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Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ettifaq soccer club named former England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard as its new manager, the

Nina Agdal and Logan Paul are engaged, Anthony Edwards got a huge extension, MLB Home Run Derby contestants revealed and more in the Roundup.

Bangladesh skipper Tamim Iqbal said he was still not "100 percent" fit to play but nonetheless planned to take the field when the one-day...

New Al Ettifaq manager and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is interested in bringing ex-teammates Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho to Saudi Arabia.

Brighton are ready to move on from their pursuit of Chelsea defender Levi Colwill and are now in talks with Ajax over Calvin Bassey.

The degenerative brain disease - chronic traumatic encephalopathy - is linked to contact sports.

There’s a sea of change sweeping over the Etihad Stadium this summer. Ilkay Gundogan has departed for Barcelona, while Aymeric Laporte is another set to leave for pastures new. Manchester City have a knack for selling players at the right time, so fans shouldn’t be too concerned at the departure of a clutch midfielder and a centre-back who was previously considered the best at Pep Guardiola’s disposal. Nevertheless, to remain competitive even the best need to evolve and City are no exception. Mateo Kovacic has joined from Chelsea to cover Gundogan’s exit, while the Champions League holders are eyeing up another Croat to bolster at the back. City are closing in on the signing of RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol in a deal that will make the 21-year-old the most expensive defender in history. The vultures have been circling the Red Bull Arena for the versatile defender for the best part of 12 months now, with Tottenham and Chelsea both credited with an interest in the youngster last summer. However, as Gvardiol’s profile rose, so too did RB Leipzig’s asking price with City blowing the pair out of the water in the race to land the Croatia international. It’s the versatility to Gvardiol’s game that would undoubtedly have appealed to Guardiola. In 14 Premier League matches last season, Guardiola used a three-man backline, with the idea being to supplement Erling Haaland with as many attacking players in support as possible, this largely stemming from the 2-1 loss at Manchester United back in January. The Spaniard, therefore, needed flexible performers at the back to operate in a four-man or a three-man defence where required in-game. John Stones is perhaps the best example of this interchangeability, the ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’ routinely shining at right-back, centre-back or central midfield, more often than not all in the same game. This meant the left-sided centre-back needed to either drift wide or tuck in where required, duties Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji both carried out well. That being said, Gvardiol is arguably a level above the pair, thus explaining City’s interest in the RB Leipzig man. In any Guardiola system, distribution is key. City build attacks from the back with goalkeeper Ederson and the defenders vital at setting the champions on the front foot. Gvardiol fits the bill perfectly having finished the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign fifth for passes per game (71.3) and with the ninth-best pass success rate (89.3%) to his name. In addition, the ability to pick a pass from distance will help City quickly transition from defence to attack, with the youngster returning a long ball pass success rate of 59.7% last season, that ranking 12th of the 112 Bundesliga players to have attempted 100 or more long balls. For a City side that ranked second for counter-attacking goals (7) behind rivals Manchester United (9) in the Premier League last season, Gvardiol’s ability to go direct where required will aid the former when they seek to break forward at speed, with Haaland, in particular, likely to benefit. This is particularly pertinent in that City ranked second for accurate long balls per 90 (28.4) in England’s top tier last term, so a defender to help place high for this metric will aid the Cityzens should they seek to go direct, as was evidenced during the 4-1 win over Arsenal back in April. In addition to distributing the ball well, Gvardiol is also a composed figure in defence, ensuring that any opponent who does seek to pressure the defender is unlikely to be successful in their quest. Indeed, of the 217 players to attempt 15 or more dribbles, none had a better dribble success rate than Gvardiol (88.9%) in the Bundesliga last season, so he’s calm under pressure and able to bring the ball forward where needed to help work the angles and fully maximise his vision. So, all in all, the perfect defender, right? Well... not quite. For all of Gvardiol’s qualities, opponents have proven to be able to get the better of the incoming centre-back in the air on more than one occasion. In fact, Gvardiol won just 55.8% of the aerial duels he contested in the Bundesliga last season, and teams will feel as though they can exploit this shortcoming as a means to get the better of City next season. That being said, City won the fewest aerial duels per 90 (11.6) in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, and that hardly impacted their successful title defence, so it’s a weakness to Gvardiol’s game that is unlikely to be routinely capitalised upon, such is City’s dominance. The pros, then, far outweighs the cons and given his tender years, there is plenty more to come from Gvardiol, who should go on to become a mainstay in the City backline. After all, it’s difficult to find a defender better suited to Guardiola’s game plan. Read More Man City assistant Rodolfo Borrell joins MLS side Austin FC as sporting director Ilkay Gundogan, the man who transformed Man City and timed a perfect goodbye Football’s biggest brand? Only one thing can stop the Man City ‘machine’ now Yaya Toure hopes Standard Liege coaching spell leads to Premier League return Jodie Burrage recalls the dark days after landmark victory at Wimbledon Cadan Murley: Studying Erling Haaland can help my England World Cup cause

