De Bruyne's departing gift |Pep to take a break after contract | Latest transfer speculation
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Teddy Draper and joining me at ESPN, senior writer Mark Ogden and the Independence chief football writer, Miguel Delaney. Welcome to your podcast. Well, Miguel, let's start with Kevin De Bruyne then and the mirror who term it departing gift to Kevin making sure that he got top four space. They're up to third. Miguel, will they harbour any doubts after that about De Bruyne's

DECISION TO LET THE BRONNER GO. HE SAYS HE HAS PROVEN HE IS STILL UP TO THIS LEVEL. YOU WOULDN'T THINK SO. THE CITY, TO BE FAIR, USUALLY ON THIS SORT OF THING, THEY BRING ALL SORTS OF ANALYTICS INTO IT. THEY ARE VERY FORWARD THINKING IN TERMS OF RECRUITMENT. ONE QUESTION ABOUT THAT IS THEY ARE ACTUALLY GOING TO GO THROUGH A TRANSITION FROM CHIKI BEGUIRAS DOWN TO YUGO VIANA. HAS THAT CREATED A LITTLE BIT OF A VACUUM?

Possibly. Possibly that's one of the reasons that De Bruyne is irritated at the situation, given it does seem to... It feels like he's been left in limbo a little bit. But you do wonder, I suppose, had we seen maybe more of these moments in kind of more crunch games. I mean, OK, this is a game they have to win to secure a top four, all of that, or a top five, but it's not quite crunch in that sense. And maybe that's where the tension is. And ultimately, I suppose...

No matter how long-serving someone is, no matter how much of a club legend someone is, you do have to think about the future. It's maybe the abruptness which this has been done which is aggravating De Bruyne. Absolutely. The headline in The Guardian, Mark, De Bruyne's leaving present, departing hero, Hans City, vital win in European race. What's your take on it, Mark? Is it simply we haven't seen enough of him, let alone the big games in the past couple of years?

Yeah, I mean, I'm with Miguel on this. I think you have to side with City on this one because...

Clubs nowadays, when they give contracts to players in their 30s, it's not just about what they're doing now, it's about what they can do next year and the year after. Kevin De Bruyne is 34 in the summer, and I've just done the stats before we came on air. Since the start of last season, he's missed 42 games with hamstring problems. Now, that's quite a big chunk. That's all competition, so that is maybe half of non-Cities games. So, a player that's approaching 34 with hamstring problems, is it really worth giving him an extended contract, hoping that he's going to be the player that he was before?

two, three, four, five years ago and I don't think he is. I think Kevin De Bruyne has been up there with Keane, Vieira, Scholes, Gerard Lampard in terms of the best midfielders we've ever seen in the Premier League but everything comes to an end and what Man City fans wouldn't want and I'm sure Kevin De Bruyne wouldn't want as well is to be a player that stays for a year too long and spends even more time out of the team next season so I think

City can be quite ruthless, but I think that's why they've been successful over the years. They make the decisions at the right time. Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, some real legends of the club, have been moved on maybe a year before people thought they would go. And I don't think City have actually been haunted by those. It's the younger players you've got, like Cole Palmer, that have been the issue. But in terms of De Bruyne, if he thinks he can do it again next season, we'll find a Premier League club and do it. It's up to him. Prove it.

it. Where do you think he will go, Miguel? Do you think it will be a Premier League club? He's referenced being attracted by the riches on offer in Saudi, hasn't he, in the past?

Yeah, although I suppose not really gone for it so far. There had been, because I mean, there had been a presumption that he would go to Saudi where that hasn't happened yet. There is a lot of noise with the Premier League. I think there's been a few kind of mischievous murmurs about Manchester United, but I don't think, well, given how much United have spoken about their new recruitment model, you really couldn't see them going on a U-turn like that among what he wanted, given his status at Man City. Yeah,

I suppose one thing that a player of his age has to consider, and people often overlook this, is say the age of his kids, he wants them settled, where they go to school. And then you have decisions say where a United legend like Peter Schmeichel ended up playing for City for a while just because of that, because it was closed to home. And I think people often overlook how this can influence players' decisions at this point in their career.

all that said my gut is maybe for MLS

OK, interesting twist there. What about Pep Guardiola's future, Mark? Let's talk about that in the Sun. It's actually their main story. Pep, I'm going to stop. Live on Sky Sports, pre-match, he confirmed this, but it came from an initial ESPN interview. Pep Guardiola will take a complete break from management when his Manchester City contract ends, reports Ken Lawrence here. Mark, is this a surprise or just that he's gone so long without a break? Is that more of a surprise?

