Omar Marmoush's future at Manchester City has become the first real test of Enzo Maresca's willingness to make difficult calls before he has properly coached his squad.

According to The Hard Tackle, relaying Fichajes, Atletico Madrid have identified the Egyptian as a leading attacking target, with Maresca reportedly open to sanctioning a sale. The report places his valuation at around €60 million.

Marmoush is still tied to City until 2029, having arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt in January 2025. The club's own announcement at the time framed him as a coveted attacker capable of operating across the front line, with a four-and-a-half-year contract running to the summer of 2029.

That versatility was the attraction. It is also what makes his position complicated now.

Under Maresca, the attacking picture has already shifted. Erling Haaland remains the reference point. Rayan Cherki has joined the mix. Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku and Savinho all require minutes in the half-spaces or wide lanes. If Antoine Semenyo stays involved as a vertical option, the map tightens further.

Role clarity or stored tension?

City have reached a stage where every attacking place carries strategic purpose. Keeping an expensive, prime-age forward in a role he does not fully own is not depth. It is stored tension.

City Xtra reported in May that Marmoush's future was expected to be discussed after Maresca's arrival, with the forward seeking a more prominent role after a difficult second season for minutes. That made this summer a conversation. Atletico's interest could turn it into a decision.

Maresca's appointment was sold by City as continuity with edge. The club confirmed on June 29 that he had signed until 2029, with Maresca speaking about a well-run, planned and purposeful environment. A planned environment does not keep every talented player simply because selling feels premature.

Atletico's interest makes tactical sense. Marmoush is not a fixed penalty-box striker. He can run from outside to in, press on the front foot, and attack broken defensive lines. Diego Simeone has often valued forwards who can do more than wait for service.

For City, the same flexibility can be read two ways. It either makes him too valuable to lose, or it shows there is no single non-negotiable role that belongs to him.

That distinction is central to Maresca's judgement. His players need early certainty. His squad needs defined jobs. His first tactical message cannot be diluted by a front line full of maybes.

The Atletico door gives City a market for a player they do not have to sell but may rationally choose to move.

A cold calculation

Every Marmoush argument eventually returns to Haaland. The Norwegian's presence changes the ceiling and the frustration for every central attacker at City. Marmoush can play with Haaland. The more exact question is whether he can play often enough with Haaland to justify rejecting a strong fee.

If City keep him, Maresca needs a defined path: minutes as Haaland's deputy, starts from the left in specific game states, and a clear role when City need more direct running. If City sell, the logic must be equally clean: bank value, reduce positional congestion and leave room for a profile Maresca wants more.

The mistake would be drifting. Marmoush is too good to become a vague option and too valuable to let the summer slide into August uncertainty.

This is not a case for a fire sale. If Atletico cannot reach the number, City can keep the player and still have a credible squad piece. But Maresca's first summer is not about collecting credible pieces. It is about building a team with clean priorities after the most important managerial change of the modern City era.

The best clubs sell before uncertainty becomes decay. Marmoush's Atletico link gives City that exact room. Maresca does not need to force the exit. He does need to show he can judge it coldly.

Manchester City are pushing hard to sign Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga, with Arsenal’s interest having stalled over valuation.

According to David Ornstein, City and Leicester are in direct contact over a deal worth around £10m, with the move now advanced after Arsenal’s club-to-club contact failed to produce an agreement. Sami Mokbel had earlier reported that the Foxes were expecting a bid from the Blues.

Monga, a highly-rated teenage prospect at the King Power Stadium, has caught the eye of a number of clubs, but it appears City are now in pole position to land him.

Spain didn’t need Rodri to dominate the highlights in Los Angeles. That was the whole point.

Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice and Pedro Porro added another as Spain beat Austria 3-0 in the World Cup knockout stage. The Guardian logged 64% possession, 23 shots and a fourth straight clean sheet. The LA Times noted Spain’s wider unbeaten run and defensive control.

For Manchester City, the relevant detail wasn’t the scoreline. It was the way Rodri sat in the middle of a high-pressure knockout game and made chaos feel manageable.

