Eric Dier will remain at Bayern Munich for another season after a pre-agreed clause was met, the Bundesliga giants have said.

The 30-year-old joined Bayern on loan from Tottenham in January and has made seven appearances.

With Dier’s Spurs contract set to expire on June 30, an option to make his transfer permanent if he played a certain number of games was included in the deal.

Dier’s stay at Bayern will now run until at least June 30, 2025, and he said on fcbayern.com: “I’m happy in Munich. Now my future is sorted and I can focus on playing well for the club and trying to help the club to win games, win competitions, even though it’s been a difficult period for us.”

Dier had made only four appearances for Spurs this season, three of them off the bench, before following former team-mate Harry Kane to Germany.

The news officially brings to an end Dier’s time at Tottenham, where he made 365 appearances during a nine-and-a-half-year spell.

Max Eberl, FC Bayern board member for sport, said: “He’s a valuable support in our defence with all his character.”

Pep Guardiola feels having four clear days ahead of a Manchester derby is a “dream” at this stage of the season.

Guardiola’s Manchester City host arch-rivals United at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday in what could be a key match in their bid to win a fourth successive Premier League crown.

It is a crucial month for City with games against title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal to come, as well as the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and an FA Cup quarter-final.

City were last in action on Tuesday when they thrashed Luton 6-2 in the cup fifth round and Guardiola believes the derby preparations since have been ideal.

“Tuesday to Sunday is enough (time), it is a dream,” he said. “We will recover well.

“The problem is Saturday to Tuesday with trips, that is less recovery, but the players were extraordinary against Luton.

“We had two days off with rest, not seeing each other, and then two days to prepare for United.”

Yet despite opportunities for rest being minimal as last season’s treble winners again pursue glory on three fronts, Guardiola admits this time of year – with all its intensity – is what he relishes most.

He said: “Absolutely, (these periods) are the best. How nice. I prefer that than the opposite.

“It is so nice to have this fixture against United, to have the chance to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, then we have Anfield and then before the international break we have the chance against Newcastle to reach the semi-final of the FA Cup.

“We worked so hard since we arrived here to live these kind of moments.”

United’s form throughout most of the season has been unconvincing and they face a tall order to finish in the top four.

Manager Erik ten Hag’s future has been the subject of recurring speculation but Guardiola refused to offer an opinion on the reasons for United’s failures to sustain momentum.

The Spaniard said: “I expect the best from United but I don’t talk a word about what they do because I respect them too much and I don’t want my words to be misunderstood.

“When I make comments people always say, ‘Pep jibe’ and it’s never my intention. That’s why it is better I don’t say anything.

“I have a lot of respect for the institution, United, and the players and Erik, and when I see what we have to do my players will know it.”

Luke Littler says seeing Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp talk about him was just another day in his crazy life.

Klopp compared his young band of players, who helped win the Carabao Cup last week and then earn a quarter-final spot in the FA Cup, to the 17-year-old, who the German described as the “new darts sensation”.

Littler, who advanced to the last 32 of the UK Open on Friday night, burst onto the scene at the World Championship over Christmas.

 

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His historic run to the final saw him transcend the sport and become a global star, so seeing Klopp reference him was nothing out of the ordinary.

Littler, a staunch Manchester United fan, said: “I actually watched the final and the young lads are doing well, but if he wants to compares them to me then he can.

“I actually woke up and someone told me that he compared me to his young lads, so I went online and watched the video.

“I gave it a like and went on to the next video. That was literally another day in my life.”

Littler is gunning for his first major title since joining the main PDC Tour at the start of the year and he looked the part in his opening match at Butlin’s in Minehead.

He averaged over 100 and produced four 100-plus finishes, including a ‘Big Fish’, as he beat James Wade 10-7.

With Michael van Gerwen surprisingly crashing out, Littler is now the favourite to win.

“I have not even thought about it, but I know if my game is there every match then I don’t see why I can’t win it,” he said.

“I don’t mind who I play. It is what I dreamed of, playing in front of thousands every week, I just take it in my stride.”

Three-time champion Van Gerwen was below par as he was dumped out at the first hurdle by Mensur Suljovic.