I don't think it's a surprise, but then again, Pep has kind of teased us in the past, hasn't he, about, you know...

he's tired he wants a break and I must admit there's been the last three contracts he signed at City they've all been a surprise because he's all kind of led up to it by saying you know he's feeling a bit tired and you know he doesn't know how much longer he can go on for so the fact that he's saying he will take a break at the end of his Man City contract I think we have to put it in perspective he's not saying he's going to take a break this summer at the end of his contract so you know that's that that is two years away if he gets that far and that is the big question right now whether he's going to see his contract whether he's going to put up with it for another two years because he has looked

tired and frazzled and who knows if City struggle to win the major honours next season as well you know the FA Cup isn't enough for Man City so let's be honest if they struggle to win the Premier League and the Champions League next season you might think that I won't say his time has passed that would be wrong but you might think that there's too many kind of new kids on the block in terms of Liverpool and Arnish slot, Mikel Arteta that may be a bit younger more hungry that may be taking him on he might want to get away from that challenge anyway so he probably does need a break you know he had a break after he left Barcelona and he went straight from Bayern Munich to Man City so it's been a long time but

I'm pretty sure that Pep will manage somewhere else again, probably an international team, but I'm not surprised that he wants a break. I can't really blame him, to be honest. He'll be 56 in a couple of years, Miguel. What would be left for him to prove at that stage?

Well, the big one, I suppose, that we know he would have wanted is, you know, Mark's touched on it there, international football. And the one that was always considered was Brazil and to, you know, restore Brazil's first World Cup in 24 years, potentially 30 years. Except for 2026, that looks like it's not going to be an opportunity if he were to leave City even before then, because Carlo Ancelotti is about to go there. I mean, he wouldn't take the Spain job, I don't think.

because of what a kind of a proud Catalan he is. He did play for Spain, but that's not quite the same thing, I think. Obviously, there's been murmurs about England in the past. And maybe there's always been this sense, I mean...

Guardiola, he would no doubt put himself as a football romantic, but he's always managed absolute powerhouses. Now, to be fair, that's because he immediately went in at Barcelona after one season at Barcelona B and proved himself as possibly the best manager in the world at the time and certainly one of the most influential managers of all time. So he hasn't had to step down. But you do wonder whether maybe part of him as well, if he took a year out, would want to go to a more...

different sort of job in that sense or kind of to restore a fallen giant in the club. I do think it will be international, but it'll have to be the right international job. And there's the other question. One of the reasons that Guardiola is here because he needs a break is because we know he's one of the most intense figures in football and would international football really kind of satisfy him in that sense? Not getting to be on the grass

every day. Just wonder where his ego comes into play, Mark, don't you, in this conversation about the greatest ever manager. Ferguson did it at St Mirren, Aberdeen, Shankly built Liverpool from a second division team. Does he need a, I don't know, a fix-me-up job on his CV to prove something?

I mean, it's a good question, actually. I think Pep's ego will have a big part to play. You know, the best managers have big egos, and that's fair enough, because that's why they are the best managers. They back themselves. But I think Pep always bristled when he hadn't won a Champions League at Man City, and when he finally won it, that was a big thing for him. So, yeah, there is a kind of need for him to prove something. So what would he need to do? Would he need to go to an international tournament to win a World Cup?

Possibly, but like Miguel says, the candidates are quite limited. I think the one thing that people have leveled him in the past is that yes, he has had a kind of a gilded career in the sense that wherever he's been, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man City, the best clubs in the world in their respective leagues at the time, the richest. He's not had it easy, but he's had it easier than most coaches. Maybe he wants to go to a club that he has to prove what a great coach is, what a great innovator he is without the resources that he's had at his other clubs.

