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Despite a superb overall campaign that saw them claim the Premier League title and win the Carabao Cup, Manchester City have been tipped for a summer rebuild ahead of next season.

After falling just short in the FA Cup and Champions League, it seems that Pep Guardiola’s side are looking to make some big name signings ahead of next season, which will likely also see some first-team regulars depart as the former Barcelona boss looks to end City’s woes in Europe after losing the Champions League final to Chelsea last season.

A host of names have been linked with the Citizens now that the transfer window is open, whilst the likes of Raheem Sterling, Aymeric Laporte and Bernardo Silva have all been linked with moves away.

Here’s how Football FanCast predicts Guardiola’s strongest XI could look next season…

After their title win was built on the improvement of their defence, with Ruben Dias a standout signing at the back, it seems unlikely that City will make too many defensive signings this summer.

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Nuno Mendes is one name who has been touted as a potential option at left-back but that seems reliant on whether or not they can get rid of Benjamin Mendy, with Joao Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko likely to rotate their next season, with John Stones and Kyle Walker also likely to keep their regular spots.

Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri will likely be the regular midfield partnership for Guardiola, although a new defensive-midfield signing may be necessary if Fernandinho does not agree to a new contract with the Etihad outfit.

Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez keep their place in attacking-midfield roles, with Phil Foden likely to be regular on the wing or through the middle, although the potential £100m signing of Jack Grealish could see him become a starter on the left.

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Up front, Harry Kane could seal a £150m exit from Tottenham Hotspur to sign for Guardiola’s side, with the Citizens seemingly the most likely destination for the England captain.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Bernardo: Txiki should seal Man City swoop for “phenomenal” £27m-rated wizard

Sunderland have a chance to tighten their grip on a play-off position as they face Rotherham at the Stadium of Light tonight.

The Black Cats are fourth in the League One table and one point ahead of Sheffield Wednesday in seventh, with one match left to play after this game on Wearside.

Alex Neil’s men won 5-1 last time out against Cambridge and will surely be looking to bring that positive momentum into this meeting with Paul Warne’s visitors.

How many changes will Neil make to his side for this clash? Here is our predicted XI…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the team from Saturday, with Alex Pritchard, Callum Doyle and Dan Neil all coming in.

Starting off in defence, Doyle may come back in at centre-back to replace the injured Carl Winchester. The Northern Ireland international suffered a groin injury against Cambridge and it remains to be seen when he will be able to return for the Black Cats.

However, the on-loan Manchester City defender has started 32 League One matches this season and made 2.9 tackles and interceptions per game. This shows that he is a player who Neil can rely upon as he has been a regular starter for the majority of the campaign.

In midfield, the head coach might bring in young Dan Neil to replace Luke O’Nien. Against Cambridge, the ex-Wycombe man – who former Black Cats manager Jack Ross once dubbed “awkward to get past” – was underwhelming as he missed a ‘big chance’ and recorded a SofaScore rating of 6.6 – the lowest of all the outfield players outside of the injured Winchester.

This may open the door for Neil to come into the team. The academy product has produced three goals and seven assists from midfield this season and has the potential to be a match-winner for Sunderland tonight.

Finally, we are predicting that Pritchard will start. Mark Cooper once dubbed him an “immense” player and that is exactly what the 28-year-old has been for the Black Cats. The maestro has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.10 in League One this season, chipping in with four goals and seven assists, and that is why he should return to the XI. 

AND in other news, Double blow as Sunderland hit with a huge setback ahead of final two games

Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday side have been handed a massive injury boost ahead of their crucial final game of the season on Saturday.

What’s the latest?

According to Jamie Smith, speaking in his pre-match press conference, both Chey Dunkley and Massimo Luongo could return to the matchday squad for the crunch match with Derby County this lunchtime.

Centre-back Dunkley has not played a minute of action since February because of a series of knocks, while midfielder Luongo has also been out since February due to separate muscle and knee injuries.