That’s the challenge facing Enzo Maresca when City’s internationals return.

The stabiliser

City can spend heavily, reshape the midfield and push fresh legs around their captain. The Austria win underlined a blunt truth: Rodri remains the system’s stabiliser, not just one elite player inside it.

Spain’s best performances have always carried a lesson for City because the tactical language overlaps. Dominate territory, compress the pitch, remove transition lanes before they form. Make the opponent chase so long that their first counter-attacking pass becomes hopeful rather than planned.

Against Austria, that control wasn’t decorative. Ralf Rangnick’s sides usually want disorder — pressing traps, second balls, broken-field sprints. Spain largely denied them that match state. Rodri’s value sits in those invisible details.

He doesn’t simply receive the ball from centre-backs. He decides whether the next pass accelerates the attack, slows the tempo, draws pressure or pins the opposition’s front line in the wrong place. That may not create a viral clip, but it’s how elite tournament teams strangle games.

A midfield rebuilt around him

City already know that better than anyone. The post-Pep Guardiola era has been framed around new manager energy, new recruitment priorities and a necessary reset after losing experienced pillars. Yet the biggest tactical question is still old-fashioned: how do they protect the one midfielder whose absence changes the entire team’s risk profile?

The answer cannot be to run Rodri into another 55-game season and hope class covers the fatigue. Spain’s progression means more minutes, more emotional load and a later return to club rhythm. Maresca’s first major test may not be the opening Premier League fixture. It may be deciding when not to use his most important player.

City have already moved in the market with midfield robustness in mind. The club-record Elliot Anderson agreement with Nottingham Forest, reported at £116 million by ESPN and other outlets, is not simply a headline signing. It is a structural admission that City’s midfield needed more duel-winning, carrying power and Premier League-tested legs.

That doesn’t mean Anderson arrives as a Rodri replacement. It means Maresca can begin to build a midfield where Rodri is not asked to solve every physical problem behind the ball.

At Forest, Anderson’s appeal was his ability to contest, recover and drive through contact. ESPN’s analysis pointed to his league-leading or near-league-leading volume for touches, duels won, fouls won and possessions won last season. Those numbers explain why City were willing to pay a premium for a player who reduces adaptation risk.

Placed next to Rodri, that profile gives City a different protection layer. Placed without Rodri, it gives Maresca at least a route toward a more athletic midfield that can defend forward rather than asking a single pivot to control the whole centre of the pitch alone.

The contract layer

The other layer is contractual. Rodri has already said he will address his future after the World Cup amid long-running Real Madrid links, with The Guardian reporting in June that his City deal runs to 2027. Those two facts matter together.

City don’t need to panic, but they do need clarity. A midfielder who dictates a national team knockout performance and remains central to every serious City plan cannot drift into another season with the same background noise. Madrid interest may have cooled in parts of the Spanish press, but elite clubs rarely forget players of this level. They wait for leverage.

That’s why the Austria performance should sharpen City’s internal timeline. Rodri’s football still screams control. His contract situation invites uncertainty. If Maresca wants a calmer first season, the club need the midfield plan and the renewal plan moving in the same direction.

Protection as a tactical principle

The physical layer is just as important. Spain’s tournament is not over. If they go deep, Rodri’s summer becomes shorter, his recovery window tighter and City’s pre-season integration more complicated. That doesn’t automatically mean trouble, but it demands discipline from the staff.

City’s early-season fixtures will tempt Maresca to lean on certainty. The smarter play may be to protect it. Rodri’s best version is not just useful in August; it is decisive in April and May, when title races and Champions League ties ask for cold decision-making under maximum stress.

Spain’s 3-0 win will be remembered nationally as a statement that De la Fuente’s side are growing into the tournament. From a City viewpoint, it should be read as both reassurance and warning.

The reassurance is obvious. Rodri still controls elite games with a rare calm. He remains able to anchor a side that plays high, asks its defenders to defend forward and trusts its midfield to kill counters before they become shots.

