Cristiano Ronaldo's future with Manchester United is uncertain amid a difficult season at Old Trafford.

The 37-year-old only joined United from Juventus in August, following interest from rivals Manchester City.

But the Red Devils are well out of the title race, with Ronaldo contributing nine league goals, in a tumultuous season that has seen Ole Gunnar Solskjaer axed as manager.

TOP STORY – MAN UTD WOULD BOW TO RONALDO TRANSFER DEMANDS

Manchester United will allow five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo to depart if he demands to depart in the off-season, reports the Sunday Mirror.

The Portuguese is ready to quit the Red Devils should they miss the top four and subsequently fail to qualify for the Champions League.

The report claims that Ronaldo was expecting to transfer United into title contenders but that his presence has become a sideshow, meaning they are willing to let him go.

ROUND-UP

- Raphinha has caught the eye of Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona but Leeds United plan to rebuff any offers him in the off-season according to The Mirror.

- The Mirror also reports that Arsenal are in the race for Napoli's Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz , joining Madrid and Barcelona.

- Liverpool target Fabio Carvalho is being pursued by Manchester United too, claims the Daily Star. The Fulham teenager came close to joining the Reds in January.

- Manchester City and Raheem Sterling are set for contract talks at the end of the season but the English leaders may sell him if he does not agree to a new deal, according to the Times.

- Fiorentina are interested in Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot but would need to convince him to lower his wages, reports La Nazione. Dalot is in line for a new deal with United according to the Star.

- Liverpool Echo reports that Everton's Jean-Philippe Gbamin could join CSKA Moscow on loan with the Russian transfer window open until February 22.

Saturday was quite a day in the Premier League, with shock results impacting both ends of the table, and the middle.

Liverpool appear to live challengers again in the title race after their 3-1 victory against Norwich City was followed by Tottenham's dramatic 3-2 win away to leaders Manchester City.

Mohamed Salah scored his 150th goal for Liverpool and Luis Diaz bagged his first in English football, while former City target Harry Kane insisted on shoving narrative into everyone's faces with a sensational performance for Spurs at the Etihad Stadium.

Elsewhere, a late Hakim Ziyech goal secured Chelsea a win at Crystal Palace, Arsenal's youngsters earned them a 2-1 win against Brentford, while West Ham were held to a 1-1 draw by Newcastle in the early game.

Burnley produced a surprising performance to win 3-0 at Brighton, with Wout Weghorst getting off the mark for his new club, while Watford also threw a spanner in the works of the relegation fight with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

The other game of a busy day in England's top flight saw Southampton beat Frank Lampard's Everton 2-0 at St Mary's thanks to goals from Stuart Armstrong and Shane Long.

Manchester City 2-3 Tottenham: City Kane-d by ruthless Spurs

Pep Guardiola's City team had looked imperious since losing at home to Crystal Palace in October, until today.

City were dominant but wasteful against Spurs, finding the target with only four of their 21 shots, while the visitors made Ederson work with five of their six efforts, beating him three times to take the points.

Kane’s winner, timed at 94:25, was the latest winning goal scored against City in the Premier League since Michael Owen for Manchester United in September 2009 (95:27).

Tottenham duo Kane and Son Heung-min have now assisted one another for 36 Premier League goals, the joint-most of any pairing in the competition's history, moving level with Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard.

Son has been directly involved in 10 goals in 15 appearances against City (seven goals, three assists); only against Southampton (15) and West Ham (11) has he had a hand in more goals for Spurs.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has lost twice to Tottenham this season, and has only lost more games to Chelsea (eight) than Spurs (six) in his entire managerial career.

Liverpool 3-1 Norwich: Reds come back thanks to usual suspects, and a new one

Early in the second half at Anfield, it did not look like Liverpool would be cutting Manchester City's lead on Saturday, finding themselves 1-0 down to the Canaries after Milot Rashica's first Premier League goal.

However, a marvellous overhead kick from Sadio Mane was soon followed by a historic moment for Salah, who scored his 150th goal for Liverpool in just his 233rd appearance. Only Roger Hunt (226) has reached that total faster in the club's history.

Luis Díaz became the 16th different Colombian player to score a Premier League goal, producing a nice finish after a Jordan Henderson throughball. He was also Liverpool’s 16th different goalscorer in the competition this season (excluding own goals), the joint-most of any side in 2021-22 (Chelsea and City both also 16).

Henderson was a standout performer on the day as well, drastically improving from his showing at Burnley last weekend.

He completed just 50 per cent of passes (18 out of 36) in the 1-0 win at Turf Moor, but on Saturday produced his second-best pass success rate in the Premier League for Liverpool in a game where he made at least 100 passes, with 97.2 per cent (104 of 107), only bettering that against Hull City in 2016-17 (97.3 per cent, 108 of 111).

Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea: Late Ziyech strike saves Blues

Chelsea returned to Premier League action after winning the FIFA Club World Cup last week to eventually secure three points against Palace thanks to an 89th-minute Ziyech strike. The Moroccan has scored in three consecutive league matches for the first time since September 2019 in the Eredivisie with Ajax.

The Blues have now won back-to-back league games for the first time since October, when they won four in a row, and could also be looking up the table after City's wobble.

It was another clean sheet for Chelsea, who have kept 37 in 70 matches in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel, more than any other Premier League side since the German’s first match in charge in January last year.

It was not all good from Tuchel's men though, with struggling striker Romelu Lukaku managing just seven touches, one of which was at the kick-off, the fewest in a single top-flight game for a player to feature for at least 90 minutes since Opta started collecting the data in 2003-04.

Arsenal 2-1 Brentford: Young guns fire Arteta's side to victory

Goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka earned Arsenal a hard-fought win against Brentford, despite Christian Norgaard's late strike for the Bees.

Smith Rowe bagged his ninth league goal this season; the only player to score more in a single campaign for Arsenal when aged 21 or younger was Nicolas Anelka in 1998-99 (17).

Saka registered his 11th goal involvement in the Premier League this season (seven goals, four assists), the most of any under-21 player and a haul bettered only by Jarrod Bowen (16), Mason Mount (13) and Trent Alexander-Arnold (12) among English players.

The Gunners netted their 600th (and 601st) Premier League goals at the Emirates Stadium, reaching the milestone in their 297th game there, with only United at Old Trafford (283) and City at the Etihad (290) doing so at a single stadium in fewer games in the competition.

Brentford are winless in their last seven league games, last having a longer run between September and October 2018 (eight games). Thomas Frank's side have also lost their last five away league games, their longest such run since February 2011 (also five).

West Ham 1-1 Newcastle: Magpies continue to rise under Howe

Eddie Howe's 500th league game as a manager (410 with Bournemouth, 77 with Burnley and 13 with Newcastle) ended with a well-earned point from the London Stadium in the day's early kick-off.

Craig Dawson gave West Ham the lead before Joe Willock's equaliser came just before half-time.

Newcastle have now taken 12 points from their last six Premier League games, two more than they managed in their previous 18 this season (10 points).

Dawson's goal was the 11th scored from a set-piece by the Hammers in the league this season (not including penalties), a figure only Liverpool (14) and City (12) can better.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-3 Burnley: Weghorst gets off the mark in big Clarets win

A quite remarkable performance from Sean Dyche's side in his 250th Premier League game in charge of Burnley saw them ease to a 3-0 win at the Amex Stadium, with Weghorst, Josh Brownhill and Aaron Lennon all finding the net.

Brighton suffered the heaviest defeat by a team hosting the English top flight's bottom side since Crystal Palace lost 4-0 at home to Sunderland in February 2017.

This was Burnley's first away win in the league since May 2021 (v Fulham), ending a run of 12 games without a win on the road. They also scored more goals in this game than they had in their previous five Premier League away games combined (two).

Weghorst scored his first goal for Burnley, becoming the first Dutchman to score for the Clarets in the competition. This ended a run of seven league games without scoring for Weghorst, with his previous goal coming in December for previous club Wolfsburg against Cologne.

Aston Villa 0-1 Watford: Dennis a menace to Villa

Another relegation-threatened side stepped up to secure an impressive away win as Roy Hodgson earned his first victory in charge of Watford thanks to a goal from Emmanuel Dennis.

This was the Hornets' first Premier League away win since October (5-2 v Everton), and their first away win in the competition while also keeping a clean sheet since January 2020 (3-0 v Bournemouth).

After winning two of their first three home games under Steven Gerrard (L1), Villa are now winless in their last four games at Villa Park (D2 L2). This was the first Premier League home game they have failed to score in since May 2021 (v Everton), ending a run of 12 in a row in which they had found the net.

Watford have now kept as many clean sheets in four Premier League games under Hodgson (two) as they had in their previous 36 games in the competition.

Southampton 2-0 Everton: Another free-kick continues Toon revival

The revival of Everton under Lampard was nowhere to be seen at St Mary's as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side continued their good run of form.

Southampton have now won four of their last eight Premier League games (D3 L1), as many victories as they managed in their previous 20 games in the competition (D8 L8).

Everton's total of 22 points from their first 23 games in the league this season is their worst at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1950-51 (three points for a win), when they also had 22 and were relegated at the end of the season.

Long's goal was his first in the league since February 2020 (v Aston Villa), ending a run of 799 minutes without the Irishman scoring in the league.

Pep Guardiola was given a stark reminder of what Harry Kane might have brought to Manchester City but insisted that transfer saga belonged in the past after a shock 3-2 defeat to Tottenham.

City had taken 43 points from a possible 45 across their last 15 Premier League games, while Spurs were on a three-game losing skid heading into Saturday's game at the Etihad Stadium.

