Delph: Guardiola has reinvented me!

But there’s still plenty of City news for us to get our teeth into this morning. 

Let’s start with Fabian Delph, who is currently in Russia with England as they prepare for their World Cup opener against Tunisia on Monday. 

He has praised the influence Pep Guardiola has had on his career, crediting the City boss with ‘reinventing’ his game during the two seasons they have worked together. 

“He has opened my eyes to so much. I didn’t picture football like Pep does. He’s painted the pictures for me,” Delph said (via the Manchester Evening News).

“I stayed mentally strong, and I knew if I got my opportunity to play I could contribute and help the lads win games.

“I’m a very traditional English guy who believes in hard work and dedication and giving it absolutely everything. I’m there to fight and pick up second balls, to be that old English type of player, but he has reinvented me.

“Now it’s all about being calm and collected on the ball, being sensible in terms of if someone occupies my position then I need to occupy a different position.”

Staying with the England camp and Kyle Walker has also been heaping praise on a key City figure. 

Walker believes his Club teammate Raheem Sterling is one of the most feared forwards in the game, describing his ability as ‘unbelievable’. 

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“He’s unbelievable,” Walker said (via the Express). “He could be one of the best in the world by far. He scares defenders, he scares me when he’s running at me.

“I just have to put my body in the way and hope he has to run round me!”

Meanwhile, there is some transfer news floating around. 

Using the Football Whispers Index, ESPN have cast their eye over rumours City are targeting Juventus winger Douglas Costa.

“The Brazilian winger has been lined up for a huge £88m move to Premier League champions Manchester City from Juventus,” they write. “Costa, 27, was on a season-long loan from Bayern Munich and his €40m move to Italy was made permanent just recently. But, according to Sport Mediaset, Manchester City are expected to add to their title-winning squad and have earmarked Costa as a transfer target.

“The Football Whispers Index takes the latest transfer rumours and gives them a score out of five; the higher the score, the more realistic and reliable the Whisper. A 1.0 rating means there’s no chance, 3.0 suggests there’s a good chance and 5.0 equals a done deal.”

And they rate City’s chances of signing Costa at 2.6. We’ll keep an eye on that one and bring you any developments in the coming days.

That’s all for this morning’s roundup, Blues. Stay tuned throughout the day as we bring you all the latest from our boys out in Russia.