When discussing the current state of the Wednesday squad, the assistant manager said: “Joost [van Aken] will be out but there is a chance for Chey and Massimo to be involved. We don’t want to rush them back and put pressure on them, we’ll see how they react. We have no fresh injury worries.”

Double boost

Considering the magnitude of the fixture against Derby, with a defeat consigning the Owls to the third tier of English football, the news that two previously unavailable Wednesday players could be fit enough to feature in the match could come as a welcome fillip to Moore.

Despite having only played in 12 Championship fixtures this season, Luongo’s average SofaScore match rating of 6.75 is enough to rank him as the Owls’ 10th-best performer in the league. Meanwhile, the return of Dunkley could potentially allow Sam Hutchinson, who has been operating from centre-back in recent weeks, to return to his more natural central midfield role.

As such, regardless of whether or not the returning duo start the game, their presence on the bench would immediately provide Moore with more options, something which would appear to bode well ahead of such an important game this afternoon.

In other news: Encouraging update emerges on “excellent” SWFC star, Moore and fans will be buzzing – opinion

Aston Villa winger Trezeguet could still leave the club over the coming weeks and has interest from Turkey, according to Birmingham Live.

The Lowdown: Trezeguet’s injury-hit season

Trezeguet, who Gregg Evans felt was the ‘scapegoat’ early in his Villa career, has made just one appearance all season.

The Egyptian has missed the majority of the campaign with a knee problem, with Steven Gerrard describing the 27-year-old as a ‘unique situation’ last month.

He’s currently away with his country at the Africa Cup of Nations, where Egypt are in the final against Senegal, and it seems as if his time in the Midlands could be up this month.

The Latest: Interest from Turkey

According to Birmingham Live, Trezeguet may still depart the club this winter and has interest from Turkey, with their transfer window not closing until Tuesday.

He has been included in Gerrard’s revised Premier League squad list for the second half of the season but now has two days to seal a move to Turkey.

The Verdict: Time to go?

Should Trezeguet leave, Gerrard would be left with four wingers, two on either side, which should be more than enough for the remainder of the season. Ollie Watkins has also turned out on the wing under Gerrard, so a move away for Trezeguet could be best for all parties involved.

Johan Lange will have to be quick, though, especially as sides in the Super Lig have until Tuesday to finalise their winter business.

Villa forked out £9m for Trezeguet back in 2019 and he is still valued at that figure, so you’d expect Villa may be looking at recouping the majority of that in any permanent transfer.

In other news: Villa and Lange now set to sign another young gem for Gerrard; personal terms agreed. 

Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that Everton would cash-in on Richarlison this summer should a sensible offer present itself.

Along with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the winger, who has just won an Olympic gold medal with Brazil, has been the Toffees’ talisman in recent seasons.

Richarlison has scored an impressive 42 goals in 119 appearances for Everton, but Goal have claimed that Carlo Ancelotti is keen on reuniting with the attacker and bringing him to Real Madrid.

The 24-year-old has previously been linked with Barcelona in the past but is now on their great rivals’ radar.

Rafael Benitez has already added wide men Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray to his squad, but Richarlison’s starting place at Goodison Park is unlikely to be under threat despite those arrivals.

And whilst a transfer away from Merseyside would also appear unlikely, Bent told FFC that Everton would accept an offer in the region of £60m, £10m more than what they signed the Brazilian for from Watford back in 2018:

He said: “They’d take that straight away. It would allow them to bring in midfielders, wingers and players that will go into the new stadium. So £60m-£70m, that’s a big budget.”

Mark Douglas has dropped some insight on potential Newcastle United takeover investors which he claims is problematic for Mike Ashley.

The Lowdown: Newcastle valuation drops

As per Sportico (via The Chronicle), the valuation of the St. James’ Park faithful has dropped steeply since the global pandemic, with a new value of £190m being reported.

That is the 11th highest in the Premier League, citing that the ongoing threat of relegation hugely depresses the valuation.