Yet a double from Kane, including a winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time, gave the visitors a famous win, completing an improbable double over last season's champions.

City lead the way in the English top flight again this year, but their lead over Liverpool is down to six points, and Jurgen Klopp's team have a game in hand.

Guardiola said City had been involved in a "good game", pointing to Tottenham's deep defending as making his side's task difficult.

He added praise for how Tottenham's front three of Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski offered a threat to City's backline, adding on Sky Sports: "They are clinical, and the crosses we could not defend."

City wanted Kane during the last close-season, and the feeling was probably mutual, but the England captain remained at Tottenham and has been rejuvenated by Antonio Conte's mid-season arrival.

There is now a genuine title race, and Guardiola said: "I don't need a game today to know it. I knew it a month ago. There's many, many games to play. People are going to drop points."

When asked about Kane in a later news conference, Guardiola said signing the striker "never was an option" for City, despite admitting there was interest, and urged people to "forget" that saga.

He should be so lucky.

"It's not necessary for him to show today the goals he scored to show his quality with the ball. All the UK knows it," Guardiola said, signalling Kane's display came as no surprise.

Spurs boss Conte was impressed his team put their recent rocky form behind them to produce such an eye-catching result.

New recruit Kulusevski scored the opener after slick play involving Kane and Son, and Kane restored Tottenham's lead after an Ilkay Gundogan leveller. Riyad Mahrez looked to have pinched a point with a late penalty, only for Kane to head his second goal of the game.

Conte told Sky Sports: "It was a good win for us and a win we need to try to give us more confidence. it wasn't simple to play against Manchester City after three losses in a row, but this is a process. We are working very hard to try to improve every aspect.

"This type of game has to give us confidence to trust the work we are doing. It was important there was a reaction [to the defeats]."

Conte described Kane as "highly important", adding: "He had chances to score and I think in every game we created the chances to score, and today our strikers did very well and Harry was very good to keep the ball.

"I think the first goal was great because this goal is about our job, our work that we are doing every day."

But Conte warned: "One win is not enough. Don't forget we are coming after three losses, but for sure to win against Manchester City can give you confidence and to trust in what you are doing.

"We can improve a lot. This is a group of players that is fantastic, this group is one of the best groups of players I've worked with in my career. We have a lot of work to do but we are not scared to work."

Ever since Manchester City gave up on signing Harry Kane, it had looked like a decision where only the reigning Premier League champions came out better off.

They have become relatively comfortable at the top of the league, easing through the Champions League with the minimum of fuss and scoring plenty of goals along the way.

Meanwhile, Kane and Tottenham have had an under-par campaign, with the England striker managing just five Premier League goals in 21 games, until Saturday.

City were made to face every single doubt they would have had about missing out on Kane as Spurs put a dent in their title aspirations with a 3-2 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Despite largely dominating the game, City looked like a team without a natural goalscorer, and without a focal point.

For all of their play around the Spurs box, they rarely looked like carving out a clear chance against a resilient backline.

Meanwhile, Kane was biding his time, before making a significant difference on the rare occasions his team had the ball.

His pass for Son Heung-min in the build-up to the fourth-minute opener was sublime. With his weaker foot he hit a first-time pass into the path of his partner in crime, who found Dejan Kulusevski to finish.

Kane was dropping deep and spraying passes, showing the sort of ability that drew Pep Guardiola to him in the first place. The 28-year-old is a world-class striker but has developed his game to be more involved in setting up attacks.

In all honesty, that would not be all that necessary at City such is their array of creative talent. Had Kane done the same in a sky blue shirt on this occasion, he would merely have been doing as others were, playing balls into the box for Spurs to tidy up.

However, in the second half, Kane went back to what he knows and became everything City were missing.

His run and calm first-time finish from Son's ball to restore Tottenham's lead was vintage Kane, and his movement to work an opening to nearly score again minutes later, only to be denied by an excellent Ederson save, was a hint of more to come.

It almost felt like a direct comment from him to put his first shot of the day in the back of the net after seeing City be so wasteful in front of goal.

Another deadly finish appeared to have made it 3-1, only for VAR to rule it out for offside, but Kane would be the man to have the final word after Riyad Mahrez's late penalty seemed to save City. With a deft header, Kane sensationally won the game for the team he seemingly hoped to swap for City last year.

Unusually lacklustre from City

After the departure of Sergio Aguero at the end of last season, the narrative seemed to be that City absolutely needed a top-class striker or else they'd struggle.

That has very much not been the case after missing out on Kane. They have still won 20 of 26 league games this season, and only Liverpool (64) have scored more goals than their 63.

They have also scored 23 goals in seven Champions League games, including five in the week against Sporting from just six shots on target.

Guardiola's men have divided up their scoring among their attackers this season, with Mahrez (18), Raheem Sterling (13), Bernardo Silva (10) and Phil Foden (nine) all contributing.