But then that's a risk, isn't it? Does he want to risk his legacy, his reputation by doing that? So if he does, great, because that would be great to see. But I'm not sure whether he wants to risk his kind of reputation by taking on, I don't know, an Everton or Wolves and showing that he's the best coach in the world. That would be brilliant, though, to be fair. Guardiola to succeed Moyes at Everton. We'll wait on that one. Let's talk about

Ruben Amarim, the Manchester United head coach, having a pretty difficult time, I think it's fair to say, but maybe redeemed in the Europa League. Harry Maguire says it's Manchester United's players to blame, not Ruben here in the Telegraph Sports supplement. Jason Burt reporting, United players, quote, failed to take responsibility as ten hard left. What were the key quotes that jumped out here for you, Mikel?

Yeah, I mean, I suppose the strength of Maguire's words, and, you know, even describing his club as a mess, I mean, no one can dispute it. I suppose it's just the striking honesty of the players. And to be fair as well...

In this context, just how strident he is and really pushing support for his manager. I know people will say that's maybe a natural situation, especially after a win. But given the amount of noise that's been around United, that does feel significant in itself. And yeah, it's brutally honest from Maguire. Certainly is, isn't it? Inside the Telegraph as well, Mark. From 80 million United misfit to cult hero Maguire.

Harry Dino, after his wing wizardry in the Europa League in Bilbao, writes Sam Wallace. How impressive is the redemption of Maguire been? How much credit does he deserve? And maybe how much credit does Amarine deserve for putting him in a three?

Yeah, from Maguire's point of view, there's a lot of credit because, I mean, probably last summer, the summer he funded Eriton Haag, they were ready to let him go, Man Utd. I think it was 18 months ago that Westhaven really strung on Maguire. A deal was agreed, but Maguire said, no, I want to stay at Man Utd and fight for my place. So they were ready to get rid of him. Eriton Haag took the captaincy off him and gave it to Bruno Fernandes. So he really did have a big fall and a lot of the United fans at the time were not having Maguire, thought he was too slow, not a Man Utd player, but he's shown massive character and I think

A lot of the players at Man United haven't shown the character that he's shown, that Harry Maguire's shown. So I think he deserves the praise for that. And obviously, he's come up with some big goals, a big cross last night against Bilbao, which set up the goal for Casemiro. So he's really come back from nowhere, really. And I think that's to his credit. And I think Amarim has spotted something in him about leadership qualities. He's definitely...

He's definitely reborn as a leader, I think, at United. I think at times when he was the captain, he struggled with the captaincy, but now he looks like almost a captain without the armband. And I think, yeah, that's got to be done to hammer him, to rebuild his confidence. But I think Maguire and Casemiro are two players that really were kind of ready on the way out at Man United to redeem themselves. And, you know, Maguire's got a new contract to have and he's definitely deserved it. One more year, Miguel, could you see him going longer? Could he build the foundations of another successful era for Manchester United, Maguire?

It does feel like it. I mean, as regards to a successful era, I mean, that's one of the bigger questions over the club at the moment. Obviously, winning the Europa League or even getting to the final is at least a right step after the season they've had. And Sam Wallace does write in that piece about how Maguire's ideal is basically to see out his career at United. I think just to pick up on something Mark said there as well, I mean, this is actually...

You couldn't have a better example of leadership by example. He wasn't captain anymore. As Max touched on, there was a lot of noise from the fans about he wasn't necessarily that popular. And yet he's just knuckled down and played. And I think it's really, really admirable, especially when there's all sorts of talk about modern players and certain attitudes and this sort of thing. But this is, you know, I think there's a real nobility to the way he's conducted himself through all this. And just let, he's, you know, done his talking really well.

with his performances, hence giving him the right to say what he said after the game last night. I'll come to you, Mark, with The Guardian. Join the pool party at the bottom of the page there. Arna Slot says title buzz will attract signings, particularly the nature of the emotional celebrations. Is he right, Mark?