The Austrian has been in the darting doldrums in recent years, but posted a standout win, outplaying Van Gerwen, who appeared to be nursing an elbow injury.

Suljovic said: “I beat Michael van Gerwen, the best player in the world. I am feeling good, I am practising every day, I am a different person.

“I had a big problem with my family, I came back and practice every day, and hope I can do well in the tournament.”

Andrew Gilding began the defence of his 2023 title with a 10-7 win over Josh Payne and intends to celebrate by eating a Pot Noodle.

‘Goldfinger’ was a surprise winner last year when he beat Van Gerwen in a thrilling final and finished so late he had nothing to eat except the instant snack.

“When I won it last year there were no takeaways open so I had to eat a Pot Noodle to celebrate,” he said. “So I actually brought a couple of Pot Noodles and I’ll eat one tonight out of tradition.

“I have got a chicken and mushroom or beef and tomato. Maybe I’ll have beef and tomato with a little bit of extra ketchup, I bring my own.”

Former world champion Michael Smith said he was unable to celebrate his 10-7 win over Josh Cullen in the same way because he had already eaten one for lunch.

“I had a Pot Noodle for lunch before I came here so that’s out of the window,” he said. “I have a standing order, I get some sent every month.”

Gerwyn Price was beaten 10-9 by Martin Schindler, but there were wins for world number one Luke Humphries, Gary Anderson and Nathan Aspinall.

Mauricio Pochettino insists Reece James will not be rushed back from the hamstring injury that has disrupted his season, even if a delayed return costs him a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

The club captain has made just eight Premier League appearances this campaign and is at risk of missing out on a second international tournament in as many years, having been ruled out of the 2022 World Cup with a knee problem.

He featured only 16 times in the league last season when a combination of knee and hamstring injuries kept him on the sidelines for club and country.

And after being forced off during August’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool he has had even worse luck this term.

The 24-year-old, who has only once in his Chelsea career reached 30 league appearances in a season, teased on social media this week that “the comeback is coming” and has returned to the training pitch, albeit working separately from his team-mates.

However, with a history of recurring fitness problems, Pochettino was understandably cautious about reintroducing him and was adamant he would not be hurried back for the sake of his international place.

“I cannot say the date of when it’s possible,” said the Argentinian. “His target and our target is for him to be fit and feel happy and well. Then we’ll see about the possibility of going to the Euros or not, or to be ready for next season or to play before we finish this season.

“The most important thing now is to build his confidence, his physical condition, to recover all the good feelings.

“The target is not to try and play the last five games or in the Euros or pre-season. The target is to build again his confidence and to feel strong, then to start to play when he feels strong and can deal again with the competition.”

Despite establishing himself as a key figure for Chelsea when fit, James has so far made just a single major tournament appearance, starting for Gareth Southgate’s side in a goalless draw with Scotland at Euro 2020.

He looked set to be a member of the squad in Qatar until a knee injury in a Champions League match against AC Milan scuppered his chances.

“I didn’t speak with (Southgate),” said Pochettino. “But we have spoken people involved in (the FA), medical, performance people.

“It’s not ‘now I can go on the pitch, I can play’. It’s to be sure we can go to the competition and he can feel strong and can forget all that has happened in the past.”

James will be one of seven players unavailable to Pochettino at Brentford on Saturday.

Injures have severely disrupted the seasons of Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka, whilst Wesley Fofana is likely to be forced to miss the entire campaign.

The manager reiterated his frustration at the impact injuries have had on his first season in charge.

“When you start the season, you put in your head the idea of the potential of the squad,” he said. “When you think about Nkunku, Reece, (Ben) Chilwell or Fofana, Lavia, (Moises) Caicedo, you imagine the players in the best place, with all their potential.

“Then when the circumstances happen, of course it’s about translating the reality. If you go back and say ‘no, you said we can play to win the Premier League’ – when you see the possibility that you have with the squad, then of course.

“But then with the circumstance, the reality, we’ve had 10, 12 players every single week out. That will affect the performance of the team.”

Ange Postecoglou has advised his Tottenham players to take social media with a pinch of salt after a difficult week for Ryan Sessegnon.