The kind of ruthlessness they showed in Lisbon was not on show here, though. Despite having the vast majority of possession (71.5 per cent) and 21 shots to Tottenham's six, they had fewer shots on target (four to five).

It is a rare occasion that we see City fall behind, as they did here, three times.

In the 53 games in which they have trailed at any point in the Premier League under Pep, they have been beaten on 30 occasions (W12 D11), and they have now lost 21 of 44 games in which they have conceded first in the league in that time.

It would be silly for City and Guardiola to panic after this game, but they have to be wary of this becoming a template to beat them.

Then again, most opposition teams won't have Kane playing for them.

Conte's new boys come to the fore

While Guardiola will be scratching his head as to how his team lost, Antonio Conte will probably still be running round his living room cheering into the small hours of the morning.

This was a proper Conte performance, staying organised and respecting the threat of the opponent, while showing guts in possession, even late in the game when they looked to be holding on.

The Italian stirred the pot this week with comments about the January transfer window, lamenting that Spurs let go of four players he viewed as "important" while signing only two new ones, who would be perhaps more for the future than the present.

No one told Kulusevski that it seemed as the Swedish winger flourished as part of the visiting attack, grabbing a goal and an assist.

He was also unlucky to be judged offside for Kane's chalked-off goal in the second half.

Rodrigo Bentancur, who, like Kulusevski, joined from Juventus in January, had a quieter game in midfield, but still managed to make three tackles (only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg made more for Spurs – four) and regained possession five times.

Perhaps the manager's words were meant for both chairman Daniel Levy and for the players, with Kulusevski showing he can be one for now as well as the future.

This game was all about one man though: Kane.

He received deserved words of praise from two other great England strikers, with Gary Lineker tweeting to say: "Superb from Kane. Not just the goal but his overall display. Brilliant."

Alan Shearer was similarly effusive, also saying on Twitter: "A centre forward masterclass from Kane."

If Tottenham are to finish in the top four, they will need more performances like this from their talisman.

Should Kane return to his best on a regular basis, we could come full circle at the end of the campaign with City reigniting their interest in him.

Especially so, if it turns out that the day he came back to haunt them triggered a significant tide turn in the Premier League title race.

Harry Kane hailed Tottenham's "special" performance after netting a last-gasp winner in their thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester City, before speaking in glowing terms about his partnership with fellow forward Son Heung-min.

After Dejan Kulusevski's opening goal was cancelled out by Ikay Gundogan's leveller, Kane re-established his side's advantage, which was again wiped out by Riyad Mahrez's 92nd-minute penalty.

But the drama didn't end there, and the England captain proved to be the match-winner with a 95th-minute header, the latest winning goal that Man City have conceded in the Premier League since Manchester United's Michael Owen downed them after 95 minutes and 27 seconds in September 2009.

Kane, who was linked strongly with a move to the Etihad last summer, was full of praise for his team-mates after keeping Spurs within touching distance of the top four.

"It was a crazy game", he told Sky Sports.

"We worked so hard for so long. To concede the penalty was so heartbreaking, but credit to the boys for creating another chance at the end, and thankfully I was able to put it away. 

"That's what the Premier League is all about. It was a great one for the neutrals and our fans. We'll go home happy today. 

"We had to find a way of getting our season back on track. To get the result we did was really, really special."

With Son the provider for the first of Kane's two goals, the duo have now combined directly for 36 Premier League goals, matching the record set by Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard as the competition's deadliest partnership of all-time, and Kane was keen to praise his strike partner after the win.

"We connect really well and have a great understanding off the pitch. 

"I can't wait to watch it back in the video room tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Son has now been involved in 10 goals in 15 Premier League appearances against Man City, recording seven goals and three assists, and was keen to repay his captain's compliments.

"He's scored so many goals", Son said of Kane, speaking to Sky Sports. 

"I was really sad at the start of the season when he didn't score goals and people were talking, but he was working hard for the team. 

"He is an unbelievable player and an unbelievable guy. Working alongside him is a big honour."

Son also assisted Kulusevski's opener, and his tally of five Premier League assists makes him the London club's most creative presence this season.

Harry Kane showed Manchester City what they missed out on with a sensational double as Tottenham stunned the Premier League leaders 3-2 in a frantic finale on Saturday. 

England captain Kane was heavily linked with a move to City in the close season and sat out Spurs' season-opening win over Pep Guardiola's side before eventually staying put. 

The Tottenham talisman played a role in Dejan Kulusevski opening his Spurs account this time, and then Kane put the visitors back in front after Ilkay Gundogan's equaliser. 

Riyad Mahrez's stoppage-time penalty appeared to have salvaged a draw for City, but Kane headed home in the fifth added minute to leave the champions' advantage over Liverpool at the summit at six points, having played a game more.

