Galtier affirms commitment to Saint-Etienne

Pep Guardiola saluted the character demonstrated by Manchester City after they went top of the Premier League with a 2-1 win over Fulham.

Julian Alvarez s stunning 25-yard strike proved to be the winner at Craven Cottage, where Carlos Vinicius had earlier cancelled out Erling Haaland s penalty.

Though not at their clinical best, the reigning champions displaced Arsenal at the summit of the table for the first time since February – and still have a game in hand on the Gunners, who they beat 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Guardiola was pleased with the way his players navigated their way through what developed into a scrappy contest with Marco Silva s side.

I didn t have any doubt [in my players], he told BBC s Match of the Day. The game was so …

With international football taking centre stage this week my attention has been turned to the lower leagues of English football.

Now usually I wouldn t really think much about League Two but this summers events at Notts County has raised my awareness of lower league football.

I must admit my knowledge of League One and Two in recent years was limited to looking out for local sides such as Tranmere Rovers and Chester City results.

Raised awareness of League Two

I don t know about anybody else but the summer takeover at County has added some extra interest for me. It hasn t only raised the profile of the Nottingham side its raised the whole profile of the league. People like me, who wouldn t watch League One or league Two football are suddenly paying atten…

Jack Butland has penned a new contract with Stoke City, .

The 22 year old has extended his deal at the Britannia Stadium until the summer of 2019, having originally signed from Birmingham City in 2013, at a time when he was also gathering interest from both Liverpool and Arsenal.

Both sides have continued to monitor the shot-stoppers progress, though is ready to continue competing with Asmir Begovic for the Potters’ number one jersey.

Since signing for Stoke, Butland has made just thee league appearances for the club, making twice that amount in a brief loan spell with Championship promotion hopefuls Derby County before Christmas.

He has also had temporary spells with both Barnsley and Leeds United since leaving St Andrews, while he is yet to win a…

Mario Balotelli has urged Mamadou Sakho to follow his escape route out of Liverpool and join Nice.

Following a terrible season at Anfield in 2014-15 and a similarly unproductive year back at AC Milan on loan, Balotelli left Liverpool to sign for the Ligue 1 outfit on a free transfer.

The former Manchester City striker has cut a revitalised figure in the south of France, scoring seven times in eight appearances for Lucien Favre s league leaders.

Sakho is yet to feature for Liverpool this season having fallen out of favour with boss Jurgen Klopp on the back of disciplinary problems.

The France centre-back has been linked with a move to Leicester City and West Ham, but Balotelli is keen to share a dressing room with him once more.

What a mess that a…

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus continue to twist narratives and shout at the sky by pursuing the Super League, Nasser Al-Khelaifi has said.

The Paris Saint-Germain president was appointed as chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) in April amid the fall-out from the proposed plans by 12 of the continent s biggest clubs to form a breakaway competition.

Al-Khelaifi replaced Andrea Agnelli, the Juventus president who left the ECA after the Serie A club committed to the Super League, a project with which PSG were not involved.

Nine of the founder clubs withdrew from the plans following huge backlash from fans, but Barca, Madrid and Juve have continued to back the plans as a means to protect the future of European football.

Speaking at the ECA ge…

Bayern Munich are interested in signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that defending Bundesliga champions Bayern are one of three clubs who are keen on securing the services of the 29-year-old England international striker, Chelsea and Manchester United being the other two.

Kane is one of the best strikers in the world and has been on the books of Tottenham his entire professional club career so far. The 29-year-old has established himself as a Premier League goal machine and could end up as the top scorer in English football of all time. Kane currently has 189 goals in the league to his name.

Bayern are one of the biggest clubs in the world and regularly win the Bundesliga and also compete in the UEFA Cha…

Spartak Moscow have announced on their official website that they have completed the signing of Armenian midfielder Aras Ozbiliz from Kuban Krasnodar.

The financial details of the transfer were not disclosed, but it was revealed the player had signed a five-year contract with the Russian giants.

Ozbiliz becomes club s third major signing of the summer transfer window, following in the footsteps of Alberto “Tino” Costa and Denis Glushakov.

The Armenia international began his career in Ajax youth academy, spending twelve years there before he was promoted to the first team set up in 2010.

Ozbiliz didn t quite manage to prove his worth at Amsterdam Arena, making just 26 Eredivisie appearances before leaving for Kuban Krasnodar last summer.

That …

Former Swansea City striker Lee Trundle believes Michael Laudrup s men have what it takes to pull away from trouble in the Premier League.

A run of eight league matches without a win has left Swansea just three points above just the relegation zone.

Yet Trundle, who scored 91 goals in 194 appearances during two spells with Swansea, is confident the team can emerge from their recent slump in upcoming matches against fellow strugglers Fulham, West Ham, Cardiff City and Stoke City.

Trundle, now a club ambassador at the Liberty Stadium, has highlighted injuries to key players and a tough run of fixtures as factors in his old side s dip in form.

It s been a shame because the performances haven t been as bad as the results suggest; it s just getting the rub of the gree…

Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has joined Aston Villa on loan until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old moves to the Championship despite having been linked with Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.

I m excited for this new chapter, the striker told Villa s official website.

Aston Villa are a big club that belongs in the Premier League and I m here to help them achieve that. 

At this stage of my career, I need games and this is a great place for me to come and showcase my talent. I can t wait to get started.

We are delighted to confirm that has joined the club on a season-long loan from Chelsea

— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial)

Abraham scored 23 goals in 41 Championship appearances on loan at Bristol City in 2016-17.

He spen…

Marseille are considering a move for Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny, according to the Mirror.

While English clubs can no longer buy players, they can sell to European clubs until the end of the month and Elneny is on the Ligue 1 outfit’s radar.

The Egypt international only signed a new deal back in March but has moved down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium following the additions of Lucas Torreira and Mateo Guendouzi, who both played in Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City.

Since signing from Basel in January 2016 and has since racked up seventy-two appearances in all competitions, scoring twice and was part of the squad that won the FA Cup in 2017.

Internationally, he has been capped sixty-six times, scoring five goals and played at th…