The warning is sharper. If one player is this central for Spain and City, the club must build more carefully around him than ever. Anderson’s arrival helps. A more athletic midfield helps. Smarter rotation will help. But none of it matters unless Maresca accepts that Rodri protection is not a medical department issue alone. It is a tactical principle.

City’s new era will naturally be judged by signings, results and whether Maresca can impose his authority after Guardiola. Yet the foundation may be less dramatic than that. It may come down to whether City can preserve the midfielder who makes control possible while building enough around him to survive the days when he finally has to rest.

That matters because this is no longer a City side living on automatic continuity. A new manager, a record midfield signing and a World Cup-disrupted summer have all arrived at once. The club’s margin will come from how quickly those moving parts are made to serve the same idea: keep control, reduce exposure and let Rodri’s intelligence decide the biggest games rather than repair avoidable damage.

Spain showed the blueprint in Los Angeles.

Manchester City are on the verge of bringing Pierce Charles back to the club from Sheffield Wednesday, with multiple reports suggesting a deal is close to completion.

Fabrizio Romano has indicated that Charles has agreed to return to City, where he briefly spent time in the youth system before moving to Sheffield Wednesday. Romano reports that a deal has been agreed between the two clubs, with only formalities left to be finalised. City have yet to decide whether Charles will stay with the first team next season or head out on loan.

TalkSport have also reported that City are close to securing Charles’s return, though they suggest it is unlikely the 20-year-old will feature in a first-team role. Instead, a loan move is expected to allow him to continue his development.

Charles ticks the boxes for a young City goalkeeper. He is good with his feet — a prerequisite for any keeper in Enzo Maresca’s system — a very good shot stopper, and he showed at Sheffield Wednesday that he can command his penalty area well. At 20, there is plenty of room for improvement.

The immediate assumption when City were first linked with Charles was that he would step in as understudy to Gianluigi Donnarumma. That may not be the case.

If Charles goes out on loan and James Trafford departs as expected, City will need a backup goalkeeper. How Maresca views the situation remains to be seen. He could see Trafford as the ideal fit for his system, given Trafford’s ability in build-up play from the back — an area where he outperforms Donnarumma. But it is hard to imagine Donnarumma being relegated to a backup role, given his shot-stopping, presence and leadership.

For now, City are edging closer to bringing Charles back. What happens next is less clear.

Ruben Dias and Portugal are through to the World Cup round of 16 after a 2-1 victory over Croatia that had more twists than a Merseyside derby.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored his first-ever World Cup knockout goal — a stat that had been following him around like a bad smell — as Portugal came from behind to win it.

The game looked destined for extra time until Gonçalo Ramos popped up in the 94th minute, rising above two Croatian defenders to head home Rafael Leão's cross.

Cue chaos.

Croatia thought they'd snatched an equaliser deep into stoppage time when Josko Gvardiol bundled the ball in, but the flag went up for offside. VAR upheld the call, and Portugal breathed again.

Mateo Kovacic, on the other side, put in a shift for Croatia. He played the full 90 minutes, racking up 49 accurate passes at 94% accuracy, three shots on target, and three recoveries. Just one of those days where the stats look good but the result doesn't.

Ruben Dias played the entire match too — 110 touches, 86 accurate passes at 91%, five clearances, and five aerial duels won. Solid, unflashy, exactly what you'd expect.

Portugal now face Spain in the last-16 at the Dallas Stadium on Monday, July 6. European champions versus a Portugal side finding their rhythm at the right time. Should be a good one.

Rayan Ait-Nouri's involvement at the 2026 World Cup is over after Algeria were beaten 2-0 by Switzerland at BC Place on Sunday.

Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye scored either side of half-time as Murat Yakin's side eased into the Round of 16, having topped Group B unbeaten after wins over Bosnia and Herzegovina and co-hosts Canada, plus a late draw with Qatar.

Algeria arrived in the knockout phase as one of the best third-place finishers from Group J, a group that included a Lionel Messi hat-trick against them and a dramatic late equaliser against Austria that sent both sides through.

