Premier League

Shamoon Hafez
BBC Sport football news reporter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Image source, Getty Images

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan says he is "very happy" at Manchester City and wants to "play at the highest level for much longer" after starring at the Club World Cup on Sunday.

Gundogan, 34, scored twice as City thrashed UAE side Al Ain 6-0 to progress to the last 16 of the competition in the United States.

The Germany midfielder has been linked with a move to Galatasaray and boss Pep Guardiola has been open about wanting to work with a smaller squad this season.

"I have one more year left on my contract and I'm very happy here," said player of the match Gundogan. "I think everybody knows that.

"I am committed to that competition and enjoying my football. I still believe I have several years in me at the highest level by taking good care of myself. I've proven last season where I didn't miss a game.

"I'm available, I'm fit - I want to play at the highest level for much longer."

Guardiola was asked about Gundogan's future on Saturday and said: "No news is good news. So I don't know anything, I didn't speak with him.

"If he will not be part [of the squad], he would not be here. But at the same time, we have - right now - a long squad, too many players, so we cannot go with 26 or 27 players this season."

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nuno Espirito Santo's new three-year deal is a deserved reward for the rapid progress Nottingham Forest have made.

His position at the City Ground was never in doubt and there were no plans to change, despite some speculation around his future towards the end of the season.

He became the first manager since Frank Clark to take them into Europe, with Forest last playing with the elite in 1995-96, and there will be a confidence they can reach the Conference League group stage through their play-off tie.

Replacing Steve Cooper, who returned them to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years, was always going to be a difficult task, but Nuno has done a magnificent job, first keeping Forest up and then turning them into last season's surprise package.

He has seemed comfortable, more at ease, in his surroundings at the City Ground - certainly in his dealings with the media.

That would not be difficult given his rocky four months at Tottenham in 2021, but he is more relaxed than he was at any time during his four years in charge at Wolves.

He still left a fine legacy at Molineux, also taking them into Europe after winning promotion, but Nuno has clearly built something special at Forest and in a relatively short space of time.

Last summer saw some surgical transfer business done with Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic joining, and this year will be no different, even if their admiration for Liam Delap never managed to develop into a transfer.

It all leads to Forest's progression and Nuno's deal is another piece of the puzzle as the Reds continue to move forward, with Edu due to be officially announced as the club's global sporting director.

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We asked for your views on who Liverpool should focus on next after the club record signing of Florian Wirtz, with Milos Kerkez expected to follow in a matter of days after a deal was agreed with Bournemouth.

Here are some of your comments:

Marwan: The next priority is to replace Darwin Nunez with a world-class striker who can play on the same level as Mohamed Salah and Wirtz, and to find who can succeed Jarell Quansah as a third-choice central defender.

Fraser: After we sign Kerkez, we need to focus on outgoings before we sign anyone else. Nunez is the obvious outgoing. I think Quansah, Harvey Elliott and one of either Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas will go. Once that's done, we should go for a new centre-back and forward - and ideally, one of them should be another homegrown player.

Kev: The focus should be on securing a new number nine. I don't think we will go for Alexander Isak, but one of Julian Alvarez or Hugo Ekitike would do for me! Someone will want Nunez, won't they?

Marc: There seems to be a lot of speculation around Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa, so it looks like we need another winger. Priorities are another centre-back - or maybe two, depending on departures - a new centre-forward and another winger.

Gerald: We didn't do too badly last year, so why would we want to change so many of the players? We could end up being worse, as there's no guarantee they would gel.

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

In terms of how Liverpool play football, Milos Kerkez appears the perfect full-back.

Although Jurgen Klopp's 'heavy metal' style of fast-paced, high-pressing football has been adapted by Arne Slot, the fundamentals of aggressive pressing - albeit in a more structured way - and trying to win the ball high up the pitch still remain.

The 21-year-old recovered the ball 169 times last season - the fifth-most of any defender in the Premier League and more than any Liverpool defender. He also won the ball in Bournemouth's attacking third 11 times - the ninth most of defenders in the division and again more than any of his potential future Reds team-mates.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, a fundamental source of creativity, has already departed Anfield, with Andy Robertson also linked with an exit. Should the deal be completed, Kerkez is seen as a long-term replacement for the left-back role the Scotland international has made his own over the past eight years.

In a Bournemouth team that eventually finished ninth, the Hungary international created 34 chances from open play - the seventh most by a defender - and registered five assists which placed him joint-fourth in that ranking.

His 142 crosses were the sixth-most - behind Robertson in fifth and Alexander-Arnold in fourth and his eight big chances created was the seventh most among defenders - a metric topped by the man now at Real Madrid.

In terms of ball progression, Kerkez passed into the final third 476 times - the 10th most times of any Premier League defender - behind the Reds' two first choice full-backs last season. No Liverpool defender completed more dribbles than his 22.

Translating such form from a side punching above their weight to a team now expected to win almost every match is never a forgone conclusion, but the statistics show Kerkez is well placed to adapt at Anfield to what Arne Slot requires from his full-backs, both defensively and offensively.

The prospect of him playing alongside players of a higher standard is likely to excite Liverpool fans - and potentially ease the blow of losing at least one of their two first-choice full-backs.

*All stats provided by Opta