Related items

• Ederson slams reports of rift with Man City backup Ortega

  Ederson has hit out at reports of a rift between himself and fellow Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.

  The Brazilian was substituted after suffering a fractured eye socket in City's penultimate game of the Premier League season, a vital 1-0 win over Tottenham. 

  Ortega replaced him and made a brilliant save to deny Son Heung-min as City maintained their slender lead over Arsenal at the top of the table, sealing an unprecedented fourth straight title by beating West Ham five days later. 

  Ortega was widely lauded for his role in that triumph, and an article published by The Athletic this week suggested Ederson took issue with that praise.

  However, the goalkeeper – who missed the Copa America as a result of his injury – has now moved to shut down those suggestions with a post to his Instagram story.

  "I would like to clarify that the note published by The Athletic yesterday, referring to my alleged dissatisfaction with a co-worker, is completely false," he wrote. 

  "The alleged day reported was, without a doubt, one of the most difficult days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and, consequently, from representing my country in the Copa America.

  "At the time of the injury, my only thought was to continue in the match, defending City in the fight for the title. 

  "But the emotion of the match would be greater than the reality and, inevitably, I would not be able to continue as I would have liked due to the damage it caused, completely blocking my field of vision. I remain focused on preparing for the season."

  Ederson has been linked with a transfer in recent days, reportedly attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs.

• McAllister cannot see Klopp or Guardiola succeeding Southgate

  Gary McAllister finds it hard to believe that either Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola will succeed Gareth Southgate as England manager.

  Southgate, who led England to back-to-back European Championship finals, ended his eight-year tenure following their defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 showpiece.

  The 53-year-old was often accused of a cautious approach despite only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) overseeing more England goals than his 213, with supporters wanting to see a more attack-minded manager take over.  

  And two of the names linked with the vacant position have been pioneers of Premier League football in recent years.

  Klopp ended his nine-year stay at Liverpool in May to take a break from management, while some expect Guardiola to leave Manchester City at the end of his current deal, which expires next year. 

  The pair have won 653 games between them and shared 25 major honours during their time in England and could be seen as the ideal candidates to end the Three Lions' 58-year wait for silverware. 

  However, former Liverpool and Scotland midfielder McAllister believes Klopp and Guardiola are unlikely to become England's next manager. 

  McAllister, who played 57 times for his nation, believes supporters would prefer an English manager at the helm.

  "I think people are linking Jurgen with the England job purely because he has experience working in the English Premier League," McAllister told Stats Perform.

  "He's worked with elite players for many years now at Dortmund and at Liverpool. So people are putting two and two together.

  "Personally, I don't see it happening and I think I also see that there were links to Pep Guardiola and I don't see Pep managing England either.

  "It's hard for me to comment on this because I'm obviously not English, I'm Scottish.

  "The people I speak to within the game, there is a feeling that the manager of England should come from St George's Park, which is the headquarters of English football, the FA and all the coaching programmes that they have there.

  "Why would you have all this and then put a manager not from England in? I think most of the people in England are looking for an English manager."

  The Three Lions' next game is a Nations League clash with the Republic of Ireland in September, with Finland their next opponents three days later.

• Lindstrom joins Everton on loan from Napoli

  Everton have completed the loan signing of Jesper Lindstrom from Napoli, the club confirmed on Friday. 

  Lindstrom will join the Toffees for the 2024-25 season with the deal including an option to make the move permanent at the end of the campaign.

  The 24-year-old becomes the fourth addition at Goodison Park following the arrivals of Tim Iroegbunam, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Harrison. 

  Lindstrom arrives after a difficult season with Napoli, playing just 416 minutes in 22 league appearances for the Serie A side. 

  The Denmark international arrived in Naples from Eintracht Frankfurt where he scored 14 goals in 80 appearances, helping the German side lift the Europa League in the 2021-22 season. 

  “I feel very good. It’s amazing to represent Everton," Lindstrom said in his first interview with the club. 

  "This is a big club, with big history, a good stadium and, as I’ve seen, very good facilities as well. I’m very, very happy to be here and I feel like this is a good fit.

  “I actually heard of Everton’s interest a while ago – not only from now but previously. England is very similar to Denmark so I will feel at home quickly.

  “I’ve spoken to the manager. It sounds as though he likes the way I play football and I can be a good fit for the team with my speed, so now I want to deliver."

  The search for another attacking option out wide had been the priority at Everton, having seen Arnaut Danjuma return to Villarreal following the completion of his loan deal, and the sale of Lewis Dobbin to Aston Villa.

  Everton managed 40 goals last season, the second worst in the Premier League ahead of Sheffield United (35), and Dyche believes Lindstrom has a lot to offer in the final third. 

  "Jesper is a player with very good ability who can operate in a number of different attacking roles, which will benefit us heading into the new season," said Dyche. 

  "He joins us with a range of different experiences. He is hungry and eager to succeed with us, and that's a strong starting point as we look to add more productivity to our attack."