorentina.
The Red Devils may want to get a move on, however, given that Juventus' reported sale of Denis Zakaria to Monaco for €20m (£17m) has given the Serie A giants the money and squad space to pursue a deal for Amrabat this summer, according to Sport Mediset, via Sport Witness.
With that said, unless United speed up their negotiations, reports suggest that Juventus are now unexpectedly overtaking them in the deal to sign the Fiorentina midfielder this summer.
The Premier League giants have reportedly been weighing up a €25m (£22m) offer, in a saga that is expected to carry on until the final days of the summer transfer window.
Should Manchester United sign Sofyan Amrabat?
Fiorentina central midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
Given the fact that Manchester United will have Champions League football to contend with on top of domestic action in the forthcoming campaign, adding depth to their midfield wouldn't exactly be a bad idea.
So far this summer, Erik ten Hag has welcomed Mason Mount, Andre Onana, and Rasmus Hojlund in what has been a fairly successful window. Signing Amrabat would be the cherry on top, however.
Last season, the Red Devils were left without adequate backup for Casemiro on too many occasions, as the midfielder missed eight games through suspensions, alone.
In those eight games, United suffered defeats against both Newcastle United and Arsenal, with Ten Hag unable to plug the hole left by Casemiro.
That's where Amrabat could come in. Statistically speaking, the Fiorentina man is more than able to step into fill the void left by the Brazilian should it be needed.
Read the latest Man United transfer news HERE…
According to FBref, compared to Scott McTominay last season, Amrabat made over double the amount of progressive passes per 90, as well as more progressive carries, and enjoyed more goal involvements.
It is the type of depth that can result in trophies, making United's pursuit of Amrabat one which must end with the midfielder holding up the famous Red Devils' colours.
The Morocco international has earned plenty of praise in the last year, too, with Micah Richards saying on Match of the Day during the World Cup, via Manchester World: “It was the epitome of this team, brilliant. He’s been outstanding, not just off the ball, on the ball, dictating play, starting attacks from midfield. Great.”
Amrabat, of course, played a large part in his country's shock progression into the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, where they crashed out against France. If United can secure his signature and get such performances out of him at Old Trafford, then they'll have themselves some player.
The opening partnership, Babar Azam’s form, the middle-order positions and balance of the attack: Mickey Arthur has admitted he has a lengthy list of issues to resolve
Osman Samiuddin09-Oct-2017Before this series began, Pakistan were faced with a few questions. Some were familiar ones, like who should open. Others were new – who replaces Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan in the middle order, and how does that impact the order?Nine days into the series, 1-0 down to a side one place below in the Test rankings, and faced with the very real prospect of losing a long-standing unbeaten home record, coach Mickey Arthur admitted their answers to these questions were wrong.Arthur: It’s a bit of a worry. It is a worry. I’ve got a lot of faith in Babar because I think he is a very good player. But his white-ball form needs to start transforming into Test form. He’s had a very slow start to his Test career, for a player of his ability. I’m still confident that he will come through and that he will be a very good player for Pakistan going forward. We’ve just got to guide him through as best we can.”Arthur: It’s kept me awake at night to be honest. It’s tough. I thought we had it nailed I’ve got to be honest. I was comfortable that we had the right combinations. I was comfortable we had enough left-hand, right-hand combinations. I thought we had the next best batsmen available in Pakistan playing for us. I’ll be honest I’m not 100% sure now.And before we tour again, we’ve got a long break now before we go to England, we’re going to have to sit down and really apply our minds and have a look again as to what we think is our best top six going forward.Arthur: It’s still too early to say. I would’ve loved Asad to be playing the innings he is from No. 4 because that just solves the problem for us. With him going down to five, it throws up another conundrum for us because he’s playing so well at five, is that his right position? I’m not so sure. We’re going to have to really apply our minds going forward with what our right top six is.Arthur: In terms of rationale one of the things always pointed out about Pakistan cricket is that there hasn’t been any continuity. We’ve tried to get continuity with our players, albeit the right decision or the wrong decision. We’ve tried to create continuity – Pakistan cricket is synonymous with dropping players, bringing them back, dropping them again, bringing them back again. We want to give guys an opportunity and then we can make a proper decision on it.Has our opening partnership worked for us in this series? It probably hasn’t but that is something we’ll discuss going forward. The easy option would be Azhar going back up and that then opens another position at no. 3. At the moment we’ve got a lot of soul searching to do to figure out what our best top six is.Arthur: We just thought it was our best possible attack, whether that was right or wrong, it’s something I need to get my head around. I’ve come from and coached in places where pace dominates and wins games. I’ve got to get my thinking round these totally different conditions.Whether we like it or not though our attack has done a job. We should’ve chased down 136 in Abu Dhabi. Without a doubt. And then we would’ve said the attack has done its job.The other thing is, no disrespect to the spinners we’ve got because they’re young, but if it’s Yasir Shah and Saeed Ajmal, it’s a no-brainer. But we don’t have Saeed Ajmal as the second spinner. We’re working with a set of young spinners. Bilal Asif and Mohammad Asghar have worked the house down. Asghar will be good. When we give him that opportunity is something we need to look at. And perhaps the opportunity was here. Maybe tactically I messed up on that.Strategically when we set about looking at how we’d go about this, we asked for wickets that did a little bit more than they have done. We asked for a little bit more grass because that would nullify Sri Lanka’s spinners and give our quick bowlers an opportunity. Whether that can happen in the UAE, I’m not sure. Maybe that was a pipe dream as far as I was concerned. But that was our strategy going into the series.
