Despite winning the Premier League title this past season, Manchester City are not wasting time when it comes to improving their squad.
With the signings of Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland already confirmed, the next order of business for the blue half of Manchester is bolstering the midfield.
While City have reportedly long identified who fits their criteria, now they may be able to advance with negotiations.
TOP STORY – MAN CITY TO MOVE FOR PHILLIPS
Having already closed on other positional needs, Manchester City are preparing to table an offer for Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, according to the Athletic.
Reports suggest a bid will soon be on the way, following the completion of the 26-year-old's international commitments with England.
Phillips has been a target of City for some time, but with Rodri in need of competition, the incentive to sign him has increased after Fernandinho's unexpected departure from the Etihad Stadium.
City are said to believe a figure between £45million and £50m will be sufficient for Leeds to part with Phillips.
ROUND-UP– Juventus expect Paul Pogba to sign a contract with them at the beginning of July after reaching a verbal agreement, according to the Guardian.
– Chelsea have begun talks with Inter over a loan return for striker Romelu Lukaku, but the 29-year-old will need to take a wage cut, the Telegraph reports.
– Manchester United are favourites to sign Porto midfielder Vitinha, says A Bola.
– Tottenham, Newcastle and Aston Villa are among the clubs interested in signing former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale on a free transfer, the Sun reports.
Football rumours: Spurs aim to keep reported Manchester United target Harry Kane
Tottenham will try to resist offers from Manchester United for striker Harry Kane. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reportedly declared he is against letting Kane go to a Premier League rival, according to the Mirror.
Bayern Munich are looking to challenge Arsenal for the signature of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, with the German club reportedly prepared to pay £95million for the England international’s services, the Mirror said.
To accommodate the gap left by Rice, the Sun reports West Ham are favourites to sign Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse for around £40million.
The Telegraph said Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is confident he can sway Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount to join the club.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchJames Maddison: The Leicester midfielder has attracted interest from Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle after his club were relegated, the Mirror says his signing fee will be around £40million.
Martin Odegaard: The Arsenal midfielder is being scoped by Paris St Germain.
Keith Watson keen to highlight Ross County’s form as they fight for survival
Keith Watson is adamant relegation-threatened Ross County can take heart from their own recent form as they bid to topple free-scoring Championship promotion hopefuls Partick Thistle in this week’s Premiership play-off.
The Staggies must defeat the Jags over two legs to survive in the top flight for a fifth consecutive season after defeat in their final match at Kilmarnock on Sunday consigned them to 11th place.
Much has been made of the fact Partick have scored an impressive 16 goals in their four play-off matches so far against Queen’s Park and Ayr.
But Watson was keen to point out that his own side have been in good enough form to move off the foot of the Premiership table over the past month despite being four points adrift and seemingly doomed to bottom spot with five games to play.
“They are obviously on a decent run, because they have had to win games to get to the final,” the County captain said when asked whether Partick’s momentum might give them an edge.
“But going into the split we were four points adrift at the bottom and we just fell short on the last day, so I don’t think we are on poor form by any means.
“We have been picking up results recently, it’s not as if we have not been playing very well.
“The boys know what’s at stake. We need to try and keep as upbeat as we can, we can’t dwell on (finishing second bottom) too much.
“Anything can happen, and we want to make sure we stay in this league.
Although he admits Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Killie was “a sore one”, Watson believes the form and “fight” his team have shown recently will stand them in good stead for the play-offs, with the first leg at Firhill this Thursday.
“Going into the split we were four points adrift, and maybe a lot of people wrote us off a wee bit,” said the Staggies defender.
“But we just keep on fighting. We don’t know when we are down and we don’t know when we are beaten.
“We showed that against St Johnstone when we were 2-0 down and we came back (to draw 3-3 last Wednesday).
“There is plenty fight and effort in the team. We’ve just got to make sure we take that into the last two games and show the same effort and fight we have shown to get back involved again.
“We’ve got a few days to prepare and do our work on Partick. The boys are disappointed, but we are not down. We have got two games to stay in the league.
“We will be going into that first leg on Thursday really looking forward to it. We’ve got two games to save our season, and we will be giving it everything we’ve got.”
Kyle Vassell believes Kilmarnock are ready to make their presence felt at the “right end of the table” next season after they secured their cinch Premiership survival on the last day of a challenging first season back in the top flight.
The 30-year-old has loved his time at Killie since initially joining in January on a short-term deal, so much so that he recently agreed to a two-year contract extension keeping him at Rugby Park until 2025.
Vassell is hugely excited about the future after notching his sixth goal of the campaign in Sunday’s campaign-ending 3-1 win over relegation rivals Ross County in front of a buoyant home support.
“I have two more years of this and hopefully we can get better as a club and get up the other end of the league next season,” said the striker.
“I knew we had what it takes to stay up, but you never know in football. They say it averages out over the season and the teams that are down there and the ones up the top deserve to be where they are.
“But you get games like St Johnstone, where we had a goal disallowed for something I’d never seen before then we had a penalty not given.
“I genuinely believe we never had much luck for a few months, but we got through it and made sure we didn’t rely on luck and that our performances were there.
“We got a great win last Wednesday at Dundee United and another one against Ross County.”
Asked if he expected Kilmarnock to kick on under Derek McInnes next term, Vassell said: “Absolutely. That’s why I’m staying, because I believe in what he’s trying to build. I want to be part of what he’s building.
“You see the fans, they were amazing against Ross County, from the start. The second half was probably one of the most enjoyable, even after their goal, because the fans were singing everyone’s name and the atmosphere was so good for us as players.
“If we can get as many of them in the stadium next season we will kick on. A day like that gives you a glimpse of what can happen but it’s on us. We have to play well to make them want to come. We have to get them in the stand.
“If we take that on board in pre-season and into the beginning of the season and make sure we’re at the right end of the table, I’m sure even more will come because the fans are there.”
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