Paul Pogba's future with Manchester United remains up in the air.

Pogba is out of contract at the end of this season and deferred contract talks with United.

The midfielder is reportedly open to offers with Pogba's agent Mino Raiola shopping him around.

TOP STORY – NEWCASTLE ENTER POGBA PURSUIT

Newcastle United have entered the race to sign Manchester United's Pogba, reports Fichajes.

The Magpies are hoping to land the 28-year-old France international on a free transfer, although it is unclear if he would entertain the move to a club that is currently battling relegation, albeit Newcastle will hope that will be different next season.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Juventus have also been linked with Pogba, who could also opt to stay at Old Trafford.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham's Harry Kane will not decide on his future until the end of the season, after trying to join Manchester City last year, reports The Standard. Kane is currently not interested in discussing a contract extension with Spurs.

- Madrid have tabled a final offer for Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland claims Sport. Haaland has been pursued by several top clubs including PSG, Barcelona, United, Chelsea and Manchester City.

- Marca claims that Barcelona will swoop for Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen should he become a free agent this upcoming off-season.

- The Daily Star claims that Donny van de Beek will push for a permanent move away from Manchester United to Everton if his loan spell goes well.

- Milan are interested in Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn, reports Calciomercato.

Pep Guardiola insists he is not frustrated with Manchester City's failure to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham last year.

The England striker appeared eager to leave north London for the Etihad Stadium, but City were unable to persuade Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to cash in on his star performer.

It looked as though not recruiting a new centre-forward could scupper City's plans this season after they lost to Leicester City in the Community Shield and Spurs in the Premier League back in August, in a match Kane sat out amid the uncertainty over his future.

Yet City have since embarked on an imperious run of form, winning 20 and losing just one of their subsequent league games to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the table.

Kane, meanwhile, has scored just five times in the league in 2021-22, his minutes-per-goal rate of 358.4 more than twice as bad as at any other time in his career. Spurs, meanwhile, are on a three-match losing streak ahead of Saturday's clash with City at the Etihad Stadium.

"I was never in my 11 or 12-year career disappointed in what the club I manage cannot do in the transfer market," Guardiola said. "And I never created a fire here because I represent the club and the club is always beyond myself by far.

"When we have some talks and cannot agree, we do it internally. We tried [for Kane] but it was far away [from] being done because Tottenham were clear this is not going to happen. And when they say this two, three, four times, it's over.

"Now you can say: 'Harry Kane didn't come and everything is going well.' But at the time I didn't know it. We lost to Spurs and Leicester in the Community Shield. And I [didn't] know what will happen in the next few weeks.

"The club gave me players, and I'm always delighted – and it's then what we can do together. Maybe if we had a proper striker we would play with a striker but with the players we have, we have to adapt.

"I know they [the club] do the best for me. When we lose we are sad, but nobody is pointing fingers saying: 'Your fault, your fault, your fault.' We don't do that. That's why I'm happy here. At other clubs when you lose it's 'what's the problem?'."

In 2016-17, when Antonio Conte was in charge of Chelsea, he became the first manager to inflict a league double over Guardiola in the same season.

In the first of those meetings in December 2016, Guardiola tried to match Conte's back-three system and lost the game 3-1, a mistake he is unlikely to repeat.

"We played three at the back, we lost 3-1," he said. "What a decision I made."

Pep Guardiola has no doubt Antonio Conte can lead Tottenham to sustained success, but only if the Italian gets the backing he needs.

Spurs boss Conte this week appeared to suggest his playing resources had been weakened by trading in the January transfer window.

Conte clarified his position on Friday when he stressed that was only a view he took in terms of squad numbers, saying the arrivals of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus had in fact improved the quality at his disposal.

While Conte insisted Spurs chairman Daniel Levy knows his true thoughts, the merest implication of any unhappiness from the head coach has come at a bad time, with the team on a three-game losing run in the Premier League.

They have gone down to Chelsea, Southampton and Wolves, dealing a blow to hopes that Conte might lead the team to a top-four finish and a place in next season's Champions League.

Now Guardiola's Manchester City await Spurs on Saturday at the Etihad Stadium, in the ultimate test for any English team.

City have lost just one of their last 11 home league games against Tottenham (W8 D2), going down 2-1 in February 2016. However, they did lose the reverse fixture on the opening weekend of the season.

Guardiola spoke of his admiration for Conte, saying on Friday: "If the club rely on him 100 per cent, they will have success.

"My first season here was tough in terms of results. Every manager needs time, he needs investment, he needs many, many things to be there for a long time or have success, especially in this country.

"All the managers need time. Unfortunately in football we don't have time. I had time, the club gave me this time, that's why I will always be grateful, but all the managers need time to make plans and try to convince the players to follow what you feel."