I think he probably is. I think, you know, I remember when Liverpool won the Champions League and the scenes in the city when they brought the European Cup back in 2019 were amazing. And those images go around the world. And I think, you know, Liverpool are one of the great clubs. They are one of the clubs that people all over the world want to play for. It's like,

Real Madrid, Barcelona, the Milan clubs, they have a resonance that goes around the world. And I think when players see this, they obviously want to sign for the best teams. They want to sign for clubs that have a spirit, have an atmosphere. And I think, you know, let's be honest, when Man City won the title for the last three or four years, there hasn't been that sort of scene. It's been very kind of, almost kind of a corporate feel to it. There's not been much, you know, celebrations like we saw at Liverpool. But maybe that's because it's the first time they've celebrated a title in the flesh for 35 years because the COVID title was kind of, was behind closed doors. So I think...

yeah, if you're a player, you want to play for the biggest clubs with the biggest histories and the fan bases that make every game an event. So, yeah, Liverpool are in a great position right now. It's a position of strength and they have to build from it really and sound the players that you want to get using that as an example to draw them to the club. How powerful is the pull, in your opinion, Miguel, of Liverpool or does it come down to cold, hard cash for the players?

No, I don't think it does fully. I mean, look, cash is the primary factor and any player will want his going rate. But if you look at, say, Kylian Mbappe, for example, apparently Madrid's offer, say, last summer was less than it was the first time because of his wish to go there. So that's a clear example of a club's status actually affecting what they could pay. And I think that is one of the advantages that Liverpool have in that sense. But, I mean, alongside that,

I think they go into a summer. It's rare that clubs go into summers in as strong a position as they are, because it's not just about winning the title. It's winning the title and in the modern game, having all this PSO headroom, they've got a lot they can spend and play with. It also might make a bit of a contrast because the last time they won a title in 2020, they didn't do that much business. It was only really two or three signings. And the one big one was Tiago Alcantara late on and they,

And we unfold like Liverpool just didn't quite see the best of a brilliant player just because maybe of his fitness through his time there. But now you'd accept, I mean, Trent obviously changed the dynamic, but there will be big changes. And you'd think some probably quite exciting signings for Liverpool. In theory, there won't be much change for Cole Palmer at Chelsea because he's got a long-term contract till 2033. But Jamie Carragher,

Mark, writing in a Telegraph says Palmer must doubt Chelsea future world-class players will not tolerate mediocrity for long. So it is vital Maresca secures Champions League football. How do you assess Palmer's position at Chelsea?

Yeah, I think we've kind of discussed this on the show before in the sense that Palmer, you know, he is one of the best young players in Europe, really. And he's, you know, he's shown it with England, he's shown it with Chelsea. He's had a bit of a dip recently, but he's not going to want to be outside the Champions League for too long. You know, he's actually won the Champions League with Man City as part of the squad that won it. But he deserves to be on that stage and he will want to be on that stage. And if Chelsea miss out on the Champions League again...

i guess he'll put up with another year in the europa league having been in the conference league this year but he won't want to put with it too long so jamie carrick is right that he'll be frustrated but the problem that palmer's got a lot of other chelsea players are on really really long contracts so if you want to sign cole palmer or if you're cole palmer you want to leave how do you get out of that contract because you know chelsea will say look you've got another seven eight years in your contract so that is the downside of signing such long contracts you're stuck at the club that you might not want to be at

Carragher picks up on this point in the piece, Miguel. He says what is baffling is that any player would commit to a club for so many years. No footballer should sign a contract beyond four years because so much can change. What do you think the Chelsea precedent has done? Do you think anyone will follow suit or do you think they will be cautious after what they've seen?

Well, I was about to make the exact same point as Cara there. But because also it's not just about the Chelsea president here. Let's not forget, we've all seen what happened to Harry Kane, where he signed a six year contract based on where Tottenham were in 2018, when they were one of the best sides in Europe at the point. And it looked like they could be on the cusp of maybe doing something really special under Pochettino. A year later, Pochettino was gone and suddenly the outlook was changed. But two years after that,

halfway through his contract, Kane wanted to leave, wanted to go to Manchester City that summer or Manchester United he wanted, and he couldn't. And so it's amazing, given that knowledge, that players actually put themselves in this situation, just because, as Cara says, it's how variable football can be. And as far as I'm told as well, it's not like there's any sort of clause in case they miss Champions League or anything like that. So yeah, and obviously, I mean, this isn't exactly news. So many clubs would want players

Chelsea and Manchester United are one who would if it was any sort of possibility they'd seriously go for him and I think he would be open to it but

