Rumour Has It: Grealish set for Man City medical to complete move from Villa

By Sports Desk August 05, 2021

Jack Grealish's mooted move to Manchester City appears set to imminently go through.

City manager Pep Guardiola has long admired the 25-year-old England midfielder.

English champions City have also been linked with Harry Kane as they chase an elusive Champions League crown.

TOP STORY - GREALISH BOOKED IN FOR MAN CITY MEDICAL

Aston Villa's Grealish is on the cusp of completing his £100million transfer to join Manchester City, according to the Birmingham Mail.

The report claims Grealish was due to arrive in Manchester on Wednesday, with a medical booked in.

Grealish returned from a holiday after Euro 2020 this week and was spotted at Villa training on Wednesday but has since reportedly headed north.

ROUND-UP

- Sky Sports claims Aston Villa are lining up a move for Norwich City midfielder Todd Cantwell as they prepare for Grealish to depart.

- Tottenham are plotting moves for PSV's Noni Madueke and Denmark's Euro 2020 star Mikkel Damsgaard according to the Evening Standard, as they plan their windfall from Harry Kane's potential sale to Manchester City.

- Fresh from Danny Ings leaving for Villa, Southampton are closing in on Blackburn forward Adam Armstrong, reports Football League World.

- The Sun claims Norwich City are looking to launch a £15m bid for Blackburn's Armstrong too. Irish prospect Adam Idah could be included in a player-plus-cash deal.

- Atalanta are set to hold talks with Chelsea for a move for striker Tammy Abraham according to Gianluca Di Marzio.

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  • Kane the centurion: The stats behind England captain's landmark Kane the centurion: The stats behind England captain's landmark

    On Tuesday, England captain Harry Kane became the 10th man to win 100 caps for the Three Lions, and he marked it in style.

    He scored twice in a Nations League clash with Finland at Wembley.

    Kane is England's record scorer, now with 68 goals for his country, and his latest accomplishment only cements his status as one of his country's all-time greats.

    The Bayern Munich man has repeatedly outlined his desire to play on until his late thirties, and with the international game continuing to expand, he will surely fancy his chances of overhauling Peter Shilton's record of 125 caps in quick time.

    As Kane joins an exclusive club of England centurions, we dive into the best Opta data surrounding his international career to date. 

    Kane's road to 100

    Kane may have had to wait until the age of 22 to win his first senior cap, but he wasted no time in making an impact upon his arrival on the international stage.

    Just 79 seconds after replacing Wayne Rooney in the second half of a Euro 2016 qualifier versus Lithuania at Wembley, Kane headed home a Raheem Sterling cross to get off the mark for his country.

    Since 1872, Kane is one of just six players to score inside two minutes on his England debut, while that strike made him the first to do so since Gerry Hitchens in 1961.

    Kane's first start came in a friendly against Italy a few days later, and 87 of his 100 England outings have come when he was named in the starting lineup.

    Eighty-one of Kane's caps were handed out by recently departed manager Gareth Southgate, the most won by any player during his eight-year reign, and 61 of his England goals also came under Southgate.

    His tally of 29 major tournament appearances (World Cup/Euros), meanwhile, is the most of any England player in history, though he has so far fallen short of replicating Bobby Moore's achievements and hoisting a major trophy aloft as Three Lions captain.

    Kane's goals

    As well as being England's all-time record goalscorer, Kane has directly contributed to more goals (85 – 68 goals and 17 assists) than any other Three Lions player. 

    He has now scored 27 goals at Wembley for England - he was already the team's record scorer at the national stadium prior to Tuesday's double.

    Kane has been exceptional on the big stage, with his 15 major tournament goals (eight at World Cups, seven at the Euros) being an England record, while he also has more competitive goals than any other player in Three Lions history (60). 

    It may come as little surprise to hear San Marino have been Kane's favourite opponent, the striker netting five times against the team sat at the bottom of the FIFA World Rankings.

