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• 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.

• Eriksen in 'no rush' to decide Man Utd future

  Christian Eriksen says he is in "no rush" to decide his future despite going into the final year of his contract at Manchester United.

  Eriksen joined the Red Devils in 2022, making 28 appearances in the Premier League in his first season, though an injury in January 2023 put a halt to his impressive start to life at Old Trafford.

  Following Kobbie Mainoo's breakout season last year, Eriksen dropped down the pecking order at United as he made just 12 starts in his 22 league appearances, scoring just once and assisting two goals.

  Some reports suggest Eriksen could be heading out on loan to former club Ajax for the final year of his contract, but he insisted he is satisfied in Manchester.

  "I am really happy at United," he said. "I have had two very good years and am going into my third.

  "It is a special club and a special place. Also, my family is settled in Manchester, so I am in no rush.

  "Obviously, I want to play as much as possible and do everything I can. But that is nothing to do with the club - it is up to you and the manager.

  "But in terms of how I feel, I feel very good at United."

• 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.