Manchester City have rejected a £55m bid from Barcelona for Rodri, with the Premier League club wanting more than £60m for the midfielder as talks between the two clubs continue. (Sky Sports), external
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Image source, Getty ImagesOn Sunday, the first piece of silverware of the season will be contested for in Cardiff as Premier League champions Arsenal face FA Cup winners Manchester City in the Community Shield.
The omens look good for Arsenal. Only Manchester United (21) have won the Community Shield more often than they have (17, including shared), with the Gunners winning each of their past five.
Arsenal have also won all three matches when competing as reigning Premier League champions (1998, 2002, 2004).
Manchester City did win their last appearance in the Community Shield, beating rivals Manchester United on penalties in 2024. However, they have been runners-up in the match nine times, with only United doing so more (10).
Arsenal have won all three of their Community Shield matches against City, beating them 4-0 in 1934, 3-0 in 2014 and, most recently, 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 2023.
However, Enzo Maresca, who will become to the first City boss to compete in the Community Shield in his first competitive match in charge, can draw some hope in the fact that in the past 10 occasions the game has been between the league champions and the FA Cup winners, the FA Cup holders have won eight times.
The two teams will compete at Millennium Stadium - a ground where Arsenal played more games than any other team during the period it was first used between 2001 and 2007 (10) and won four Community Shields in that time.
In contrast, this is just City's second ever match at the Welsh stadium, with the other coming in a Uefa Cup qualifying match against TNS in August 2003 (a 2-0 win).
Mikel Arteta won both of his Community Shield matches as a player (2014, 2015), and has won both so far as a manager (2020, 2023), while it is Maresca's first taste of the season curtain-raiser.
Manchester City's record signing Elliot Anderson says he is "feeling comfortable" after his big move from Nottingham Forest.
"I'm over the moon. First day of training today, the lads have welcomed me really well and training went well so just getting to grips with everything," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
He added he was looking forward to working with new manager Enzo Maresca "a lot" and "you can see the detail he goes in to."
On potentially making his debut against Arsenal in the Community Shield in Cardiff on Sunday, he said: "The chance to win a trophy in your first week is quite good so hopefully I can get some minutes there and show what I can do. I'm feeling comfortable.
"It will be a difficult game, obviously they are champions from last season, so it will be tough but every game is going to be tough this season. We will just put our style on them and try and win the game."
Anderson insisted he tries "not to focus" on his club record £116m fee and is "sure over the next season I can show people what I do best."
The England midfielder also revealed he will take the number five shirt because previous owner John Stones was really good to him in the summer and he thought it would be a "great touch."
On being recognised more than before, Anderson said: "It's been a little bit different, but I am enjoying it, taking it all in my stride and just feeling confident and happy to be here and I'm looking forward to the season."
Listen to the full chat below by pressing play above or here on BBC Sounds
You can also hear more from the midfielder below
Image source, Getty ImagesManchester City winger Jeremy Doku says it is "a fantastic feeling" to sign a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2031.
Doku, who joined from Stade Rennais in 2023, has made 131 appearances for City, scoring 22 times.
The 24-year-old is now "excited" to start the 2026-27 season under manager Enzo Maresca and add to the five major trophies he's already won with the club.
"I have loved my time at City so far, so to have the opportunity to stay for longer is a fantastic feeling," Doku said. "This club means so much to me – I have developed as both a player and a person.
"I feel settled here, and I know I am improving every day because of the work the staff here do.
"It's hard to explain just how much this club does to help players. I don't take it for granted and it makes me better.
"With Enzo here now I am really excited about the new season. His style of football is the kind we love, so that's exciting for the players.
"The City fans are also a huge reason I have signed this new contract. I feel their love and support, and it means the world to me. I want to focus of bringing them the success they deserve."
It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.
In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.
In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.
Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.
Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.
Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.
An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.
Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.
Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.
Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesChelsea winger Pedro Neto has attracted interest from four Premier League clubs, with one believed to be Manchester City.
The 26-year-old Portugal international is not regarded as one of the 'untouchable' players at Stamford Bridge and could therefore move before the transfer deadline.
However, Chelsea insist they would demand a significant fee for the attacker, who joined from Wolves for £54m in 2024.
The club believe the market for wide forwards has been inflated by a lack of options for leading clubs, highlighted by the £117m fee paid for Morgan Rogers and Paris St-Germain's £145m valuation of Bradley Barcola.
Those figures have influenced Chelsea's valuation of Neto, who is known to be of interest to Manchester City where he would be reunited with former Blues boss Enzo Maresca.