    However, Kane has been broadly consistent against all opponents, scoring against 31 of the 43 different teams he has faced on the international stage to date – more than any other player in England history.

    As for Kane's bogey teams, he has faced Euro 2024 champions Spain and England's Euro 2016 conquerors Iceland most often without scoring, failing to net in four outings versus both sides.

    Kane's results

    Kane's international career has coincided with one of the most successful periods in England's history. The 31-year-old has won 62 of his 100 matches, giving him a 62% win ratio, with 21 draws and just 17 losses on his record.

    He is also, of course, the only man to captain the Three Lions in multiple major tournament finals, leading them out in the showpiece games at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.

    That latter final in Berlin, while a disappointment for Kane as he was replaced by Ollie Watkins in the second half after a quiet display, also made him the first man to captain a senior England side in an overseas final.

    While many feel Kane must fire England to silverware to truly be considered his country's greatest ever player, his international legacy is already a deeply impressive one.

    And you get the impression there are still plenty more records waiting to fall Kane's way.

  • Netherlands 2-2 Germany: Rivals play out breathless Nations League draw Netherlands 2-2 Germany: Rivals play out breathless Nations League draw

    The Netherlands and Germany played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in their second Nations League Group A3 fixture in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

    Goals from Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich saw Julian Nagelsmann's side fight back to lead after they fell behind to Tijjani Reijnders' second-minute strike, only for Denzel Dumfries to level five minutes into the second half and keep the sides locked level on four points.

    Ronald Koeman's side did suffer a major injury blow late in the first half, though, with Manchester City's Nathan Ake substituted after sustaining an apparent foot injury.

    The hosts made a lightning start at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ryan Gravenberch sliding a neat throughball into the path of Reijnders, who made no mistake when one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

    The Oranje twice went close to extending their lead, Dumfries somehow heading Xavi Simons' free-kick wide before the latter was denied by Ter Stegen, and they were punished for their wastefulness after 38 minutes.

    Florian Wirtz saw a close-range effort parried by Bart Verbruggen, but Undav was ideally placed to volley home the rebound, shortly before Ake was carried off on a stretcher following a clash with Kimmich.

    Dumfries made a vital intervention to deny David Raum as the momentum swung in Germany's favour, and they took the lead three minutes into first-half stoppage time.

    Undav was involved again, steering Raum's cross back into the centre for captain Kimmich to lash home from close range.

    The Netherlands, however, refused to lie down and started the second half almost as quickly as they began the first. Brian Brobbey was played in behind by Simons, and his cutback was turned home by Dumfries to make it 2-2 after 50 minutes.

    Ter Stegen kept out Gravenberch's long-range strike, while Raum sent a header over from a good position, but neither side could find a winner.

    Data Debrief: Undav's first impression

    Undav has looked a player reborn since he swapped Brighton for Stuttgart, initially on loan, ahead of the 2023-24 season. 

    He scored 18 goals in 30 Bundesliga appearances as Sebastian Hoeness' men stunned Bayern Munich to finish as runners-up last term, and on Tuesday, he was rewarded with his first Germany start.

    Undav repaid Nagelsmann's faith, becoming the first player to both score and assist on their first start for Germany since Amin Younes in 2017, versus San Marino.

  • England 2-0 Finland: Golden boy Kane marks 100th cap in style England 2-0 Finland: Golden boy Kane marks 100th cap in style

    Harry Kane scored twice on his 100th England appearance to propel Lee Carsley's team to a 2-0 Nations League win over Finland.

    Kane, who donned a pair of golden boots, was celebrated before kick-off at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, as he became the 10th player to feature in 100 matches for the Three Lions.

    And after seeing a diving header disallowed for offside in the first half, Kane ensured he marked his milestone appearance in style with a second-half double.

    Having been denied by the excellent Lukas Hradecky, who made six saves in total to keep Finland in the contest amid England's domination, Kane finally broke the deadlock with a wonderful strike that cannoned in off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.

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