Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has challenged Real Madrid to make an offer for Erling Haaland if they really want him.
There were reports in Spain last week that Haaland dislikes life in Manchester so much that he wants to leave the club.
Perhaps inevitably, it was suggested Real Madrid were monitoring the prolific Norway striker’s situation.
The suspicion at City is that this could have been an attempt by Madrid-leaning media to unsettle the 23-year-old and edge him towards the Bernabeu Stadium.
Yet Guardiola, who has seen such activity before, is confident it will not work and suggests any interested club should just say so.
Guardiola said: “For one report, for one journalist or one Twitter account, one Instagram account, do you think they are going to change something that is going to happen? It’s not going to happen.
“It’s going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not, when the club decides to extend a contract or not, or when we have potential offers to him or not.
“If someone wants Erling, it’s easy. Call Man City and ask. It’s what we do when we want to sign someone. It’s not more complicated than that.”
If Guardiola has his way, the answer to any enquiry would be a firm no.
Haaland scored 52 goals in a stunning first season at the Etihad Stadium and had already netted 19 this term before being sidelined by a foot injury early in December.
Guardiola said: “What do you think? That we don’t want Erling to stay here for one decade?
“We want him – for a long, long time at this club. For a long time. We are in love with him, we want him.”
Yet Guardiola admits he does not know what the future will bring.
He said: “I don’t have info. He arrived last season and the impact was incredible. The beginning of this season, the numbers were really good too. He’s had two months injured.
“What happens in the future? Honestly, I don’t know. We are happy to have him, hopefully he’s happy to be with us. That is what we know. And the rest? I don’t know.”
Guardiola insists he ignores transfer rumours but concedes having players linked with big clubs can be flattering.
He said: “It’s normal that Real Madrid want the best players, and Barcelona want the best players, or (clubs) in Italy, or PSG want the best players.
“We want the best players and United want the best players, and Liverpool and Arsenal and everyone. It’s normal, it’s not a surprise.
“A link like that is an honour for us. It means that we did a good job, and especially Erling. In his case he made an incredible job.
“Is it true? I don’t know. It’s just to make a little bit of noise. It’s fine. Of course I ignore it. It doesn’t bother me at all.
“As long as the players are focused on what they have to do, the rest is not important.”
Maresca cannot 'smell' a Chelsea title challenge
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca claims he cannot "smell" a title race, despite his side sitting second in the Premier League table.
The Blues are unbeaten in seven league matches heading into Sunday's clash with Brentford at Stamford Bridge and sit just four points behind leaders Liverpool, who play Fulham on Saturday.
Maresca's side have scored 12 goals in beating Aston Villa, Southampton and Tottenham in their last three league encounters to pull clear as Liverpool's chief challengers, but the Italian continues to doubt their title credentials.
He said: "You can smell that [a title race], you can feel that.
"Probably this is the reason why I said we are not ready, because we don't feel that and we don't smell that in this moment. Hopefully soon we can be there.
"I like to convince myself and convince the players that the only way to fight for something is just to be focused day-by-day.
"When you start to think about 'in two days, three days, one month, two months', it's the beginning of the bad times."
Chelsea are the league's highest scorers, with 35 goals to their name so far this season. They have netted at least three goals in their last three top-flight outings.
Only once before in the Blues' history have they scored three or more goals in four successive top-flight matches, doing so in November/December 1954 under Ted Drake en route to winning the title that season.
KC defeats St. George’s College 1-0 to claim ISSA U-14 football crown; STATHS win U-16 title with 1-0 win over Excelsior
Kingston College are champions of the ISSA Burger King U-14 Urban Area football competition after a 1-0 win over North Street rivals St. George’s College in Friday’s final at Stadium East in Kingston.
KC didn’t have to wait long for the only goal of the game with Ras-Renaldinho Harriott slotting home comfortably past St. George’s goalkeeper Steven Dixon in the sixth minute.
The win also means the ‘Purples’ won two of the three major corporate area football competitions after their Manning Cup triumph over St. Catherine High earlier this month.
In the Mighty Malt U-16 final later at the same venue, St. Andrew Technical defeated Excelsior by a similar 1-0 score line.
Just like in the U-14 final, the winning goal came in the sixth minute when Kelvin Brown capitalized on some unsure Excelsior defending after a corner kick.
Martin embarrassed by Southampton's Premier League points tally
Russell Martin believes Southampton should have more points on the board in the Premier League this season ahead of their clash with Tottenham on Sunday.
The Saints have won just once this season, with two draws adding up to a dismal five points, which leaves them bottom of the standings having lost their other 12 games since promotion.
Southampton are winless in five matches in the top-flight, losing the last two on the bounce, and have a goal difference of minus 20, having conceded 31 goals while scoring just 11.
"We shouldn't be on the points that we are. It is incredibly hurtful and embarrassing to be on five points - we should have more," said Martin.
"But there have been a few too many mistakes and a few too many moments that we haven't managed well.
"We have had disappointments in games and setbacks, but we have to keep trying to grow - to grow as a group, to grow individually and prepare the players for those moments when it is tough and find ways for them to cope emotionally."
They face a Spurs side struggling for form, with Martin saying he has "a lot of respect" for under-pressure Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs have won just one of their last eight matches in all competitions, and are currently winless in five, with the manager coming under scrutiny for his style of play.
Postecoglou's side sit 11th in the table, seven points behind the top four ahead of the weekend, and he is keen to get the basics right to get back on track at St. Mary's.
"We can't dismiss the situation we're in at the moment," Postecoglou said. "We're very limited at the moment what we can do from a team perspective.
"There's a lot of players playing a lot of games, and they're giving their all, but they're going to lack a little bit of sharpness as we cannot give them a rest.
"Within that context, it's about making sure that there's some basics in our game that we push through."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Ben Brereton Diaz
Ben Brereton Diaz has not won any of his 24 Premier League games in spells at Sheffield United (14) and Southampton (10), drawing six and losing 18.
Only Oliver Burke (25) has had a longer winless run from the start of a Premier League career, and it is a streak that the striker will be desperate to end sooner rather than later.
Tottenham – Dejan Kulusevski
Dejan Kulusevski could make his 100th Premier League appearance in this match, with his first also coming against Southampton back in February 2022.
He has 21 assists in the league, with only Son Heung-min providing more for Spurs since his debut (24).
MATCH PREDICTION: TOTTENHAM WIN
Tottenham are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games against sides starting the day bottom of the table (W10 D3), since a 1-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion in May 2018. Spurs have scored 42 goals in this run, netting at least three times in each of the last eight.
In fact, Spurs have only failed to score in one of their last 22 Premier League meetings with Southampton, a 1-0 away loss in January 2020.
However, Postecoglou's side have lost 14 of their 33 Premier League games so far in 2024 (W14 D5), just one fewer than they did in 42 games in 2023. They last lost 15+ league games in consecutive calendar years in 2002 (15), 2003 (20) and 2004 (15).
Southampton, meanwhile, have won just one of their last 28 Premier League games (D6 L21), with their 1-0 win over Everton in November their only clean sheet in their last 27 in the competition.
The Saints have also lost just one of their last six home league games against Spurs (W2 D3), going down 5-2 in September 2020.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 25.3%
Draw – 22.5%
Tottenham – 52.3%
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