Maresca and Neto are understood to have a strong relationship, and the winger is among those reported to have been frustrated by the Italian's departure midway through last season.
New manager Xabi Alonso has not commented on Neto's future, but he has played the winger in pre-season friendlies, including the 3-0 win over AC Milan on Saturday.
Image source, Getty ImagesGoalkeeper Geronimo Rulli says joining Manchester City was an opportunity he "had to grasp" after his move to the club was confirmed, subject to international clearance.
BBC Sport understands City have paid £1.7m to bring in the 34-year-old Argentinian keeper from Marseille for his second spell at the club, after spending the 2016-17 season at Etihad Stadium without making a first team appearance.
Rulli has signed a two-year deal with Enzo Maresca's side and is expected to be back-up for first choice shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Speaking to the club website website, Rulli said: "This is an amazing opportunity for me and one I had to grasp.
"When the chance to join Manchester City comes along you have to go for it.
"Everyone knows what an impressive club this is. City's success over a long time has been impressive. Everyone I have spoken to about City said I had to join them because they are a club with incredibly high standards.
"Every professional wants to be in a high-performance environment and I can't wait to get started because I know I will improve and learn, which is always my main priority.
"My job now is to train hard, get to know the players and staff and do everything I can to reach my best level."
Barcelona are hopeful of signing Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri, 30, by lodging a second bid worth £51.3m. (Times), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Shamoon Hafez
Manchester City reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesEnzo Maresca said he has not done an initiation song in front of the squad as "the manager doesn't sing", but he described goalkeeping coach Michele de Bernardin's performance as "very good".
Analyst Javi Molina's rendition of Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' was "the worst". In fact, "it was a disaster".
The make-up of the backroom staff - with Argentine Willy Caballero, two Italians, three Spaniards and French-speaking Maresca - means they have plenty of languages covered.
And then there is first-team coach Danny Walker, who was Maresca's assistant in Manchester City's elite development squad (EDS) and followed him to Leicester City and Chelsea.
The manager beams when he discusses "the Englishman". He says: "We go for breakfast, it is beans on toast. We go for dinner, it is a beer.
"When I joined the EDS, Danny was there. He was previously with the under-16s and they moved him to become my assistant. Since then, we are always together.
"He is very good. He is good at adding on extra work at the end, making sure we keep asking the players to do something extra."
Speaking of Englishmen, Maresca will choose City's next captain himself after Bernardo Silva's departure - and he wants a homegrown player in the committee.
The leadership group currently consists of frontrunner Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland and Rodri, who has been the subject of a failed bid from Barcelona.
So is the Norway star a leading candidate to take the armband?
"He was one of the first to message me when I joined the club," said Maresca. "At Leicester and Chelsea, I had a rule that when we scored the captain had to come to the bench for instructions and not celebrate. But if they score, they can celebrate.
"If Erling is captain, we have a problem. Can you imagine?"
Nizaar Kinsella
Chelsea reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesEnzo Fernandez is due back in Chelsea training on Tuesday after flying in from his holiday in Ibiza.
There are again rumours that Manchester City could make a move for him.
Chelsea's stance has remained consistent. Their asking price remains £120m should any club want to sign him, acknowledging that the Argentina international is open to a move.
However, Chelsea will not budge on that valuation and both Xabi Alonso and the club as a whole would be happy to reintegrate him into the squad this season.
Manchester City are closing in on signing Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, from Lille, who value the Morocco midfielder at 100m euros (£85m). (Guardian), external
Manchester City are aware of interest from Nottingham Forest in their Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 28, who was signed from AC Milan last summer for £46m. (Sky Sports), external
Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column
Image source, Getty ImagesNew Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca says he is "very happy" with his opening three pre-season friendlies in charge as his players are "open-minded" to his style of play.
City rounded off their Asian tour with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in South Korea on Sunday.
Maresca's side trailed 1-0 at half-time but a double from Omar Marmoush, both assisted by the impressive Antoine Semenyo, and a late Rayan Ait-Nouri strike secured the comeback win.
"Overall, a very good test against one of the best teams in Europe," Maresca said post-match.
"Credit to the players for the effort they have done. From tomorrow pre-season is finished and the real business starts.
"I'm very happy. Especially because the players since we started have been open-minded.
"They want to understand and want to learn why we do things.
"I know that when you join a new club you try to install new patterns or different ideas, the most important thing is we are getting better.
"But the path is a huge path to improve things. But I can see we are trying what we do in training, and we are getting better at that."
