Erling Haaland could push for an exit from Manchester City if the club fails to secure Champions League football for next season, according to reports from Spain.
Despite recently signing a lucrative contract that ties him to the Etihad until 2034, the Norwegian striker is reportedly unwilling to spend a season outside Europe’s elite competition. If Man City finish outside the Premier League’s top five, his future at the club could be in serious doubt.
Spanish outlet El Nacional claims that Haaland has no interest in missing out on Champions League football, and several of Europe’s biggest clubs, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain, are monitoring the situation, ready to make a move if he becomes available.
Man City currently sit fifth in the Premier League, but a rocky campaign has left them in a vulnerable position. With nine league defeats already, they are only four points ahead of Bournemouth in 10th. If their form doesn’t improve, they could find themselves battling just to stay in the European places, which could have major consequences for their star striker’s future.
Although reports suggest Haaland could push for a move away from Man City if they miss out on Champions League football, the striker has previously made it clear that he sees his long-term future at the club.
After signing his new contract, the forward spoke to the club’s official website: “I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great club.
“Manchester City is a special club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody.
“I also want to thank [manager] Pep [Guardiola], his coaching staff, my team-mates and everyone at the club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years.”
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Marc Guehi has been strongly linked with a move to Liverpool, whose need for a player like him couldn’t be more glaring at this moment in time. Joe Gomez’s withdrawal from the Reds’ pre-season tour to Asia due to a minor Achilles injury has left Arne Slot with only two senior centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. On Monday, Football Insider reported that the Premier League champions continue to hold a ‘concrete’ interest in the Crystal Palace defender and are expected to make a fresh approach for him soon. England legend urges Liverpool’s rivals to pounce for Guehi Stuart Pearce has now urged Manchester City to swoop for Guehi, believing that the 25-year-old is a player that his former club urgently need. The England legend told Sports Mole: “It does worry me a little bit. If I was in their situation, Marc Guehi would be one I would go after. I’m a big fan of this kid. He’s got the ability to deal with things one-on-one on the counterattack. “You’ve got to be good at that if you’re a Manchester City player in the expansive way they play, but if anything’s going to be their Achilles heel, it’s going to be that back line again.” Liverpool absolutely cannot let Man City steal in for Guehi Aside from the alarming lack of centre-back depth at Liverpool, Pearce touched upon another reason why the Reds ought to prioritise a move for Guehi over any other transfer target at Anfield. The 63-year-old mentioned the Palace defender’s aptitude for stopping counterattacks with his one-on-one skills, a trait which further highlights him as exactly what we need at this moment in time. In the 4-2 defeat to AC Milan on Saturday, we were caught on the break for three of the Rossoneri’s goals, having been worrying susceptible on the counter partly due to the loss of Ryan Gravenberch’s screening skills in midfield as he had to deputise at centre-back. Guehi’s defensive figures from last season in comparison to Van Dijk and Konate also make for interesting reading. As per FBref, the England international averaged more ball recoveries and more tackles per 90 minutes than either of the Liverpool duo. Pearce might be clamouring for Man City to raid Selhurst Park for the 25-year-old, but that’s precisely what FSG need to be doing. They absolutely cannot lose out to a direct rival for a player who simply must be treated as priority number one for the remainder of the transfer window.
It appears that Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is getting better at one area, particularly when it comes to the hard count. He had success last week with his hard count when he got both Nate Hobbs and Edgerrin Cooper jumping on separate occasions. Love, who is entering his third season as the Packers’ full-time starting quarterback, continues to work on his game and polish areas where improvements can be made, and mastering the hard count seems like one of the items he is focused on in the training camp. It can also be recalled that he talked about the hard count back in the 2023 OTAs as an “emphasis that I’ve been trying to just build and keep working.” Green Bay offense takes friendly fire over Love’s hard count On Monday, Love drew another offside because of his hard count, but not at the expense of the defense. Via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic: “Love got Hobbs to jump with his hard count last week. On Monday, Love got another Packers newcomer to jump on the hard count. The only problem for Love is that it was his own left guard. Banks flinched right before defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt and was booted from the drill for Jacob Monk.” Getting familiar with Love’s cadence is a challenge for the Packers’ offensive line, as the team definitely doesn’t want to see the QBs hard counts resulting in penalties for the offense instead of seeing the same intended result for the opposing defense.
Kirk Cousins might be relegated to the job of backup quarterback, but he is showing veteran leadership to his Atlanta Falcons teammates. Following Sunday's practice, Cousins pulled aside rookie defensive end James Pearce to encourage the first-round pick after his fourth practice in the league at Flowery Branch, Georgia. "QB Kirk Cousins pulled aside Pearce after practice to compliment him on a pass batted down," wrote Marc Raimondi of ESPN. Cousins reportedly had a solid day of practice on Sunday, going 7-of-12 passing against the first-team unit. If Cousins wants out of Atlanta, he's not showing it at practice. The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback is competing on the field and being a good teammate around the facility. Cousins' actions on the field backed up what Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot praised Cousins for before the team's practice on Sunday. “Outside, it's a lot more of a deal than it is in the building,” Fontenot said to the media about the idea of friction between the Falcons and Cousins, per video from D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “He shows up, he does his job, just like anybody ... We've gotta build the best 70-man roster so we can go win games. "That's what we're focused on, and Kirk, just like all the other players, is focused on coming in here and doing their job. That's what he's been doing." Fontenot didn't dismiss the idea that Atlanta would trade Cousins before the season. He said the Falcons will do whatever it takes to make the team better, but stressed that Cousins has been a professional throughout the process of being replaced by Michael Penix Jr., a first-round pick from the 2024 draft. “In terms of making moves, whether it's trades or acquiring players, we're always looking at those factors," Fontenot said. "We're gonna do whatever we can do to make this team the best it can possibly be. But he's been a great professional, and he's handled himself well.” Cousins is coming to work in a manner that will make another owner want to take a chance on the veteran quarterback. That could be one of his best-selling points before he plays in his 13th season in the league.
The Chicago Bulls have a very uncertain future ahead of them, but the one thing they need to figure out more than anything is what they're going to pay Josh Giddey in his next contract. If last season proved anything for the Bulls, it's that Giddey should be one of the cornerstones of the team. However, with how well he played after the NBA All-Star break, Giddey wants a sizeable contract. According to the latest report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bulls are still very far apart from what Giddey desires. However, Giddey does want to stay in Chicago. "Could Giddey play hardball by breaking off talks and telling the organization that he’s simply signing the $11 million qualifying offer, betting on himself, then becoming an unrestricted free agent in the summer of ’26? Sure, but he hasn’t done that," Cowley said. Just how far apart are the Chicago Bulls and Josh Giddey from a new contract? Around $8-10 million. "He wants to get a deal done to stay in Chicago, and the Bulls want him as a foundation piece, especially after helping the Thunder to an NBA title by giving them guard Alex Caruso for Giddey last offseason. They are somewhere between $8 million to $10 million per year apart," Cowley added. The Chicago Bulls still have time to get a Josh Giddey deal done. However, it won't end there for the franchise. The other big elephant in the room is trying to figure out a respectable deal for two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic.
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