Whether there’s any substance to the stories is another matter.
One of today’s links suggests he Blues are keeping an eye on Croatian defender Nikola Milenkovic.
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Sports Witness report: “On Tuesday, Calciomercato claimed that Manchester City were taking an interest in Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic, and we stated we’d keep an eye out for anything new on the matter going forward.
“Well, it didn’t take very long, helped by the fact the Croatian defender enjoyed a very good game against Inter in his team’s 2-1 defeat, keeping Ivan Perisic quiet for the duration of the encounter.
“These consistent performances at right-back, having only moved there full-time this season, have caught the eye of Pep Guardiola, and the very same Calciomercato explain the Cityzens have taken things a step further in their quest to sign the 20-year-old.
“According to the Italian outlet, Manchester City have ‘moved closer’ to the player’s entourage, most likely to assess his situation, but face a lot of competition for his signature.
“Inter have also dialled the agent’s number, while Atlético are hot on the player’s trail, but Calciomercato state the keenest Italian club are Juventus, having already discussed the matter with Fiorentina when they were ironing out the details of the Marko Pjaca loan.
“Signing him for just £5m from Hajduk Split, La Viola know they have a new gem on their hands, and with the likes of Manchester City and the Serie A champions all keen, they’re expected to ask for a whole lot of money to be convinced.”
Another story grabbing the headlines is skipper Vincent Kompany’s pledge to help the city’s homeless community.
BBC Sport take up the story: “Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany will donate all profits from his testimonial match to the city’s homeless.
“This season marks the 32-year-old’s 10th year at City and will culminate in a testimonial match in August 2019.
“The Belgium defender has also set up ‘Tackle4MCR’ with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in a bid to inspire social change in the region. I’ve received much from Manchester,” said Kompany.
‘Over the past decade I’ve been lucky to have witnessed and played a part in Manchester City’s rise as a club and a brand. This has also run parallel alongside the rise of a whole region.
‘However, with this spectacular rise, comes a very visible downside: more and more people are left out of and have no access to the benefits of the rapid development, often leaving them no choice but to end up on the streets.’
Sky Sports cover City’s exit from the UEFA Women’s Champions League last night, as they report: “Man City were knocked out of the Champions League after a home loss to Atletico Madrid.
“City came into their second leg with Atletico with the scores level, but a 2-0 home defeat put them out 3-1 on aggregate, and their first exit before the semi-final stage for the first time in three years.
“They fell behind after only four minutes into their game at the Academy Stadium when Silvia Meseguer slotted beyond Karen Bardsley.
“Just before half-time Ludmila da Silva made it 2-0, and even with City’s considerable pressure after the interval they could only muster two efforts from Nikita Parris and Caroline Weir off the bar, while Jen Beattie had a goal ruled out for offside.”
Finally, the Ryder Cup begins on Friday in Paris and Europe’s Tommy Fleetwood has revealed he has received a Pep talk ahead of the contest.
Yahoo Sports write: “Ryder Cup rookie Tommy Fleetwood will hope a message of motivation from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola can spur him on to success for Team Europe at Le Golf National this week.
“Fleetwood, introduced to Guardiola through a mutual friend, was on a Cheshire golf course with the City boss in April when his side were crowned Premier League champions following Manchester United’s defeat by West Brom.
“The pair then struck up a partnership at Wentworth for the celebrity Pro-Am event ahead of the BMW PGA Championship in May, and Guardiola has shown his support for Fleetwood ahead of this week’s showdown with the United States.
‘We all have these videos in the room, these motivational videos, and he was one of the guys that sent a message to me,’ Fleetwood, 27, told reporters on Tuesday.’
‘I’m not sure he’s coming over. I’m sure he’s busy at the weekend but he might make it over. But yeah, we always talk quite a lot. He’s somebody that’s great to know.
‘He was at the Ryder Cup in Medinah, and he’ll always mention that that’s one of the greatest times he’s had in his life being at that Ryder Cup.
‘Yeah, it was a very special time. It has a special place in his heart, the Ryder Cup, and he’s been very supportive through the whole thing. Maybe we’ll see him, I don’t know.’
More gossip and rumour tomorrow...