Guardiola said being a head coach in England was "more difficult than any other part of the world". But he believes Conte has demonstrated with Juventus, Chelsea and the Italy national side that he is a coach who consistently improves teams.

"I have incredible respect for the fact when I watch his teams I feel there's something new I can learn and I can improve," Guardiola said.

Tottenham have scored just 17 times in the Premier League from an expected goals (xG) total of 23.2 since Conte took charge at the start of November. Over the same period, City have scored 40 goals from an xG tally of 33.5.

Replying to comments from Conte in which he labelled Guardiola the world's best coach, the City boss added: "Thank you so much, but I am not. I appreciate it, but I'm not."

Spurs have won three of their last four Premier League games against City, as many as they had managed in their previous 13 against them. However, these last three victories have all been in home games.

Should they pull off the league double this term, it will be the first time Spurs have achieved that against reigning English top-flight champions since they beat Liverpool 1-0 home and away in the 1986-87 season.

City have taken 43 points from the last 45 available, roaring away at the top of the table, but Guardiola says a wounded Spurs could make his task complicated.

"This is the problem, the fact they've lost three times in a row it will be more difficult tomorrow, for sure, 100 per cent," he said.

"It's difficult for top teams to lose four times in a row. They have a lot of weapons. We know how with Son [Heung-min] we've suffered, with Harry Kane, with [Lucas] Moura. They have a lot of quality."

Antonio Conte has attempted to clarify his comments after appearing not overly impressed with Tottenham's January transfer activity.

Spurs allowed Tanguy Ndombele, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso to leave on loan last month, while Dele Alli joined Everton on a permanent deal.

Tottenham brought in Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur on the final day of the transfer window, following repeated links with Adama Traore and Luis Diaz, who chose Barcelona and Liverpool respectively. 

Conte hinted at his discontent in an interview with Sky Sport in Italy, suggesting Spurs had "weakened", but the former Inter head coach tried to clarify his views on Friday.

"During the interview after the transfer window, after January ended, they asked me about the club, if I was happy, and I said the club did the best that the club could do," Conte told reporters.

"We lost four players and I said important players for Tottenham, because these players we sent away on loan, Tottenham paid a lot of money. When you spend a lot of money, it means we are talking about important players.

"To pay attention to the future because we need players used to playing in this league and in my last interview, I said numerically, when you lose four players, important players for Tottenham, I repeat because they spent a lot of money, and you sign two players.

"If I had 20 players and now I have 18 players numerically, you can be a bit weaker...numerically. Then I said also with Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, as a squad we are more complete. I think I was very, very clear."

Conte reiterated that his main priority is securing Champions League football next season, but Spurs have lost three consecutive Premier League games, last winning at Leicester City on January 19, and sit eighth.

They are seven points off fourth-placed Manchester United, who have played three games more, ahead of Saturday's trip to Manchester City, and Conte is expecting another tough task.

"I always said I'm enjoying my time with Tottenham, enjoying working with these players," he added. "I always said this. 

"Then we have four months at the end of this season and we have to try to do our best to finish in the best place possible in this league and then we'll see.

"It'll be an interesting game for us. But I don't think that it's right to consider it a special game because there are the best coaches in the world [in the dugouts]. It's a game between two teams, one team that's maybe the best in the world and almost perfect. 

"They're in a fantastic period of form. That's one side. On the other side is a team trying to build something important for the future.

"At this moment, two different levels. At the same time, we prepared the game very well. We know that tomorrow we're going to suffer. 

"We know very well that problem tomorrow, like in every game, Manchester City will keep the ball for 70-80 per cent. But at the same time in the other 20 per cent we have to be good, be effective, attack in the right way.

"When they have the ball, we must be compact and tactically perfect. If you want a good result against Manchester City at the moment, you have to be perfect. You have to know you have to suffer as a team, to find the situations to try to hurt them."

And Conte predicts City will defend their top-flight crown come the end of the season as he questioned whether Spurs could reach the levels of Pep Guardiola's side in the future.

"It's difficult to answer this question," he continued. "We're talking about a fantastic team. They're working with the same coach for many years.

"They have the possibility to, also in these years, go into the market and spend a lot of money.

"For sure, Pep is doing a fantastic job but in every club that he trained he had fantastic results. Important clubs, because Barcelona is an important club, Bayern Munich is an important club, now Manchester City is an important club but for sure great compliments to him, because to play against his team is not simple, not easy for anyone.

"I think they're the favourite to win the Premier League – to be ahead by nine points means in this league you're very strong."

Pep Guardiola only got a grip of the danger Manchester City were in when he watched footage of the team's aborted landing on their return from Lisbon, hailing a "magnificent" pilot.

A video posted online showed the aeroplane on which City were travelling being rocked by high winds on Wednesday afternoon as it approached Manchester Airport.

That was the effect of Storm Dudley, which has been followed by Storm Eunice, as the United Kingdom has been hit hard by inclement weather.