The Desert Foxes started brightly enough, with Houssem Aouar testing the Swiss early on, but the game turned on 10 minutes when Johan Manzambi carved through the Algerian defence to set up Embolo from close range.

Algeria pushed for an equaliser before half-time but were undone by their own sloppiness at the start of the second period. A failure to clear their lines twice in quick succession allowed Ndoye to collect outside the area and slide a composed low finish into the far corner, beyond Luca Zidane.

Riyad Mahrez was withdrawn in the 71st minute without having made a decisive impact, and Switzerland saw out the remainder with minimal fuss.

Ait-Nouri's defensive numbers for the match included 10 ground duels won from 15, 85% pass accuracy, and three successful dribbles from five attempts, according to Sofascore data.

Man City's representatives at the tournament now turn their attention to the last-16, where Enzo Maresca's players will face each other as Portugal — featuring several of the City contingent — prepare to take on Croatia.

Manchester City have entered the race to sign Leicester City youngster Jeremy Monga, according to multiple reports. The 16-year-old winger is attracting serious interest from a host of Premier League clubs.

Sami Mokbel of the BBC reports that City, Arsenal and Brentford are all attempting to sign Monga. Arsenal were considered the most advanced in their pursuit, but City's entry has shifted the landscape.

Mokbel also states that Monga has agreed to a one-year scholarship contract with Leicester, which is set to convert to a professional deal on 10 July. That means any interested club will need to negotiate a transfer fee with the Foxes, who are believed to want a minimum of £10 million for the youngster.

David Ornstein of The Athletic has confirmed City's move, adding that Enzo Maresca is behind the club's bid to beat Arsenal to the signing. Ornstein reports that Arsenal had been in direct talks with Leicester but have been unable to agree a deal for the England youth international.

Fabrizio Romano has gone further, reporting that City are now in direct negotiations with Leicester and that Arsenal are out of the race entirely.

Monga is a versatile attacker who can play on either wing or as a number ten. He is described as an explosive dribbler, comfortable going either way on the ball, and possesses genuine pace. His eye for a pass and goal are also noted as strong points.

At just 16, he has already made first-team appearances for Leicester, which is no small feat. He is not the finished product by any stretch, but the raw materials are clearly there.

City have a track record of targeting precisely this profile of young player, and the club appears to be moving quickly to get this one over the line. Whether they can beat the competition and agree a fee with Leicester remains to be seen, but the signs are promising.

Tottenham are reportedly plotting a double swoop on Manchester City after already beating the Blues to Sandro Tonali's signature. According to The Independent's Miguel Delaney, the north Londoners have their sights set on goalkeeper James Trafford and winger Savinho.

Trafford's future at the Etihad has been the subject of speculation throughout the window. The England international is understood to be keen on a move to Newcastle United, despite the Magpies' current absence from European football, and is waiting for a conversation with new manager Enzo Maresca to clarify his path to the number one shirt.

Tottenham's interest adds another layer. Spurs can offer regular first-team football at a high level alongside European competition — a more compelling platform than Newcastle can currently provide.

Savinho, meanwhile, has been consistently linked with Spurs across multiple stages of the summer window, with City reportedly willing to sell if their £60 million asking price is met.

The prospect of Tottenham returning to pick off further assets after the Tonali deal represents a genuine test for director of football Hugo Viana. Maresca's appointment was expected to clarify a number of outstanding squad decisions, and the futures of Trafford and Savinho are among the most pressing personnel questions the Italian must resolve before the new season begins.

The loss of Tonali to Tottenham is a blow to City's midfield recruitment plans — albeit not a major one, as the Blues prepare to unveil England international Elliot Anderson as their club record signing for a sensational £116 million.

Whether Tottenham can complete a double raid to follow up the Tonali coup, or whether Maresca and Viana move to retain both Trafford and Savinho, is set to become one of the defining subplots of the remainder of the summer window for both clubs.

Manchester City have made enquiries about Leicester City forward Jeremy Monga, complicating what looked like a straightforward move to Arsenal for the 16-year-old.