In Vadodara, Subhranshu Senapati’s century sparked Odisha’s resistance against Baroda
ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2017Centuries from N Jagadeesan (101 off 150) and Yo Mahesh, who produced his second rearguard performance of the season, helped Tamil Nadu finish on 326 and secure the first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh in Indore. Madhya Pradesh, however, replied strongly in their second lead to end the day on 142 for 1 with Rajat Patidar (81*) and Shubham Sharma (41*) at the crease. Earlier, Tamil Nadu resumed on 191 for 6 and lost their overnight batsman Jagadeesan early on the day, who was bowled by Avesh Khan shortly after his second century. Yo Mahesh and M Mohammed, who scored 43 off 69 balls, then stitched together 92 runs for the eighth wicket. After Mohammed’s dismissal, Yo Mahesh had a handy partnership with R Sai Kishore and eventually finished unbeaten on 103, laced with seven fours and five sixes. Seamers Ishwar Pandey and Puneet Datey claimed three scalps each.Seamer Shardul Thakur’s five-wicket haul shot out Andhra for 215 and helped Mumbai secure a sizeable first-innings lead in Ongole. Mumbai’s batsmen, led by Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 95-ball 75, responded strongly in the second innings to finish the day on 190 for 4 and stretch the lead to 307. Resuming on 74 for 2, Andhra’s cause was helped by captain Hanuma Vihari (70) and Ricky Bhui (69) who put on 134 runs. But, their dismissals in the space of 4.2 overs helped Mumbai get back into the game. Eventually, Andhra slumped from 156 for 2 to 215 all out. Dhawal Kulkarni provided Thakur able support with three wickets.Subhranshu Senapati’s unbeaten second century was the centrepiece of Odisha’s resistance against Baroda as they went to stumps on 316 for 5 in their first innings in Vadodara. Odisha still have to wipe out a deficit of 187 runs, but with Senapati still at the crease, they might have reasons to remain optimistic. Resuming on 64 for 2, Odisha didn’t have the best of starts, though, as they lost Natraj Behera who was caught behind off Vishnu Solanki in the first over of the morning. Senapati, however, raised partnerships of 103 and 105 with Shantanu Mishra (46) and Biplab Samantray (55) before adding 44 runs in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership with Rajesh Dhupar.
Everton have been patching up their attacking ranks this summer as Sean Dyche looks to craft a competitive team for the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, but bolstering the backline is just as important over the next few weeks.
Dynamic attacker Arnaut Danjuma and exciting young striker Youssef Chermiti have both been signed while the veteran Ashley Young will be expected to instil some composure and fortitude across the Toffees ranks.
The defence wasn't the crux of last season's issues, with Everton finishing the season as the division's second-lowest scorers, but with Yerry Mina and Conor Coady departing the club this summer, a well-placed reinforcement would go down a treat.
What's the latest Everton transfer news?
Everton have been credited with an interest in a 24-year-old centre-half over the past few weeks, but may well have been dissuaded from making a bid given the player's £45m valuation.
That man happens to be Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah, as per the Evening Standard, who linked him with a move to Goodison at the back end of July.
Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…
However, according to a more recent report from Gianluca Di Marzo, the west London outfit have decided to place him on the market for a more reasonable fee, with his valuation depreciating to just €25m (£22m).
How good is Trevoh Chalobah?
The versatile defender only started 18 Premier League matches for Chelsea last season but completed an impressive 89% of his passes and succeeded in 63% of his ground duels. Impressive numbers for someone featuring so irregularly.
As per FBref, Chalobah ranks among the top 17% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for attempted passes, the top 17% for progressive carries and the top 18% for successful take-ons per 90, clear evidence that he would enhance the robustness and flow of the Everton defensive third.
The £50k-per-week ace would, coincidentally, follow in his confrere Kurt Zouma's footsteps with a move to Merseyside, with the Frenchman formerly completing a loan move to Everton in 2018 from Chelsea, though this time the Toffees would have the opportunity to seal a permanent swoop.
Zouma impressed for the Goodison Park side, keeping ten clean sheets from 32 matches across the 2018/19 league campaign, making 3.8 clearances and winning 65% of his aerial battles.
At present day, for West Ham United, the 28-year-old ranks among the top 2% of positional peers for clearances and the top 13% for goals per 90, but Chalobah boasts attributes to underscore his superior ball-playing skills and this could be vital for Dyche's side, instilling composure and fluidity at the back.
trevoh-chalobah-everton-transfer-premier-league
Having been described as "impressive" and as a "soldier" by former boss Graham Potter, Chalobah would bring the battling mentality to aid Everton in their pursuit of prospects above the bottom of the Premier League table, where they have spent much of their time over the past two campaigns.
As highlighted above, Chalobah is accurate in his ground challenges, which could be imperative this season, especially considering last term Michael Keane won just 54% of his ground duels and Coady only 56%. An upgrade, then, could well be sourced here.
It's perhaps telling that Everton's eighth-place finish in the year Zouma spent at the club has not been achieved since, and as such, Dyche might be wise to target another talented defender from Stamford Bridge to increase the chances of a successful season.
Newcastle United could be set to complete their summer spending spree by swooping for a struggling Premier League star, with Eddie Howe's side returning to European competition this year.
What defenders could Newcastle sign?
According to the Telegraph's Luke Edwards, Chelsea's Marc Cucurella is being considered for a loan move to St. James' Park alongside Arsenal's Kieran Tierney, with the respective left-backs currently on the periphery at their London clubs.
Cucurella signed for the Blues from Brighton & Hove Albion one year ago for no small sum of £63m, but has largely flattered to deceive at Stamford Bridge and does not look set to usurp Ben Chilwell from his position in the Chelsea defence.
Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…
Howe stated last week that he hopes for one more signing this month after completing deals for Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento, and as per the Telegraph's report, Cucurella could indeed complete the business.
How good is Marc Cucurella?
The 25-year-old joined Brighton from LaLiga side Getafe in the summer of 2021 after the Seagulls matched his £15m release clause, proving to be an incredible piece of business following his extravagant sale to Chelsea one year on.
He was hailed for his "brilliant" performances by former Brighton teammate Leandro Trossard, and earned an average match rating of 7.17 – as per Sofascore – during the 2021/22 campaign, completing 82% of his passes, averaging 1.2 key passes, 2.7 tackles and 1.9 clearances per outing.
Despite failing to reach the same lofty heights at Stamford Bridge, Cucurella remains an impressive player and still ranks among the top 8% of full-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 3% for tackles and the top 11% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.
The £175k-per-week gem would be the perfect option to share the workload with Dan Burn, who is solid and dependable for the Toon but offers a very different skill set to the marauding Cucurella.
Indeed, standing at 6 foot 6, Burn is not the most mobile but is resilient, and the variegated approach from the Spaniard could pay dividends as Newcastle look to compete across multiple fronts.
Such is his athleticism and attacking ability, therefore, that Cucurella could well prove to be the perfect option to bolster Barnes, who scored and assisted on his debut following his £39m transfer from relegated Leicester City.
Barnes' goal typified the best of his qualities and underlined just why Howe wanted his signature, darting past the shambolic Villan backline to latch onto Jacob Murphy's through ball and smack the ball past Emiliano Martinez, and with Cucurella's presence behind him, he could unlock the full scale of his potential.