But Guardiola hailed a hero pilot for keeping City's travelling party calm and negotiating a safe landing in Liverpool after struggling with the Manchester approach.

The team were on their way back from Portugal after a stunning 5-0 win at Sporting CP in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

"To be honest, when I saw the video, I said, 'Wow, it was more scary than we felt'," Guardiola said on Friday.

"It was bumping a lot, like many times. It was a moment like we were going down, and immediately the engines started to roll on, and we go up, and in the moment we said, 'Oh, something happened'.

"But we had a pilot who did incredibly well. He talked to us and was so calm and said, 'It's wind, so we're going to try again to land in Manchester'. After five minutes he said we were going to land in Liverpool.

"The pilot was magnificent because we felt a little bit anxious, but thanks to the words and the way he talked to us, everyone was calm."

Guardiola joked that City received a familiar warm welcome on Merseyside. His team and Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool are the Premier League's current established top two.

"For sure," said City's manager. "Always they are so kind to us."

Speaking in a news conference at 13:30 GMT on Friday, ahead of Saturday's clash with Tottenham, Guardiola said his players would be heading out to train in the wind later in the day.

"We're going to train now in two hours," he said. "Hopefully with the wind we cannot miss players flying to the sky, so we'll see."

It took just two games of the 2021-22 season for Manchester City's failed pursuit of Harry Kane to become a big problem for Pep Guardiola.

After losing the Community Shield to Leicester City, they promptly went to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and lost 1-0 again, even with Kane absent and City boasting Premier League record signing Jack Grealish.

The narrative arc was glaring: City would fall short without a recognised number nine, while Spurs were neither dependent on Kane nor foolhardy to snub the chance of a huge transfer fee. Perhaps he could realise his dream of big trophies in north London after all.

Six months on, and the world has come to its senses. Since losing to Spurs, City have won 20 and lost just one of their Premier League matches and look to be marching imperiously towards the title again. Spurs have changed manager, swapping one the fans never really wanted for one who gives a good impression he would rather be anywhere else, and are enduring a three-game losing run that has put their Champions League hopes in jeopardy.

And nobody is really talking about Kane, except to wonder what's going wrong.

It's beginning to look like City dodged a nine-figure bullet by not pursuing their interest. Kane has just five goals and two assists in 21 league games this season, his minutes-per-goal rate of 358.4 more than twice as bad as at any other time in his career, while his expected goals tally of 8.99 is the lowest since he played just 10 times in 2013-14.

Part of that problem can be attributed to Kane's role under Nuno Espirito Santo and now Antonio Conte. His link-up play is still effective: he is creating on average one chance per 90 minutes, slightly down on his career average in the Premier League, but averaging more passes played into the box (3.1) than he ever has.

Similarly, he is top among Spurs players for involvements in open-play sequences ending in a shot (98) – even when you remove the 52 where Kane's only contribution was the shot, he still ranks as high as fifth (46). In other words, he remains key to both getting them on the front foot and testing the opposition's goalkeeper.

Yet ultimately, Kane will be judged on goal involvements, which makes this season a distinct disappointment. Whether he was affected by City's failed pursuit, or a hangover from England's Euro 2020 final defeat – or a combination of both – it's hard to make a case for this Kane to be the missing link for Guardiola's City. And that's especially true when you consider just what Guardiola wants in his forwards: the ability to play in any position across the attack, rather than become pinioned in the number-nine role. It's why he saw fit to spend £100million on Grealish, why Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski and Sergio Aguero have each faced battles to keep their places in his teams, and why any move for Erling Haaland is no guarantee.

It also makes you wonder why City did not turn their attentions to the man who scored the winner in that game at Spurs last August, and who has six goals in eight matches against them.

Son Heung-min would appear, on the face of it, an ideal Guardiola player. He has proved himself adept out wide, as a number 10 and as a central striker for Spurs, hitting double figures for goals and assists for two league seasons running – don't rule out him repeating the feat again.

With nine goals and three assists, Son leads the way for direct goal involvements for Spurs in this season's difficult Premier League campaign. He has also created the most chances (36), playing 144 passes into the box, which is almost double the number of any team-mate (this includes set-pieces, of course). Son also boasts the best shot conversion rate (18.8) among players with more than one goal, while Kane's is down at just seven per cent.

The South Korea star is second only to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg when it comes to involvements in Spurs' build-up play in the top flight this season, 35 of which have ended in a shot on goal. And when he doesn't have the ball, Son remains adept at winning it back: he has won possession the most among Spurs attackers (89), with 11 of those gains occurring in the opposition's defensive third.

Adaptable, hard-working and clinical are words that could be ascribed to any of City's forwards, and Son fits right in that same group. Should Spurs fail to qualify for the Champions League again, they may be forced to make some concessions in the transfer market, especially if they want to satisfy Conte's demands while keeping costs down. Son has just over three years on his contract and does not appear likely to agitate for a move, but, ahead of his 30th birthday in July, the next window could represent his final opportunity for a major transfer.