Full-back Sessegnon had surgery on his right hamstring on Monday, after an operation on his left hamstring last summer, and called for people to “be careful what you say online” in a post on his social media channels.

Sessegnon, 23, has endured a torrid time with injuries and faced plenty of abuse on Twitter and Instagram over his fitness woes, but boss Postecoglou likened those platforms to a prison yard.

“I guess the easy thing to say is, ‘look just stay off social media,’ and that’s easy for me to say,” Postecoglou said.

“I can do that but I guess for younger people it’s a vehicle for them or a platform for them to have a voice, which I kind of understand.

“They’ve also got to be mature enough to also know that sometimes the audience, I think for want of a better term, social media is like walking into the prison yard and saying you’re innocent.

“You’re not going to get a hell of a lot of sympathy. Most of it is going to be coming back at you.

“If you’re kind of prepared for that then (fine), but if you’re jumping into there to try and feel good, my sense of it is, I’m not all over it but you’ll rarely come away from it feeling really good about yourself.

“Even with the most genuine of reasons for saying what you want to say or putting out what you want to put out. It’s just that kind of platform you’re invariably going to come away from thinking I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”

 

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Sessegnon is set to spend the rest of the season on the treatment table and is currently joined by Richarlison, who suffered a knee injury during the 2-1 home defeat to Wolves on February 17.

Richarlison is not expected to return until after the international break and Postecoglou will also be without Pedro Porro (muscle) for Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace.

Fifth-placed Tottenham will aim to get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track against Palace and their manager expressed his frustration at the stop-start nature of their campaign.

Early cup exits mean Spurs will only play 41 matches this season and asked if they can make the most of Aston Villa and Manchester United juggling cup commitments, Postecoglou admitted: “I don’t know.

“It depends how you use that time. If you ask me would I rather be in Europe? Absolutely, 1000 per cent I’d rather be in Europe at this time playing games.

“A club like us, who want to compete at the highest level against the best, you need a strong squad and to have a strong squad you need consistent games, consistent game time and opportunities.

“At the moment, if we get an injury then we’re liable to throw in somebody who hasn’t played for four or five weeks. It’s not easy on that player.

“Whereas if you’ve got games, there’s a natural rotation that you need to make all the time and also gives you a little bit of rhythm.

“I had the other extreme last year of 60-plus games at Celtic, but I found that a lot easier to manage than having a disrupted season like we’ve had this year.”

Despite long-standing claims he does not like football, winning matters to Arsenal defender Ben White.

The 26-year-old England international carries a reputation as someone who sees his sport as a job and something he has no passion for.

White, though, insists that is not the case and just because he does not go home and watch every live football match he can get his eyes on should not suggest otherwise.

“I know people say I don’t like football, but I go home and football is not on my mind. I can just be a normal person, relax. When I’m in here (training) it is intense,” he said.

“It’s come from since I was young. I want to win everything that I do. My missus and I play a lot of games at home and I won’t be letting her win. We play bat and ball a lot, Uno, this magnet game. That’s sort of it.

“I remember being young and always wanting to win and play aggressive and do as much as I could to win.

And if he is losing to his wife at any of those games, it is simple: “Yeah, the ball gets lost!”

White has become a key component of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side that, for a second year running, has Premier League title ambitions.

Arteta sees White as someone willing to go into battle for his team, something of a warrior, and White revealed he knows his duties ahead of every game is to win the one-on-one battle with the opposing winger.

“Before the game we have instructions of how they are going to do well in the game and what processes they have to be able to hurt us,” added former Brighton man White.

“(Against Newcastle) Anthony Gordon was one of them, my job was to stop him rolling inside so I had to get as tight as possible, otherwise foul him.

“He’s going inside if not. Every game, normally the winger is the best player so its always a challenge and I have to do my homework and try and stop him.

“I know I’m not going to stop everyone and I know I’m not the best one-v-one defender but I know I can do things to help the team in game situations against their winger.”

Arsenal ultimately ran out 4-1 winners against Newcastle on Saturday night, the latest in a string of impressive performances and eye-catching results for the Gunners.

“We haven’t got anything, so there is nothing to lose,” White replied when asked about Arsenal being the chasers in the title run-in against Liverpool and Manchester City.