There was a point in the season where Steve Bruce’s team were seriously under threat of dropping down to the EFL Championship, and so this has seen the valuation of the North East club plummet.

The Latest: Insight on potential takeover investors

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Douglas has shared that it is understood that rival investors to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group would value the Tyneside club under the original £350m agreement.

Douglas adds that this is problematic for Ashley, as he wants the value that he has put on the Magpies to be consistent.

If the KSA consortium were to pull out of the deal altogether, then other potential investors may not want to buy at the price that he has set.

The Verdict: KSA consortium deal key

It is key that if there is a takeover of the Toon, then it is by the KSA consortium, to satisfy all parties involved.

For Ashley, he would then be able to sell at the valuation that he has put on NUFC, and the consortium would then be able to take over as per their aim.

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There would certainly be question marks over whether the chief executive of Sports Direct would consider selling to anyone else if the consortium pulled out altogether, especially if nobody is willing to meet his original valuation.

Nonetheless, with Newcastle’s value depreciating, Ashley will want to get the deal done as soon as possible in order to get his money’s worth.

In other news, find out which ‘magnificent’ ace Newcastle are keen on signing here!

Many Liverpool supporters have been reacting to the Reds’ new 2021/22 away kit, with the strip receiving largely positive reviews.

Jurgen Klopp’s men will be looking to regain the Premier League title last season, following a disappointing campaign last time around which saw them finish third and not securing their Champions League status until the final day.

The hope is that a fully fit Liverpool return to their very best, proving that the last 12 months was nothing more than an injury-plagued blip which won’t happen again.

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It won’t be long until pre-season is underway and one thing which always signals the start of a new campaign is a fresh kit being revealed.

On Thursday morning, Liverpool’s official Twitter account unveiled the eye-catching new away jersey, which brought back memories of a 1990s ecru-coloured strip.

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Liverpool fans love new kit

While some kits don’t always hit the target with supporters, it’s fair to say that the reaction from many Kopites to the official unveiling of the 2021/22 away strip has been largely glowing.

“Legit one of our best away kits. Ever”

Credit: @MAFID0N

“Woweee”

Credit: @MarcJBirch

“Oh my god what a kit”

Credit: @DSimmondss

“Ooooooof now this is more like it”

Credit: @earthtonaomi

“Love this”

Credit: @Jay82_LFC

“This is everything”

Credit: @sabrinaxx

In other news, Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing a past transfer target. Find out who it is here.

At this moment in time, Southampton have several players in their squad whose current contracts are set to expire next summer.

One particular player whose terms conclude at the end of the current season that should be offered a new deal to keep him at St. Mary’s is goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Southampton signed the stopper back in the 2016 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace for a reported fee of around £4m.

Since then, the 31-year-old, who is currently valued at £4.5m according to Transfermarkt, has made 122 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, keeping 33 clean sheets in the process, the latest of which came in their recent 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road. During that game, he managed to make three saves and earn himself an impressive overall match rating of 7.4/10 according to SofaScore.

So far this season, McCarthy has played every minute of Premier League action for the Saints after seeing his league appearances increase with every campaign he’s been at the club, showing how much he is admired by Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The 31-year-old has made a total of 24 saves in the top-flight so far this term, the 12th highest of any of the 29 goalkeepers to have made at least one appearance in the league.

Back in August, it was reported by The Athletic that McCarthy had put pen to paper on a new three-year deal at Southampton, but has yet to be officially confirmed by the club.

If by any chance McCarthy, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £50k-per-week according to Spotrac, hasn’t actually signed a new deal on the south coast yet, then this is something that should be at the top of the club’s priority list given how important he has been for the Saints over the years. After all, he’s previously been described as “fantastic” by Hasenhuttl.

Additionally, with fellow Southampton shot-stopper Fraser Forster’s contract set to expire next summer, it’s likely that he could be on his way out of the club considering he’s only played three games for the Saints so far this season and is currently their second-highest earner with a weekly wage of £70k-per-week.