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Tyson Fury has mocked Anthony Joshua over a video of the latter using a mattress as a punching bag. Joshua is training in Dallas, Texas as he prepares for a potential August clash with Dillian Whyte, and when footage emerged on Wednesday (4 July) of “AJ” hitting a mattress, Fury was unable to resist commenting on Instagram. “Proper sausage,” Fury wrote, alongside a series of laughing emojis. And the WBC heavyweight champion was not the only user to poke fun at the former unified title holder. “Even gun shy with a mattress,” one user wrote, while another said, “Nearly as stiff as the mattress.” “Joshua lost his killer instinct,” one commented, and another added, “You still have time to delete this...” One user took aim at Fury instead, however, writing: “Coincidentally that is Tyson Fury’s next announced opponent. [Fury] should take it easy on it.” Joshua is in talks to box Whyte, whom he knocked out in 2015, in August before a potential winter bout with Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Fury’s promoter Frank Warren said last week that the “Gypsy King”’s next fight would be announced very soon, and that it would be a ‘game-changer’. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Savannah Marshall wins scrappy clash with Franchon Crews-Dezurn to gain undisputed gold Anthony Joshua removes stumbling block in Dillian Whyte negotiations Tyson Fury’s ‘game-changing’ return to be announced in ‘next week or so’, Frank Warren says

Carlos Alcaraz launches his bid for a first Wimbledon title on Tuesday as home favourite Andy Murray starts his campaign a...

Yaya Toure is one day targeting a top managerial job in the Premier League after taking the next step in his career by becoming assistant coach at Standard Liege. The 40-year-old, who lit up the top league as a player with Manchester City, has joined Carl Hoefkens’ staff at the Belgian club after a spell coaching Tottenham Under-16s. Toure enjoyed his time at Hotspur Way, admitting he would one day love to return there, but felt the time was right to go and coach first-team football. He is happy to learn from his boss Hoefkens but has desires to become a manager in the future. “One hundred per cent, that is my plan and idea.” he told the PA news agency. “For me I have to go step after step, I am on a learning journey. “I am very open to everything, just carrying on what I am doing. “Why not the Premier League? I don’t know how long it is going to take, maybe sooner or later, for me I am always open for it. “I know it’s going to be a big challenge and coaches’ jobs are becoming tougher and tougher. You see coaches surviving for a maximum four or five months. “That is what it is now, that is the reality. “For me, I am quite patient and I have to take my steps very carefully and in the right manner. That’s why I am going to Belgium because I want to learn from top coaches like Carl, who has huge experience.” Toure, who previously held positions at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian team Akhmat Grozny, has not ruled out the possibility of one day returning to Spurs. “Tottenham did not stand in my way and they let me go and I think that was brilliant,” he added. “I would love to carry on in Tottenham because my belief and development was to try to work with the grown men. “If the opportunity to go back was there then why not, because what Tottenham did for me was incredible, they allowed me to work there and develop as a coach and for what they did for me I will never be able to thank them enough. “They opened the door for me and allowed me to express myself in the right manner and do the things I wanted to do. “That is a real positive for me. Of course at the end of the day I move on but Tottenham is always going to be a great club and one that will always mean something to me.” Toure will first put his coaching skills to use on the launch of Amazon’s Prime Day, as a Prime customer can buy a private coaching session for them and three friends. He added: “The experience will be unmissable. For me it is very positive and I think this idea with Amazon is great. “It is important we share experiences and talk to them about football and show them inside it and an understanding of it.” ::Yaya Toure will give one lucky Prime customer and their three friends a football training session to learn perfect delivery this Prime Day. Prime Members should check out www.amazon.co.uk/primeexperiences throughout July 11 and 12 to purchase. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Faye White reflects on ‘soul destroying’ lack of media attention after Euro 2009 England forward Beth Mead admits missing World Cup ‘a tough pill to swallow’ Wales coach Warren Gatland calls up Taine Plumtree to World Cup training squad