“We are just going to go out there, do our best, and try and perform like we have the last few games.”

Mauricio Pochettino believes his Chelsea players have learned to “understand each other” after what he called the hardest week of his Stamford Bridge tenure.

The extra-time defeat to Liverpool in last Sunday’s Carabao Cup final denied his young side, who are 11th in the Premier League, the chance to lift silverware in what has so far been a trying season.

They were then given a scare by Championship side Leeds on Wednesday, requiring a last-minute goal from Conor Gallagher to win through to the FA Cup quarter-finals having fallen behind early and then been pegged back to 2-2 in the second half.

There has been much criticism of the nature of the loss at Wembley, coming after the team missed a host of chances during normal time and failed to win out against a Liverpool side beset by injury and featuring four inexperienced academy graduates by the end of the game.

Pochettino was asked whether the fallout from that defeat has given him his toughest spell in the job since taking over in July last year.

“Maybe yes,” he admitted. “We feel very disappointed. We had faith to win, we were so close. After 90 minutes we were the better side. The last 15, 20 minutes we created many big chances to score and win the game.

“Then the energy dropped and we didn’t keep the energy after 90 minutes. That’s why we lost the game. We’re all really disappointed because we put in too much energy to try to win. I think we deserved it.

“We met after the game (Sunday), in a different place away from Wembley. The players started to feel the good spirit. (They were) disappointed and (it was) painful.

“But Monday and Tuesday we were very open. All the players wanted to play. Some were tired with some problems, but everyone wanted to play against Leeds. That speaks highly about the squad.

“They are learning, to compete all together, to feel each other, to know how they behave in this level when it’s a final, with not too much experience.

“They start to understand each other, that’s the most important thing. After seven or eight months, we already know the profile of the players, how they behave.

“But it’s important for them to know each other, to know how they will react under high pressure and high stress.”

Defenders Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Brentford at the Gtech Stadium.

Silva has missed the last five games with injury while Cucurella has not featured since early December.

However, Pochettino confirmed that a hamstring injury is likely to keep Christopher Nkunku out for around four weeks.

The 26-year-old had to wait until December to make his Chelsea debut after joining from RB Leipzig in the summer, having required surgery on a knee injury picked up in pre-season.

He has made only seven league appearances as he has struggled to attain match fitness, scoring twice.

“It’s bad luck to suffer again a setback,” said Pochettino. “It’s tough for a player that hasn’t played too much this season.

“He came from Germany with some problems. He was so good in pre-season. It’s a difficult season for him. It’s difficult to accept.

“I say it’s bad luck because I don’t have the information and knowledge about medicine to say why this type of injury happens.”

Pep Guardiola has stressed the importance of remaining calm ahead of this weekend’s Manchester derby.

The Manchester City manager wants to take the emotion out of Sunday’s crunch Premier League visit of United.

The encounter marks the start of a critical month for champions City in their bid to win a fourth successive title, with games against rivals Liverpool and Arsenal to follow.

City have held the upper hand over United in recent years, and the form of the Old Trafford side this season has been patchy, but Guardiola is well aware of the pitfalls of this fixture.

Guardiola said: “There have been good seasons (for United). With Jose Mourinho for one season and Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) they finished second, fighting – not until the end – but they were (up) there.

“What I learn from my experience in these types of games is to be more calm, relax, don’t talk about many things, just focus on tactics and what you have to do to beat them, not about emotions – because emotions will be there, without doubt.

“That is why we relax and prepare for the game as best as possible, knowing the quality.

“For United to go to Wolves and beat them and Luton, and have the quality to beat Aston Villa a few weeks ago, so they have incredible quality.

“From one action, they create something special in set-pieces, transitions, and in open play. They have connections with players and they score goals. It always has been that way with United.

“When they play good, they win games. We are in March and they’ve just lost one game this year – last week at home – so the consistency they have is there.”

City are not only chasing another Premier League title but seeking to win unprecedented back-to-back trebles.

Their success has made them the dominant force in English football over the past decade, but Guardiola has warned there is no guarantee it will continue.

He said: “The 80s was Liverpool, 90s United and now we have won seven Premier Leagues in the last 11 or 12 years.