According to the BBC, City have been in touch over a potential deal for the teenager in recent days. Arsenal remain the most advanced club in their interest, but the Blues are long-term admirers and are now exploring whether they can beat the Gunners to his signature.

Monga has played senior football at a very young age and is rated as one of the most exciting attacking prospects in the country. talkSPORT has reported that Arsenal had been close to a deal worth around £10m, but City’s late involvement could change things.

Arsenal still lead the chase for the young winger. Mikel Arteta’s side have built a strong reputation for developing young talent, and Monga would fit their long-term recruitment strategy. The Gunners are not only signing established stars this summer; they are also trying to secure elite youngsters before their value explodes.

Monga is quick, direct and confident in attacking areas. He is still raw, but that is normal for a player his age. Arsenal clearly believe he has the tools to become a serious first-team option in the future.

City, though, are dangerous rivals in this kind of deal. They have the resources, academy structure and long-term planning to tempt young players, especially now that the squad is being reshaped under Enzo Maresca.

At 16, Monga would not be expected to immediately transform the first team. This is a signing for the future. But those are exactly the deals top clubs need to get right.

City’s arrival makes things more difficult for Arsenal, but they still appear to have done more groundwork. The smart move now for Arteta is to finish the deal quickly, convince the player there is a clear pathway, and avoid giving City time to hijack it.

Manchester City have officially confirmed the signing of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. The announcement arrived on the club's official website today, making Anderson the first arrival of the Enzo Maresca era.

The formalities of the deal will be completed when Anderson returns to England. The 23-year-old is currently away with England at this summer's World Cup, where he has been playing a key role for his country.

Record deal

As previously reported by David Ornstein for The Athletic, City will pay Forest £116 million for the midfielder. That fee makes Anderson City's record signing, surpassing the £100 million paid to bring Jack Grealish from Aston Villa. It also makes Anderson the most expensive British player in history, taking the crown from Jude Bellingham, who cost Real Madrid £115 million.

What Anderson brings

Anderson made 50 appearances in all competitions for Forest last season, scoring four goals and adding five assists. But those numbers don't tell the full story of why City were so keen to land him.

The England international is elite at winning duels and possession — exactly what City's midfield needs after losing Bernardo Silva. Anderson has the physicality and speed to cover the pitch, though he is a different type of player to the Portuguese. He can dominate the physical battle and will add another dimension to City's midfield.

According to Squawka data, Anderson was the only player to win possession 300 times or more across Europe's top five leagues last season.

In possession, Anderson is elite at breaking the lines with his passing, something that has stood out at the World Cup and during his time at Forest. His ability to play the ball behind defences should greatly aid Erling Haaland. He is also an elite dribbler, powering through midfield with the ball at his feet.

Room to grow

There is a sense Anderson could add more goals and assists playing in a Maresca side that will likely dominate possession. He is expected to partner Rodri in midfield, a pairing that has the potential to become a dominant force.

At 23, Anderson is already established as one of the Premier League's elite midfielders. If he continues to develop at City, he could become one of the pre-eminent midfielders in European football.

Manchester City confirmed the signing of Elliot Anderson on Thursday, adding another name to Enzo Maresca's summer business. The club has not disclosed the fee or contract length, but the deal is done.

Camavinga latest

Fresh updates emerged on another midfield target, though the source offers no details on the nature of those updates or whether a move is any closer.

Doku through to last 16

Jeremy Doku helped Belgium book their place in the World Cup last 16. That's three talking points from a busy Thursday at the Etihad.

Manchester City have drawn a line in the sand over Malo Gusto, telling Chelsea they will not pay £75 million for the right-back. According to Fabrizio Romano, the club like the player and Enzo Maresca appreciates him, but that price tag is a non-starter.

The ultimatum arrives at an awkward moment between the two clubs. The recent compensation dispute over Maresca's move from Stamford Bridge to the Etihad has already added friction to the relationship. Neither party is likely to be especially keen on doing the other any favours right now.