Indeed, praised as a "livewire" by pundit Alan Hutton, Barnes scored 13 goals in the English top-flight last season despite Leicester's woes and ranks among the top 5% of attacking midfielders and wingers for goals per 90, and Cucurella's crisp passing, assured presence down the left flank and intelligent overlapping runs could well be crucial.
If Newcastle can wrap up a loan deal for the Spaniard, it would only enrich the pool of talent at the club, and the Magpies' chances of eclipsing last season's resounding feats could well be realised.
The India captain explains the need to independently assess each individual in the team for workload management and allotting time off
Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata15-Nov-20173:01
Over-practice leads to bad habits – Kohli
Since the start of 2016, no one has faced more balls in international cricket than Virat Kohli (4803), and no one has bowled more balls than R Ashwin (7032) and Ravindra Jadeja (6346).Imagine how much more Ashwin and Jadeja would have had to bowl had they also been limited-overs regulars in this time. Looked at this way, it’s clear why India have embarked on a rigorous rotation policy, particularly with their bowlers.On the eve of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Kolkata, Kohli was at pains to explain why exactly some players needed more rest than others. “Eleven players play the game, but not everyone would have batted 45 overs in the ODI game, or bowled 35 overs in a Test match,” he said. “The guys who are doing that regularly are the ones that need to be assessed, because the body takes that much to recover and it needs rest as well.”People only look at, ‘oh everyone has played 40 games.’ They don’t look at time spent on the crease, the number of runs that have been run between the wickets, the number of overs they have been bowling in difficult conditions: what are the conditions, what were the temperatures like, have the bodies recovered or not?”I don’t think people go into that analysis. From the outside, it looks like, ‘why are people asking for rest, everyone has played same number of games.’ But not everyone has the same kind of workload in every kind of game you play. People who have major workload, for example [Cheteshwar] Pujara during a Test season, he’ll have maximum workload because he’ll spend so much time on the crease. His game is built that way.”You cannot compare that to, say, a counterattacking player, because the workload would have been different. And purely because of the fact that we’ve built such a strong core team now of 20-25 players, you don’t want important players breaking down at important times for the team.”That is where the balance needs to be maintained going forward, because if you have too much cricket going on, especially guys playing all three formats, it is humanly impossible to maintain same intensity and same level of performance as you do in the earlier phase of the season. I think those details are very important when you consider workload management.”This is the second time in less than a month that Kohli has openly spoken about workloads. Given just how many balls he has faced over the last two years, Kohli too, at some point, will need time off. Though it hasn’t officially been confirmed yet, it’s likely he will get some rest during the second half of the series against Sri Lanka.”Definitely, I do need a rest,” Kohli said. “Why not? When I think of the time when my body needs to be rested, I’ll ask for it. I am not a robot, you can slice my skin and check, I bleed.”And when do all these balls faced, kilometers run between the wickets, and balls bowled cross the line into becoming too much cricket? Kohli felt he wasn’t the right person to answer that question, but agreed it was a valid question, and that it would be important to settle on an optimum number of games to keep players fresh and fans interested.”I don’t know. I mean, this question or this analysis has to be done over a period of time by asking the fans who watch the game,” he said. “As cricketers, someone watching the game is very different from someone being involved in the game. There’s no complacency, or you’re saying ‘I don’t want to play this game,’ or you’re standing in the crease with the bat in hand and you say ‘I don’t feel like batting.’ There’s no room for that – you’re going to get out and the team is going to lose.”So we’re in our top intensity all the time. This question will be better answered by fans who watch the game. I don’t know if there’s too much cricket being played or there’s repetition of same series happening or not. For us, as I said, it is about playing for the country. And we do what we’re presented with every time a new series comes up.”This analysis can be done. It definitely has to be taken into consideration, because you don’t want the fans to go away, not watching the game. So we’ve got to maintain the balance of how to engage fans, and at the same time keep players fresh and keep cricket exciting. And have very competitive cricket going around all through the year. It’s a very good question, and I think that point definitely will be discussed in the future.”
