Lewis Hamilton on Thursday denied all reports that he has been approached by Ferrari and said he was set to re-sign with...

The gunman allegedly responsible for the tragedy has been identified as Robert Card, a 40-year-old military veteran with a history of domestic violence

In Italy, centuries-old churches dot the landscape, sanctuaries and processions draw crowds, and nearly 80% of the population profess themselves Catholic

There’s a sea of change sweeping over the Etihad Stadium this summer. Ilkay Gundogan has departed for Barcelona, while Aymeric Laporte is another set to leave for pastures new. Manchester City have a knack for selling players at the right time, so fans shouldn’t be too concerned at the departure of a clutch midfielder and a centre-back who was previously considered the best at Pep Guardiola’s disposal. Nevertheless, to remain competitive even the best need to evolve and City are no exception. Mateo Kovacic has joined from Chelsea to cover Gundogan’s exit, while the Champions League holders are eyeing up another Croat to bolster at the back. City are closing in on the signing of RB Leipzig’s Josko Gvardiol in a deal that will make the 21-year-old the most expensive defender in history. The vultures have been circling the Red Bull Arena for the versatile defender for the best part of 12 months now, with Tottenham and Chelsea both credited with an interest in the youngster last summer. However, as Gvardiol’s profile rose, so too did RB Leipzig’s asking price with City blowing the pair out of the water in the race to land the Croatia international. It’s the versatility to Gvardiol’s game that would undoubtedly have appealed to Guardiola. In 14 Premier League matches last season, Guardiola used a three-man backline, with the idea being to supplement Erling Haaland with as many attacking players in support as possible, this largely stemming from the 2-1 loss at Manchester United back in January. The Spaniard, therefore, needed flexible performers at the back to operate in a four-man or a three-man defence where required in-game. John Stones is perhaps the best example of this interchangeability, the ‘Barnsley Beckenbauer’ routinely shining at right-back, centre-back or central midfield, more often than not all in the same game. This meant the left-sided centre-back needed to either drift wide or tuck in where required, duties Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji both carried out well. That being said, Gvardiol is arguably a level above the pair, thus explaining City’s interest in the RB Leipzig man. In any Guardiola system, distribution is key. City build attacks from the back with goalkeeper Ederson and the defenders vital at setting the champions on the front foot. Gvardiol fits the bill perfectly having finished the 2022/23 Bundesliga campaign fifth for passes per game (71.3) and with the ninth-best pass success rate (89.3%) to his name. In addition, the ability to pick a pass from distance will help City quickly transition from defence to attack, with the youngster returning a long ball pass success rate of 59.7% last season, that ranking 12th of the 112 Bundesliga players to have attempted 100 or more long balls. For a City side that ranked second for counter-attacking goals (7) behind rivals Manchester United (9) in the Premier League last season, Gvardiol’s ability to go direct where required will aid the former when they seek to break forward at speed, with Haaland, in particular, likely to benefit. This is particularly pertinent in that City ranked second for accurate long balls per 90 (28.4) in England’s top tier last term, so a defender to help place high for this metric will aid the Cityzens should they seek to go direct, as was evidenced during the 4-1 win over Arsenal back in April. In addition to distributing the ball well, Gvardiol is also a composed figure in defence, ensuring that any opponent who does seek to pressure the defender is unlikely to be successful in their quest. Indeed, of the 217 players to attempt 15 or more dribbles, none had a better dribble success rate than Gvardiol (88.9%) in the Bundesliga last season, so he’s calm under pressure and able to bring the ball forward where needed to help work the angles and fully maximise his vision. So, all in all, the perfect defender, right? Well... not quite. For all of Gvardiol’s qualities, opponents have proven to be able to get the better of the incoming centre-back in the air on more than one occasion. In fact, Gvardiol won just 55.8% of the aerial duels he contested in the Bundesliga last season, and teams will feel as though they can exploit this shortcoming as a means to get the better of City next season. That being said, City won the fewest aerial duels per 90 (11.6) in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign, and that hardly impacted their successful title defence, so it’s a weakness to Gvardiol’s game that is unlikely to be routinely capitalised upon, such is City’s dominance. The pros, then, far outweighs the cons and given his tender years, there is plenty more to come from Gvardiol, who should go on to become a mainstay in the City backline. After all, it’s difficult to find a defender better suited to Guardiola’s game plan. Read More Man City assistant Rodolfo Borrell joins MLS side Austin FC as sporting director Ilkay Gundogan, the man who transformed Man City and timed a perfect goodbye Football’s biggest brand? Only one thing can stop the Man City ‘machine’ now Yaya Toure hopes Standard Liege coaching spell leads to Premier League return Jodie Burrage recalls the dark days after landmark victory at Wimbledon Cadan Murley: Studying Erling Haaland can help my England World Cup cause

MMA fighters Jake Paul and KSI have been on a collision course for some time, but their clash in the boxing ring has yet to materialize

More than one million people have fled Sudan to neighbouring states and people inside the country are running

After debuting her 'beautiful' new hair and 400-lb weight loss, '1000-lb Sisters' star Tammy showed off her singing skills in a new TikTok video

Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid each scored 14 points, and the Minnesota Timberwolves topped the Dallas Mavericks 104-96 on Saturday to complete a two-game sweep of the NBA Abu Dhabi Games

The years-in-the-making Oxford Dictionary of African American English will offer proper attribution to words and phrases that originated in Black culture.

Inter Milan scored twice late in the second half to come from behind and beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in a pre-season...

A woman was bombarded with sexist comments on TikTok after asking followers a simple DIY question. The Australian TikToker Lex (@lexxxratcliffe) asked: "Do you know what this is? Because I thought this was a goddamn drill." She added: "It just doesn't work." While some fellow TikTokers kindly helped her out, others were quick to flood the comments section with sexist remarks. "Oml, please someone get this girl a man. I'd hate to see what she does behind a wheel," one misogynistic comment read which racked up 60,000 likes, while another account named after their love for Andrew Tate mocked: "Independent strong woman." "I offer myself as a boyfriend and teacher," a third added. @lexxxratcliffe It comes after another woman was slammed for decorating her boyfriend's apartment, in what she thought was a lovely gesture. TikTok user Emma Ganzarain (@emmaganzarain) innocently turned to the platform to showcase a series of before and after photos. "All men need a woman in their life," she wrote, along with the hashtags 'transformation,' 'interior' and 'living room inspo'. Despite her efforts, over 50,000 fellow TikTokers flocked to the clip with their brutal takes. "His soul is no longer in that space," one wrote. "Stop trying to fix the men in your life and learn to love them for who they are and the way they want to decorate." Another added: "Sis he has STYLE. the before was SOO cute and had so much character." How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Police in New Delhi have raided the homes of prominent journalists linked to a left-leaning news organization known for its scrutiny of the Indian government, in a move media groups characterized as the latest attack on press freedom.