City's position is straightforward: the appreciation for Gusto remains, but the valuation does not. If Chelsea refuse to budge, the club will explore other options. It is a considered commercial decision rather than a rejection of the player himself.

Hugo Viana is not the type to be held to ransom simply because a target fits a specific profile. The pursuit of Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson showed City were prepared to break the market in one area, but even there the fee was justified by the player's profile rather than desperation. The right-back search will not be an exception.

“Manchester City like Malo Gusto and Maresca appreciates him, but the club are not planning to spend £75 million,” Romano said.

The threat of alternative options gives City genuine leverage in the negotiation. It also raises the obvious question: who else is out there? Finding a right-back who combines Gusto's age, Premier League experience and tactical fit under Maresca will not be straightforward. Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi has been considered as a potential positional conversion option in recent weeks, suggesting the conventional market has already proven difficult to navigate.

Whether Chelsea blink or hold firm is now the defining question in one of the summer window's more intriguing standoffs. History between the clubs, a manager with a vested interest in the outcome, and a significant price gap all need to be narrowed if a deal is to happen.

How City's ultimatum lands at Stamford Bridge in the coming days will determine whether Gusto's situation changes before the window closes, or whether Viana turns his attention elsewhere.

On its own, it is a straightforward retail launch. In context, it arrives at a moment when every visual detail carries weight.

Maresca has replaced Pep Guardiola. City are preparing for a three-match Asia tour. The club have already started presenting the new era to a global audience, and the travelwear gives that presentation a consistent look from the airport to the tunnel.

City's official shop now lists the PUMATECH range. The pre-season schedule includes fixtures against Inter, K League All-Stars and Atletico Madrid, all of which will be shown on CITY+. The tour opens against Inter in Hong Kong on 1 August before two games in Seoul — against K League All-Stars on 5 August and Atletico Madrid on 9 August.

That gives Maresca an immediate public stage. The matches will be used for fitness, tactical work and squad assessment. They will also form part of a wider commercial push built around travel, access and direct club media.

City's CITY+ announcement makes clear the full tour will be presented as subscription content. Supporters will see the games, the arrivals, the training clips and the early shape of Maresca's team.

The travelwear range fits into that same picture. It gives City a consistent look for the first weeks of the post-Guardiola era, at the exact point when every public image will be read for clues about the new manager.

Maresca is not walking into a quiet handover. City paid Chelsea compensation to appoint him, with The Guardian reporting that the club confirmed him on a three-year deal after Guardiola's exit. He knows the club, having previously worked in City's academy and first-team setup. That familiarity helps. It does not remove the pressure.

City have already released video content around his return, including Inside City footage of his first day back. The tone is deliberate: familiar face, new responsibility, controlled transition.

The football work still has to cut through the branding. Maresca has to define roles, manage staggered World Cup returns and shape the team before the competitive schedule begins. A tour against Inter, K League All-Stars and Atletico Madrid gives him useful opposition, but not much privacy.

Every session and match will carry commercial value. It will also invite football judgement.

That is the real point of the PUMATECH launch. Travelwear is not the biggest story of City's summer, but it is part of how the club will present Maresca's first months. The squad will travel in it. Supporters will see it in airport clips, matchday arrivals and tour coverage. PUMA and City will want the new season to feel organised before the Premier League starts.

Handled well, that helps City sell continuity after Guardiola. Handled badly, it risks looking too polished if the football underneath is still finding its rhythm.

City are experienced at this. Their commercial operation has been built over years of success, global touring and carefully managed access. The difference now is the managerial change.

Maresca's job is to make the football message as clear as the branding. The new travelwear collection can give City's tour a clean visual identity. It cannot do the harder work for him.

That will come in Hong Kong, Seoul and then back in Manchester, when City try to show that the post-Guardiola era has more than a new look.

Bernardo Silva's new Relentless documentary does more than wave goodbye. It sets out the standard Enzo Maresca now has to protect.

This is not just a farewell film. It defines the cultural benchmark the new manager must maintain at the Etihad.