As a result, it would make sense for the club to keep hold of McCarthy for the next few years as their first-choice goalkeeper.

In other news: Ralph must wield the axe on £10.8m-rated Saints ace with 55% pass accuracy v Watford – opinion

Manchester United appear to be prioritising their pursuit of Raphael Varane this summer, but another Madrid-based star could also be on his way to Old Trafford.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish outlet AS (as reported by the Manchester Evening News), Saul Niguez is a wanted man, with rumours of a swap deal between the Atletico Madrid midfielder and Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann continuing to rumble on.

However, the report claims that the swap deal hasn’t progressed much in recent days, leading to Saul’s agent contacting both United and their fierce rivals Liverpool to sound out a potential move to the Premier League.

Atletico are thought to be calm about the situation and are set to demand  €40m (£34.2m) for the highly-rated Spain international.

Solskjaer would love him

With the likes of Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek, Fred and Scott McTominay to call upon, United are well-stocked in the centre of the pitch at this moment in time.

Having said that, speculation over Pogba’s future continues to grow, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be forced into the transfer market to strengthen his engine room over the coming months.

Therefore, a move for Saul may be an extremely appealing prospect for the Norwegian tactician.

The technically gifted dynamo has established himself as a world-class operator in recent years, scoring 43 goals and providing 19 assists in 337 appearances for Atleti, winning one La Liga title, one Copa del Rey and two Europe League crowns along the way.

His impressive performances saw Saul linked with a move to Old Trafford as recently as 12 months ago when he was also outlined as a potential replacement for Pogba.

Former United defender and BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand lauded the Spaniard following the transfer talk, praising his ability on the ball and tactical awareness.

“I don’t want Pogba to go, but if he does go, I’d take Saul Niguez all day long. Not like-for-like but still a top player,” Ferdinand said.

“What a player. I’ve been harping on about Saul Niguez for a few years now. I think he’s a major player. He’s composed, calm, great left foot, lovely conductor, he can score goals, tactically he’s very aware.

“You can see (Diego) Simeone, he gets his teams really well set up, and he’s in the middle orchestrating and dictating things.”

It remains to be seen whether United make a move for Saul this summer, but with only a year remaining on his current contract, he could be a real bargain for whoever takes an interest.

And, in other news…Imagine him & Fernandes: Ole must unleash “perfect” £27m-rated Man Utd star next term 

Leeds United have been dealt a blow regarding the fitness of Adam Forshaw ahead of the Whites’ upcoming Premier League fixture.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by Leeds Live which said that Marcelo Bielsa revealed following the 3-0 loss to Liverpool on Sunday that the midfielder was not available for selection as a result of a muscle strain, something which would appear to cast serious doubt as to whether the 29-year-old will be available for the trip to Newcastle United on Friday.

Forshaw has not featured in a league game for the Whites in almost two years, having previously been sidelined due to a hip injury.

Fans will be gutted

Considering the influential role Forshaw held in the side prior to his long-term injury, the midfielder’s latest setback in his recovery is sure to have left the Elland Road faithful gutted.

Indeed, the £1.8m-rated man impressed over his 30 Championship appearances in Bielsa’s first season at Leeds, averaging 0.9 key passes, 0.7 interceptions and 2.2 tackles and winning 5.4 duels per game.

These returns saw the £23k-per-week midfielder earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the Whites’ joint eighth-best performer in the second tier of English football – level with Kalvin Phillips.

As such, it is undeniable that the 29-year-old’s return to first team action would be a considerable boost for his club, especially when considering the sheer length of time for which he has been sidelined.

However, whether or not Forshaw is the same player he was two years ago remains very much up in the air, and it is something which will only be discovered when (or even if) the midfielder finally manages to get back on the pitch on a regular basis.

In other news: Orta could be heading for his biggest mistake at Leeds to date, Bielsa would be livid