Only nine overs were possible in Mount Maunganui as West Indies continue to search for their first win of the tour
The Report by Deivarayan Muthu01-Jan-2018Match abandoned Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNew year, same old problems for West Indies. Their bowlers kept spraying the ball around, and Colin Munro shellacked 66 off 23 balls at a strike-rate of 286.95. Persistent rain, however, had the final say in the first international match of 2018. Play was called off after just nine overs at 10.05pm local time.Getty ImagesThe washout left West Indies still winless on the tour of New Zealand, after seven international matches and two practice games. The third T20I on Wednesday is their last chance to avoid going home empty handed.Munro had enjoyed a memorable start to 2017, smashing a 52-ball hundred against Bangladesh in Mount Maunganui. He then hit an equally brutal century in Rajkot in November to become the first batsman with two T20I hundreds in a year. On the first day of 2018, Munro threatened to rustle up his third T20I ton, after scoring New Zealand’s second-fastest T20I fifty off 18 balls, before ultimately holing out to long-on.Fourteen of the 23 balls that Munro faced travelled to the boundary, including three sixes roughly in the direction of cow corner. He scored 93.93% of his runs in boundaries – the highest for a T20I innings of 50 or more. The mayhem began when West Indies’ most efficient bowler Samuel Badree struggled to grip the wet ball in the Powerplay, and conceded four boundaries to Munro in two overs.Munro’s assault against Carlos Brathwaite and Kesrick Williams was like a volcano blowing its lid. He crunched the West Indies captain for four boundaries in four balls, before subjecting Williams to the same treatment. Then, the fast bowler tucked up Munro with the next ball and had him miscuing a loft to Rovman Powell at long-on.Glenn Phillips’ first-ball six suggested there would be no respite for West Indies. But Badree and Ashley Nurse gave away only 16 runs off the next three overs while dismissing the hero of the previous game – Glenn Phillips – and Tom Bruce. Phillips was pinned lbw by a front-of-the-hand slider from Badree, before Brathwaite pulled off a jaw-dropping one-handed catch at short midwicket to remove Bruce.Kane Williamson, who had taken a break from the limited-overs series after playing the opener in Whangarei on December 20, had contributed only a run-a-ball 8 to the 75-run stand for the second wicket with Munro. He then pulled what would turn out to be the last ball of the game for four. Andre Fletcher did not spot the ball in the deep and set off in the wrong direction, which summed up West Indies’ tour.In isolation, left-arm quick Sheldon Cottrell, who had the best economy rate among the seamers in the 2017 CPL, showed better direction in the first over, after rain had delayed the start of play by 20 minutes. He extracted movement under overcast skies and had Martin Guptill nicking behind with his fourth ball. He and the other bowlers then faced the wrath of Munro before the rain.
The third round of Premier League fixtures this season will see newly promoted Sheffield United welcome Manchester City to Bramall Lane on Sunday 27th August at 2pm GMT. So, we at Football FanCast have taken a look at everything that has ever gone on between the two clubs.
With two games on the board, a clear gap is already opening up between this duo as City are on 6 points and the Blades are yet to get off of the mark.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City got their title defence underway with a 3-0 victory over Burnley, a game that saw Erling Haaland pick up where he left off in front of goal, scoring a brace.
This was then followed up with a narrow win over Newcastle United, the only goal of the game coming from Julian Alvarez.
Sheffield United on the other hand have been on the receiving end of a pair of one-goal deficit defeats.
First it was against Crystal Palace on home soil and then a late Chris Wood header secured all three points for Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
It has to be said though, United’s goal in that game was a thing of beauty from debutant Gustavo Hamer, following his move over from Coventry City.
Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Who has the better head-to-head record?
Manchester City coach Enzo Maresca with Pep Guardiola.
As will be regularly mentioned, Manchester City are the dominant force in English football currently, but that hasn’t always been the case.
Sheffield United won the First Division title at the tail end of the 1800s, pointing towards the historic aurora that has always surrounded the club. Whilst City have won more of these fixtures than the Blades, it is closer than one would originally think.
Sheffield United wins
Draws
Manchester City wins
37
34
51
Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Who has more wins at Bramall Lane?
United just about take it when it comes to games taking place on their own patch, which has always been Bramall Lane. It is a stadium steeped in history and is the oldest major sports ground anywhere in the world.
Sheffield United wins Draws Manchester City wins 23 19 19 Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Who has more wins at Maine Road/the Etihad?
Manchester City’s story of their home ground is very different having played their games at Maine Road up until the early 2000s. City were there for 80 years and prior to that it was Hyde Road Football Stadium which they left partly due to a fire in the main stand.
More recently of course, the Etihad is the home of the European champions and it has seen so many iconic moments, most notably that Sergio Aguero goal against Queens’ Park Rangers.
