Here are the Manchester City morning headlines for Wednesday, July 22.
City make Ake move
Manchester City have made the first step to try and sign Nathan Ake from Bournemouth in what could be an eventful summer window at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola may look to reshape his City squad before the start of the 2020/21 season after a disappointing Premier League campaign and Ake is first on the list.
MEN Sport understands contact has been made with Bournemouth, who are facing relegation from the Premier League, and Ake is keen to leave the south coast club after three years there.
It is believed Ake will be available for a fee of around £35million, although the Dutch defender is keeping his options open with Chelsea and Manchester United also thought to be interested in the player.
Watford goalkeeper admits frustration over City penalty
Ben Foster revealed his frustration at the award of City’s penalty in Watford’s 4-0 home defeat on Tuesday night.
The Hornets goalkeeper had warned his teammates not to dive in on City’s players inside the area, but could only watch on as the relegation-threatened hosts gave the visitors the chance to score from the spot.
Will Hughes was the guilty party, fouling Raheem Sterling in the box, before the England international saw his spot-kick saved by Foster and scored the rebound.
“I don't know,” Foster said when asked by Sky Sports afterwards if he agreed with the referee’s decision.
“I just saw the foul, I thought it was a foul at the time and I've not seen a replay. When they're coming in the box like that you do not dive in, simple as that. You don't dangle a foot, dangle a leg, anything like that. You don't do it, because they're so quick and fast, you're just asking for trouble.”
Guardiola passes over Sterling goals to highlight City flaws
City boss Guardiola was quick to pass over Sterling’s goal-scoring achievements and focus on his side’s inconsistency after the forward’s brace against Watford.
The double took Sterling’s tally for the season to 29 goals, the best of his career to date, but Guardiola was more interested in highlighting the flaws that had cost his team over the course of the campaign.
“It's important to score a goal for Raheem, but we cannot forget we finished far away from the champions,” he said after the 4-0 win over Watford.
“So this season was not good for us in the Premier League. It was much better than the other 18 teams, but it is not enough. So the personal achievements always must be related to the performance of the team. And it was not perfect.”