“But in 50 or 60 years, there has never been one country where one team always dominates and controls everything. We will try in this organisation to extend this as much as possible for many years.”

New United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken of his ambition to knock City “off their perch” within three years after a prolonged period of relative decline at Old Trafford, under various managers.

“Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his people know the diagnosis of their club,” Guardiola said. “I don’t know anything about that club.

“If they said they need two or three years to be there, who am I to say the opposite? I’m pretty sure they will work to reduce the gap, but I’m not there, I don’t know the diagnosis.

“But I would say at big clubs you have to win and win, not just United.

“It’s not easy for United to come from an incredibly successful period with Sir Alex (Ferguson) and cope with that, that is not easy. Sometimes I can understand it. Today everyone has a lot of pressure.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes their current status as Premier League leaders has made a “statement” but knows the situation can quickly unravel.

Their lead over Manchester City is a point and two over third-placed Arsenal, but Klopp admitted maintaining their winning run was the only way to stay ahead of the chasing pack and their advantage was balanced on a knife edge due to injuries ravaging his squad.

There are similarities to two years ago when Liverpool also had 60 points after 26 matches – although that was only good enough to be three points behind City – and were chasing another quadruple.

On that occasion they finished with a domestic cup double but finished runners-up in the league by a point on 92 and lost the Champions League final.

However, with 10 first-team players still currently sidelined, Klopp said the two campaigns were not comparable.

“It is only one point above City and two points above Arsenal but that means nothing,” he said.

“Sixty points is a statement for that moment in the season but stay on 60 and I am not sure you qualify for the Champions League to be honest so we had better continue winning football games.

“It was a much more comfortable squad situation (two years ago). As far as I remember we could make massive changes between competitions.

“You cannot really compare it but it showed us you can fight for everything and win something.

“Some people will be happy with that and some will tell you it was not enough but for us, it was a successful season and let’s hope we can make a successful season out of this one.”

Leading scorer Mohamed Salah is set to return to training next week, probably two weeks behind schedule, but Klopp will have fellow forward Darwin Nunez and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai available for Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest after missing three and six matches out respectively.

“I don’t think Mo is too far off. It’s like touch and go but I think next week at any point, it is possible,” added Klopp, who also expects to be able to call on midfielder Wataru Endo after his ankle injury at Wembley and left-back back Andy Robertson, who was ill in midweek.

Since their second league defeat of the season at Arsenal a month ago, Liverpool have won five successive matches – one of them being the Carabao Cup final and another an FA Cup fifth-round tie – with a depleted team.

But Klopp denied the result at the Emirates Stadium had given them extra incentive.

“The results are incredibly important but I wouldn’t call it ‘a response to the Arsenal game’, we didn’t use it in that way,” he said.

“I didn’t say ‘Look at that, now we have to show a reaction’. We always have to show a reaction. But first and foremost you have to show a reaction to yourself.

“It was a one-off: Arsenal were really good, we were not as good as we could have been and that can happen in a season.

“But if you can only reach your targets when you win all your games, it is really difficult – not even City did that even when they came close.

“You have to use the lesser good things as much as you have to use the good things and against Arsenal, unfortunately, there were a few more lesser good things.

“But we never used it, it was not ‘Come on boys, we have to show we are not as bad as we were that night’, not at all.”

Tottenham have been dealt a fresh injury blow with Richarlison ruled out for up to four weeks with a knee injury.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has been without several players this season for prolonged periods, but appeared to have an almost fully-fit squad to pick from when Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Son Heung-min returned from international duty last month.

However, Richarlison sustained a knee issue in the 2-1 defeat to Wolves a fortnight ago, while Pedro Porro (muscle) remains out to join Fraser Forster (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Manor Solomon (knee) on the treatment table ahead of Saturday’s visit of Crystal Palace.

“Destiny (Udogie) has trained but Pedro is probably another week away,” Postecoglou revealed.

“We do have a couple of (other) injuries. Richarlison is out for three to four weeks. He picked up a knee injury in the last game so he will be out for a little while.

“Richy is disappointed because he’s been a key contributor but again it is kind of how our season has gone. We get one back and lose another.

