Saturday’s briefing: Real reunion for Man City as Aston Villa eye Rashford swoop
By PA Sport Staff
Holders Real Madrid stand in the way of Manchester City’s hopes of a second taste of Champions League glory after the sides were drawn to face each other in the play-offs.
Also, Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho appears to have grabbed his second chance at Old Trafford, while out-of-favour team-mate Marcus Rashford has emerged as a target for Aston Villa, who have been boosted by the news that Ollie Watkins is set to remain at the club beyond transfer deadline day.
In a move already signed, sealed and delivered, Chelsea splashed the cash again to bring England midfielder Keira Walsh back to the Women’s Super League from Barcelona.
Keeping it Real
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is steeling himself for a Champions League “derby” against Real Madrid after the sides were paired together yet again.
Guardiola’s 2023 winners will face the 15-times European champions in the knockout round play-off after scraping through the league phase thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge.
It will be the fifth two-legged tie between City and Madrid in the last six seasons.
Guardiola, whose side could only have drawn Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, said: “Well, it looks like a derby already. Four years in a row facing Madrid. Well, Madrid, Bayern, both were really, really tough.”
A way out for Rashford?
Villa are exploring the possibility of handing Marcus Rashford a way out of his Manchester United misery before Monday’s transfer deadline.
The PA news agency understands Villa boss Unai Emery has identified the 27-year-old as an option, with Chelsea’s Joao Felix and Paris St Germain’s Marco Asensio also in his sights.
Rashford has been frozen out of Ruben Amorim’s squad with the United boss saying after Sunday’s win over Fulham he would rather select 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital.
Any move would likely be a loan deal and Villa would have to find a way of financing Rashford’s hefty wages if the player was interested in a switch to Villa Park.
Emery lost striker Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr in a move which could eventually be worth £71m on Friday, but has said Ollie Watkins is happy at the club and will not be leaving after Villa rejected a bid from Arsenal earlier this week.
All change for Garnacho
United boss Ruben Amorim has admitted Alejandro Garnacho has “changed in everything” since the disappointment of being left out of the Manchester derby.
Seven weeks after the 20-year-old Argentina international and fellow Academy graduate Rashford were surprisingly omitted from the squad which went on to secure a late comeback win at City, Garnacho impressed from the bench in Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League win at FCSB, to the delight of Amorim.
The head coach said: “He changed right away since that game against City. The way he understands things and understands that I just want to help him, I just want to win games.
“He changed in everything: the approach when you talk with him, the way he recovers. I think all the merit (goes to) Garnacho. He is improving and we want to continue to improve with Garnacho.”
Back from Barca
England midfielder Keira Walsh has joined Women’s Super League champions Chelsea from Barcelona on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
The 27-year-old has spent the last two-and-a-half years in Spain, where she won eight trophies, including six domestic titles, and was part of two Champions League-winning sides.
PA understands Walsh joins Sonia Bompastor’s Blues for a fee of around £400,000.
Walsh joined Barcelona for what was reported to be a then world-record fee of between £350,000-£400,000 in 2022. That record now belongs to Walsh’s new Chelsea team-mate Naomi Girma, who joined for a reported £900,000 from San Diego Wave on Sunday.
What’s on today?
Premier League leaders Liverpool have a chance to extend their six-point advantage at the top of the table with Arsenal not playing until Sunday when they face Manchester City, but the Reds will have to overcome form side Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries will be looking to add another scalp to their big recent wins over Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, who will hope to close the gap on the pacesetters with home games against Fulham and Brighton respectively.
In the Championship, Leeds will attempt to cement their position at the top of the table when they entertain Cardiff, while Sheffield United have a chance to bounce back from their shock 3-0 home defeat by Hull when they head for lowly Derby.