Sheffield United wins Draws Manchester City wins 13 15 31 Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Who has the better cup record?
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Despite these being two teams have been around for years and years, their fates in the English cup competitions have only crossed paths eight times. Sheffield United have won half of them although the last time they met, a game which will be spoken about further down the line, went the way of the Manchester club.
Sheffield United wins Draws Manchester City wins 4 2 2 Sheffield United vs Manchester City: How have the last 5 meetings played out?
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
It isn’t all that surprising to see that Manchester City’s recent dominance stretches into their clashes with Sheffield United. 4 of these 5 games came in the Premier League and all went the way of the Citizens, as did their huge FA Cup battle.
22nd April 2023- Manchester City 3-0 Sheffield United:
The most recent meeting between these two was a major one as they crossed paths in the FA Cup semi-final, even though the Blades were a Championship side at the time. This will be delved into further in the famous fixtures section but given Manchester City’s treble-winning exploits last season, it is no surprise how this game went.
30th January 2021- Manchester City 1-0 Sheffield United:
A pattern is appearing in these last five games of Sheffield United failing to score but one has to give them their credit that three of the defeats were by a single goal. Gabriel Jesus, now of Arsenal, scored the only goal of the game at the Etihad en route to another top-flight title.
31st October 2020- Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City:
The reverse fixture in that season ended with the same scoreline. Spoiler alert but this time around it was a former Blade Kyle Walker who fired home the decisive strike up in Sheffield.
21st January 2020- Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City:
For large parts of the game, Sheffield United looked as if they could hold Pep Guardiola’s side to a goalless draw but an inevitable duo popped up and changed that. Kevin De Bruyne played in Sergio Aguero who made no mistake in finishing beyond the reaches of Dean Henderson after Jesus had missed a first-half penalty, breaking blades hearts.
29th December 2019- Manchester City 2-0 Sheffield United:
This is the only Premier League meeting in the last 5 games that saw more than one goal scored and it was only two, both of which going the way of the hosts at the Etihad. The aforementioned duo came to the fore again with second-half strikes from Aguero and De Bruyne securing three points for City against Chris Wilder.
Who has played for both Sheffield United and Manchester City?
England'sKyleWalkercelebrates after the match
Tommy Doyle (Manchester City 2019-current; Sheffield United 2022-2023)
A few players have played for both Manchester City and Sheffield United recently with a pair of them returning to the former after loan spells in the Steel City last year. The first of those two is midfielder Tommy Doyle, who was also a part of the England U21s side that tasted European glory earlier this summer.
After nearly a decade in the youth academy, Doyle graduated into the City first-team where he made one appearance for going out on his first loan. He went to Hamburger SV and Cardiff City before then landing at Bramall Lane where he of course gained promotion back to the top-flight.
James McAtee (Manchester City 2021-current; Sheffield United 2022-2023)
One year his junior at 20 years of age is James McAtee who was even more influential under the stewardship of Paul Heckingbottom. He made 37 league appearances and contributed 9 goals and three assists at a rate of one every 158 minutes which is hugely impressive.
This was McAtee’s first loan spell away from the Etihad and since returning, he made a brief cameo in the win over Burnley on the opening night of the season. He certainly has a very bright future ahead of him in the sky-blue shirt.
Kyle Walker (Sheffield United 2008-2009 and 2009-2010; Manchester City 2017-current)
Finally to a Manchester City stalwart who was formerly a Blade, Kyle Walker. He was born in Sheffield and came through their academy with immense pride. After just one year as a pro there he was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, although his first year as a Spurs player saw him loaned back to his hometown team.
Walker rose to prominence in a Tottenham shirt and since arriving in Manchester in 2017, has won all there is to win in the game for your club, the icing on top of course being last year’s Champions League success. Walker’s time with Sheffield United was one year away from crossing paths with that of the now former Manchester United captain Harry Maguire.
What is Sheffield United’s biggest victory over Manchester City?
Former Sheffield United loanee James McAtee.
26th October 1925: Sheffield United 8-3 Manchester City
The centenary of Sheffield United’s biggest win over Manchester City is nearly upon us and it is very unlikely that they will break this record in the next two years.
In 1925 with Halloween just around the corner in post-war England, the Blades romped to an 8-3 victory. Harry Johnson found the back of the net four times whilst his namesake Tommy was also on the score sheet for Man City. Meanwhile, Fred Tunstall chipped in with a Blades’ brace, one of which came from the penalty spot.