If anyone in a Spurs shirt is likely to impress City officials on Saturday, it's Son.

Kylian Mbappe's name continues to dominate the transfer columns as he nears the end of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.

While Mbappe's future beyond this season remains uncertain, PSG appear to already have plans in place should he depart.

And if one superstar forward leaves the French capital, another could arrive in his place.

TOP STORY – PSG TO BRING IN RONALDO

According to The Mirror, PSG are looking to bring in Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United should they be unable to convince Mbappe to sign a new big-money deal.

Ronaldo only returned to Old Trafford last August, but the 37-year-old is said to be considering his future after an underwhelming campaign.

Should Ronaldo be tempted to move to Ligue 1, having already plied his trade in the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A, he would get the chance to link up with Lionel Messi.

The pair have 12 Ballons d'Or between them and are regarded as two of the greatest players of all time.

ROUND-UP

- United are not expecting Paul Pogba to make a U-turn on his future by signing a new deal, according to the Manchester Evening News. The France international is set to become a free agent in four months' time and has been linked with PSG and former side Juventus.

- El Nacional claims that Chelsea are plotting a bid for Barcelona youngster Gavi. The Blues will reportedly have to pay £42million (€50m) to land the teenage midfielder, with other teams across Europe also showing an interest.

- Tottenham striker Harry Kane wants assurances that boss Antonio Conte will be backed in the next transfer window, suggests The Sun, after the Italian questioned the club's recruitment policy. That comes amid fresh rumours that Kane is considering his own Spurs future.

- According to Calciomercato, Real Madrid are ready to push ahead with plans to sign Kieran Tierney from Arsenal. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti previously tried to sign Tierney during his time in charge of Napoli, but the Scottish left-back instead opted for the Gunners. 

- Manchester City are on the verge of getting a £5.4m deal over the line for Brazilian winger Savinho, says Fabrizio Romano. A medical is rumoured to have already been scheduled for the 17-year-old, who has impressed for Atletico Mineiro.

Reggae Girlz and Manchester City forward Khadijah Shaw has expressed confidence ahead of the team’s match-up against Bermuda in the opening match of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship on Thursday.

The competition will be the official start of the team’s campaign to qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.  Despite facing lower-ranked opposition, the team will not be kicking off its journey in ideal circumstances.

Several players who were part of the history-making World Cup squad are unavailable for the fixture due to injury or other reasons.  In addition, the team will feature a number of new players and has had limited time to work out its kinks.  The situation has given interim coach Vin Blaine plenty of pause for thought, but Shaw remains confident the squad will be capable of racking up positive results in this round.

“Football is a team sport, I trust my teammates.  There’s a reason why they are here, and the coach selected them, and I trust the coaching staff as well,” said Shaw, in assessing the situation.

“We have to just come in and understand each other as fast as possible.  It’s not ideal right now but I trust my teammates and I really do think we can get the job done despite other players not being here.”

The team will also travel away to face Grenada in the second match of the window.

Manchester United face the prospect of losing key midfielder Paul Pogba on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.

The France international is into the final four months of his existing deal and there are few indications that he is prepared to extend his terms at Old Trafford.

And in a further blow for United, they could see Pogba head to one of their domestic top-flight rivals.

TOP STORY – POGBA OPEN TO PREMIER LEAGUE STAY

The Telegraph reports that Pogba, who rejoined United from Juventus in a big-money deal in 2016, is prepared to wait until the end of the season before deciding on his future.

Signing a new deal with United is said to remain an option, but Pogba will not be short of options should he become available to sign on a free – albeit with big wages to factor in.

The report indicates that the 28-year-old will weigh up any interest from fellow Premier League clubs, with Chelsea and Manchester City having previously been linked.

ROUND-UP

- It is shaping up to be a busy transfer window for United as a number of other players are also out of contract. According to Ekrem Konur, Edinson Cavani and Juan Mata are attracting strong interest from clubs in the Middle East.

- Jesse Lingard is another who could be on his way out of Old Trafford, though The Express claims that the England international is not considering a free transfer to Tottenham. Lingard would reportedly prefer to move abroad ahead of next season.

- Arsenal have joined Everton and Wolves in the race to sign Rafael Leao from Milan, according to La Repubblica. The 22-year-old is enjoying his best campaign to date at San Siro, having registered double figures for goals.

- Italian outlet Tuttosport suggests that Juventus are pushing ahead with plans to sign Nicolo Zaniolo from Serie A rivals Roma, who are supposedly prepared to accept an offer in the region of €40million for a player with two years to run on his deal.

- Leeds United's in-demand winger Raphinha is holding off talks over a new contract at Elland Road, suggests GOAL. The Brazil international has previously been touted as a target for Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.