“With Sess, it is a tough one because through no fault of his own, he has worked hard to come back and it is always more challenging when it happens as a series of events.

“He hasn’t really had any reward for the hard work he has put in, in terms of his rehab, to at least get out there and play, to do what he loves, to show people his ability. It is a tough one for him but he’ll get all the support he needs.

“He has had his surgery now and is still a positive guy. He has been through this before, so hopefully that helps him to come back stronger and get out there playing.”

Jack Grealish is unlikely to be fit for England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium later this month, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has said.

The City midfielder suffered a recurrence of a recent groin injury in the club’s FA Cup win at Luton on Tuesday.

Grealish was substituted after just 38 minutes of the 6-2 victory at Kenilworth Road, cutting short what had been his first appearance in four games.

He has been ruled out of Sunday’s derby against Manchester United in the Premier League and Guardiola said at a press conference on Friday he was unlikely to play again before the next international break.

Guardiola said: “I don’t think so. I haven’t spoken with (England manager) Gareth (Southgate) but I don’t think he will be ready.

“When he will come back, I don’t know exactly. He will not be fit for this weekend.

“I think he has to recover well. He has had a setback and he has to recover well for us to use him as much as possible.”

England host Brazil at Wembley on March 23 and Belgium three days later as part of their Euro 2024 preparations.

Grealish has had a difficult season having struggled for form and fitness and seen team-mates excel in his place.

The 28-year-old had been one of the most consistent performers during City’s 2022-23 treble-winning campaign.

Guardiola is confident he will bounce back from this latest problem.

The Spaniard said: “Yes, he doesn’t have an alternative. Setbacks in life are always there, it is how you overcome them.”

Andre Onana believes he has turned the corner off the pitch after a mentally “difficult time” during his start to life at Manchester United.

Having joined in the summer from Inter Milan in a deal that could reach £47.2million, a string of errors quickly led pressure and scrutiny to mount on the 27-year-old shot-stopper.

Onana became the butt of jokes but has knuckled down and is starting to become the confident, ball-playing goalkeeper Erik ten Hag and United wanted.

 

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“I already know the goalkeeper that I am,” the Cameroon international said. “It took me six months or seven months not to play good, just to feel good.

“It was a difficult time for me. Now I’m feeling a bit better because everything was new, it was difficult for me to feel at home because of so many reasons, a new country.

“But now I’m feeling good. I don’t want to talk about my performance because I know the goalkeeper I am and I have done much more than what I just did.

“So, for me, the most important thing is to be set, to be happy and I will shine.”

Onana spoke openly about his challenging start to life in England ahead of facing rivals Manchester City, who he produced a fantastic display against as Inter narrowly lost June’s Champions League final.

“I don’t think (I was beating myself up too much after errors), but it was just moments,” the United goalkeeper said.

“Sometimes you are facing difficult situations and I had a difficult six or seven months just feeling good, not playing good, because I think I didn’t start to play good (yet).

“It was just something strange, I don’t know. It was also a good time for me to learn because I learned a lot at that time.

“Playing in the final of the Champions League and being knocked out in the first stage after a few months, it was a big lesson for me.

“Now I think I have everything on my back, learn it and move on, try to be happy. That is the most important thing.”

Onana’s errors during United’s European exit were costly, but his performances have since improved markedly and he believes he is now on an upward curve.

“Yeah, I think I had a turning point, but not on the pitch because, like I said, more mental because everything was different,” he said.

“Of course, I moved last season from Amsterdam to Milan, but that adaptation was quite easy.

“But it took me seven, eight months here. It was just time to learn and just go game by game. I hope we will end on top.”

Onana produced another solid display as United kept hopes alive of ending a bumpy campaign with silverware by beating Nottingham Forest 1-0 in the FA Cup fifth round.

How Ten Hag’s men could do with another clean sheet away to their treble-winning rivals on Sunday, when the goalkeeper wants to continue to repay the faith shown in him.

 

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“My team-mates, my players, they always reminded me who I am and the goalkeeper I am and why I came to this club,” Onana said.

“They told me ‘Andre, it took some players two years, others six months, for others no time, and you have that personality to turn the situation (around)’.