What is Manchester City’s biggest victory over Sheffield United?
21st August 1999: Manchester City 6-0 Sheffield United
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Manchester City’s largest win over Sheffield United came a lot more recently with the turn of the century just months away.
This clash actually took place in the Championship and a pair of legendary City names were amongst the goals. Paul Dickov and Shaun Goater are the two in question with Kevin Horlock also adding two first-half penalties in a 6-0 thumping at Maine Road, made all the more easy by United’s goalkeeper Simon Tracey’s sending off.
Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Key stats This will be the 11th league meeting between the two clubs in the Premier League era Manchester City haven’t lost to Sheffield United in their last five meetings Sheffield United haven’t scored in three straight home fixtures Sheffield United vs Manchester City: Famous fixtures
Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez.
22nd April 2023 – Manchester City 3-0 Sheffield United:
As has been alluded too previously, Manchester City disposed of Sheffield United on the way to their FA Cup glory last season. Remarkably, it was the now departed Riyad Mahrez who scored all three goals under the Wembley arch, booking City’s spot in the final to face their Manchester rivals.
19th March 1994 – Manchester City 0-0 Sheffield United:
The other famous fixture deserves notability for very different reasons. With both teams on the verge of being relegated from the newly formed Premier League table, City and United met at Maine Road in a true six-pointer. It ended goalless which favoured blue more than red and this shone through at the end of the season as Man City stayed up whilst Sheffield United went down.
Burnley boss Vincent Kompany is believed to be plotting a move for an attacker who plied his trade in the Premier League last term and he has him on a shortlist at Turf Moor, according to reports.
What's the latest news involving Burnley?
Last week, Burnley saw a bid of £17 million turned down for PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko as the Clarets continue their search for new arrivals that has yielded an extremely busy summer window at the Lancashire-based outfit, as per The Daily Mail.
Nevertheless, Liverpool, Everton and Crystal Palace are also keen on the 20-year-old and he could become highly sought-after in the final days of the window, as per Football Insider.
His future at PSV could be determined by whether the Dutch giants qualify for the Champions League group stages. Peter Bosz's men take on Scottish side Rangers in the play-off round second leg on Wednesday, with the tie finely poised at an aggregate score of 2-2, creating a winner-takes-all scenario at the Philips Stadion to secure entry into Europe's elite competition proper.
Burnley have already brought in a mass collective of new arrivals as Kompany looks to consolidate their place in the Premier League, with Lawrence Vigoroux, Zeki Amdouni, James Trafford, Michael Obafemi, Aaron Ramsey, Jordan Beyer, Sander Berge, Wilson Odobert, Dara O'Shea, Hannes Delcroix, Luca Koleosho, Nathan Redmond and Jacob Bruun Larsen signing on at Turf Moor, as per Transfermarkt.
Cited via The Burnley Express, former Manchester City icon Kompany has outlined his plans for the final stretch of the transfer window, stating when asked if anyone else could join Burnley:
"It depends who it’s up to. If it’s up to me, maybe not. But in the end we’ve really been able to attract a lot of players who we thought would be really exciting to work with, both in the short-term and in the long-term, with growth definitely everywhere in the club. If we can add to it, we’re not going to turn it down.”
Who else could Burnley sign?
talkSPORT claim on X that Burnley are targeting two high-profile forwards before the window closes on Friday – AC Milan's Divock Origi and Leicester City's Patson Daka.
"BREAKING: Burnley are trying to sign former LFC striker Divock Origi from AC Milan. The Clarets have also placed LCFC's Patson Daka on their shortlist of targets. – talkSPORT sources understand."
The Daily Mail claim that Bournemouth are also keen on Daka, who is valued at £25 million by his current employers, while Everton saw a loan bid turned down for the Zambia international earlier in the summer.
Leicester striker Patson Daka.
Daka has made 74 appearances for Leicester City, encompassing all competitions, registering 15 goals and eight assists in total, as per Transfermarkt.
Dubbed "brilliant" by former Leicester City striker Iwan Roberts in the past, £75k-a-week earner Daka ranks highly in regard to his positional peers across Europe's top five division in the art of assists, averaging 0.32 per 90 minutes in the last 365 days, putting him in the 97th percentile for this metric.