I mean, really, there's no possibility that happened this summer. So it's good for the mortgage, isn't it, that kind of security? But we'll see what happens with Cole Palmer at Chelsea. Let's talk about players who may well be moving sooner. Times Sports Supplement reports with Paul Joyce. Moyes, we're interested in De Lappe if he's interested in us. Mark, why wouldn't he be interested in Everton?

because five or six bigger clubs than Everton will want him and they'll probably pay more money. So simply that. I mean, Everton won't be able to compete with the likes of Man United and Chelsea in terms of wages. And Chelsea will be able to offer some kind of European football, a club that's got a pedigree of winning trophies. I mean, listen, I don't see why Liam Dillap would go to Everton. Everton are a great club, but they haven't won a trophy for 30 years. They don't pay their players big wages. They're not the biggest club in the city. Liam Dillap's not going to go to Everton.

But new stadium, he's 22 years of age. Can you provide a case against Mark there? What do you think, Mikel?

Not really. I mean, all the more so because it's not just about Everton's current status. It's a striker's market right now. We're still in a kind of situation where the football doesn't produce as many number nines as it would want, as clubs want, which is remarkable in itself. The lap is one of those number nines. So, so many clubs are looking at him and he doesn't quite have his complete pick, given like there's people like Sesco and Gokeresh in the mix.

potentially Isaac, I don't think so. But he's got some nice options there. So it would be stunning if he picked Everton. No disrespect to Everton. It's just the reality of the market right now. It's an issue, isn't it, Mark? What's happened to football? Why aren't there any strikers?

You know something? People blame Pep Guardiola, but I think it goes back to the Del Bosque side of Spain back in the late 2000s. They played with the false nine, they stopped playing with the striker, and everybody thought, this is great, this works really well, we'll try and copy it. But Spain had some of the best players in the world and they could do it. I think a lot of clubs that have tried to take it on since then haven't had quite the success, but there's just been a...

a trend to develop players that were good with the ball at the feet and nippy forwards that could move across the front line and centre forwards who went out of fashion. So they've come back in fashion now, but there's not many of them because the last 10, 15 years they haven't been producing them.

It's interesting to watch that development now. Let's talk about Wenger's old club, Arsenal, and centre-halves in demand. Saliba is staying, though. Jordan Davis reporting in The Sun that Mikel Arteta says he's, quote, confident Saliba will snub Real Madrid. Mikel, how confident would you be? Yeah, I think... I mean, there was some noise about...

Madrid wanting Huisson, that doesn't look like it's going to happen. They don't want to pay a fee that high and it looks like he could well go to Chelsea. It seems like that's the situation at the moment. And with Saliba...

I couldn't see, I think with Madrid it'd be one of those situations where they try and wait for his contract to run down because of where it is. And this is where it was an interesting challenge for Arsenal. Arsenal are generally in a good place, I think, with their squad despite the injuries. But there's a few kind of contract situations there, Saliba being one of them, that they probably have to get ahead of. I still, given what they're building, unless Saliba, I'm sorry, unless Madrid came in with a really, really big offer, which I don't think they will, I can, yeah, definitely, I can see Saliba moving this summer anyway. Yeah.

Interested to watch that situation at Arsenal, another club perhaps searching for a striker as well. Let's talk about a creative player, number 10, James Madison, just below the Saliba story. Tottenham says they're sweating on the fitness of James Madison ahead of the Europa League semi-final second leg in Norway against Bodo Glimt. Mark, you watched them against Eintracht Frankfurt, didn't you? How big a loss could this be?

It would be a really big loss because I think that goal that Bordeaux Glimpse scored at Spurs late on has made the title alive again. I think Bordeaux could fancy their chances. If Maddison's there, we know that Bergvall's going to miss it as well. Plastic pitch, difficult away record, Spurs isn't great. That makes it difficult for Tottenham if their best, most creative player doesn't make the game. In seconds, Miguel, it's a problem for Spurs, isn't it? The injuries, it can't be coincidence at this point.

No, I mean, look, given one of the lessons of Liverpool's title win has been preparation and getting players on the pitch, these sort of things aren't coincidental anymore. It comes down to, yes, there is some luck involved, of course, but when it's a pattern, the bigger questions have to be asked.