“They always believed in me, they told me from the beginning, ‘Andre, listen, the quality is there, it’s just a matter of time.’

“I am very happy, especially with the supporters, the fans. They were nice with me even in difficult periods and I’m very thankful. I can only thank them.

“I think everything is behind me. Now we have to move on and I think together a great time will come. We just have to do the right things and I think the future will be brilliant for all of us.”

Eddie Howe has insisted he will dictate his own future at Newcastle amid speculation linking the Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann with his job.

The Magpies head into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolves sitting in 10th place and way off the pace they set last season to secure a top-four finish.

A report from Germany has claimed Newcastle could turn to the former Bayern boss if they decide to replace Howe at the end of the campaign.

Asked about the speculation, Howe said: “Genuinely, it doesn’t affect me. I’m here. I’m sat in the seat. My future will be defined by what I do, no one else.”

Howe has made a major impact at St James’ Park since his appointment in November 2021, first steering the club out of a relegation fight and then masterminding a charge to last season’s Carabao Cup final and Champions League qualification.

He freely admits that represented a significant overachievement, and a premature exit from Europe coupled with a far more mundane campaign this time around, one which has been peppered with injuries to key players, have led to a degree of criticism.

However, head coach Howe remains defiant as he plots a strong finish having seen his side book a difficult FA Cup quarter-final trip to Manchester City in midweek.

He said: “It’s up to me to continually prove [myself]. I back myself and my ability. I know my qualities. I know what I bring to the job and I have ambitions for the team and the club.

“I can’t control what people write and what speculation there is in every sense. I don’t try to get involved in it.”

Howe was appointed by the club’s new owners within weeks of their takeover and has enjoyed solid support for the work he has done so far.

He said: “From the people at the club – it is difficult for me to speak for them – I have felt a support and an understanding for things that have been thrown at us and things that have happened. It is important I feel that support.”

Whatever pressure Howe finds himself under, he at least has an outlet after revealing his efforts to learn how to play the piano are ongoing.

Asked if his wife and sons were impressed by his efforts, he said with a smile: “No, they’re not impressed. The two elder sons that play are both better than me.

“When I’m playing the piano, I’m not thinking of 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. It is a chance to get away. It’s a rare moment for me to do that because in most other parts of my life, like walking the dog or going to sleep, I’m thinking about football.

“But the rare things you can occupy your brain with do take you away from the game.”

When it was suggested he might have to perform karaoke if his team won the FA Cup, he replied: “If we win a cup, I’ll do anything.”

Eric Dier has triggered an option to make his move to Bayern Munich permanent this summer, the PA news agency understands.

Tottenham defender Dier joined Bayern in January on an initial loan deal until the end of the season for a fee in the region of 4million euros.

With Dier’s Spurs contract set to expire on June 30, an option to make his transfer to the Bundesliga champions permanent if he made a certain number of appearances was included in the deal.

Dier has played six times for Thomas Tuchel’s team, which includes four starts, and has now triggered a new 12-month contract to keep him at Bayern until the summer of 2025.

It will officially bring to an end Dier’s time at Tottenham, where he made 365 appearances during a nine-and-a-half-year spell with the Premier League club before he followed England team-mate Harry Kane to Munich.

What the papers say

The future of Luis Diaz at Liverpool is dependent on whether Mohamed Salah agrees a new deal. The Sun reports the club would listen to offers for the Colombia forward, 27, if Salah, 31, agrees a fresh deal.

Arsenal are looking to begin talks with Italy midfielder Jorginho, 32, over a new contract, reports the Evening Standard. He has been linked with a return to Serie A.

Conor Gallagher is continuing to catch the eye of Tottenham. The Daily Mail says the club are ready to move for the England midfielder, 24, in the summer.

Getafe are keen to talk with Manchester United about a deal for Mason Greenwood. The Times reports the Spanish club are interested in another loan deal or a permanent move for the forward, 22.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Trevoh Chalobah: The English defender, 24, is disappointed Chelsea are willing to sell him in the summer, according to Teamtalk.

Raoul Bellanova: Manchester United and Aston Villa have watch Torino’s Italian right-back, 23, reports Italian outfit Tuttosport.

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