If he doesn't have a long-term future at the King Power Stadium, Kompany bringing Daka back to the Premier League could be an ideal solution for both parties if a deal can be struck, and it may be one to keep an eye on alongside Origi.
In the absence of the injured Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh have recalled Abdur Razzak after four years and have five other spinners in their squad. The visitors are likely to hand Akila Dananjaya a Test debut
The Preview by Mohammad Isam30-Jan-2018Big pictureBangladesh have picked six specialist spinners in their 16-man squad. It tells you what you need to know about the Chittagong pitch for the first Test against Sri Lanka. Spin is set to dominate proceedings as the two sides renew a growing rivalry following years of one-sided Tests.In the absence of Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh have gone as far as picking Nayeem Hasan from their Under-19 team in New Zealand, and recalling 35-year-old Abdur Razzak, who last played a Test in 2014. They have also picked the uncapped Sunzamul Islam and Tanbir Hayder in a desperate bid to beef up their spin attack.Sri Lanka will be more confident, having bounced back strongly to claim the tri-series title. They will also be buoyed by Dinesh Chandimal’s recent form: he made 366 runs in three Tests in India. Dhananjaya de Silva, meanwhile, will look to build on his fighting, unbeaten 119 in the Delhi Test.Akila Dananjaya, who was found a second wind in international cricket, could make his Test debut in Chittagong. The major threat for Bangladesh, however, is Rangana Herath, who has taken 41 wickets against the hosts at an average of 22.63.How the Bangladesh batsmen handle him will go a long way in deciding this series. Mushfiqur Rahim, perhaps, has handled Herath the best although he has got out to him three times in 11 innings. Mahmudullah, the stand-in captain, has struggled against Herath: he has been dismissed four times in five innings, having scored just five runs against Herath in 33 balls.But the likes of Tamim Iqbal, Mominul Haque and Mosaddek Hossain can be expected to apply themselves and occupy the crease for longer periods. On the bowling front, Mustafizur Rahman and Mehidy Hasan need to fire in the absence of Shakib.Form guideBangladesh: LLLWWSri Lanka: DLDWWIn the spotlightMushfiqur Rahim will be playing his first Test after losing the captaincy in December. There is also the possibility of the team management playing Liton Das as the wicketkeeper and Mushfiqur as a specialist batsman. Mushfiqur hasn’t played a Test without being a wicketkeeper and/or captain since 2006.Since suffering a glute injury, after making his third century in the Delhi Test in December, Dhananjaya de Silva has played only one first-class game. Can he prove his fitness and keep up his fine form in Bangladesh?Team newsWith Soumya Sarkar, Sabbir Rahman and Subashis Roy left out from the squad, Bangladesh need to make three changes. Tamim Iqbal and Mosaddek Hossain are set to slot into the batting line-up, but the team management’s biggest headache will be to pick three spinners out of six.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Imrul Kayes, 3 Mominul Haque, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Liton Das (wk), 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Nayeem Hasan/Abdur Razzak, 11 Mustafizur RahmanSri Lanka have to make at least two changes from their last Test. With Angelo Mathews sidelined with a hamstring injury and Sadeera Samarawickrama dropped, Kusal Mendis and Rangana Herath are set to return. There may be a toss-up between Lakshan Sandakan and Akila Dananjaya with the latter’s impressive performance in the ODI tri-series likely to fetch him a Test debut.Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne 2 Dhananjaya de Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 5 Roshen Silva, 6 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 7 Dilruwan Perera, 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Lakshan Sandakan/Akila Dananjaya, 11 Lahiru GamagePitch and conditionsThe presence of six specialist spinners in Bangladesh’s squad suggests what Zahid Reza, the Chittagong curator, will dish out. Chandimal also reckoned that the pitch will assist spin. The forecast is clear for all five days.Stats and triviaTamim Iqbal is 114 runs away from becoming the first Bangladesh batsman to reach 4000 Test runs.Suranga Lakmal is four wickets away from becoming the fourth Sri Lankan fast bowler to 100 Test wickets. He will join Chaminda Vaas (355), Lasith Malinga (101) and Dilhara Fernando (100).Quotes”The tri-series is over. Now we are playing a different format and situation. We have to play session by session in a Test match. Let’s not think about the ODIs.” “[Rangana Herath] is a wily old fox. He can do what he wants to do. He is a big asset in our team. We hope he is going to do his basics right. It will be challenging for Bangladesh.”