Manchester City are closing in on the signing of Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace after agreeing a deal in principle worth £20m. If completed, Guehi would become the 25th defender recruited by City since Guardiola took charge in July 2016. Data shows the deal would push the club’s total spending on defenders during that period to £1.379bn, comfortably the highest among the traditional top-six sides. Over the same timeframe, Arsenal have signed 19 defenders, Chelsea 20, Tottenham 17, Manchester United 15 and Liverpool 10.

Manchester City fans sure have enjoyed watching Manchester United’s demise over the past 13 years, with each new coach that has failed at Old Trafford giving the Blues plenty of fresh material to sing about on the terraces.

Pep Guardiola has launched a furious attack on the standard of officiating in English football, demanding a personal explanation from PGMOL chief Howard Webb following a chaotic VAR review. Despite Manchester City securing a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle, the Catalan manager was left seething after Antoine Semenyo was denied a second goal, reigniting a simmering feud over past injustices including last season's heartbreaking FA Cup final defeat.

Manchester City opened up their FA Cup campaign with a barely believable 10-1 victory over Exeter City in the third round on Saturday. Antoine Semenyo scored and assisted on his debut for the Cityzens, while youngster Max Alleyne also netted his first goal for the club, as Pep Guardiola's side swept aside their League One opponents at the Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola has defended the passing skills of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Manchester City boss praised the Italian's composure, control and short passing game, saying the 26-year-old is "much, much better than people think", with the ball at his feet. However, the Spaniard admitted that the ex-PSG man's long passing could not compare to City's former keeper Ederson.