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Pep Guardiola admits he would have had a “big, big problem” if Kyle Walker had left Manchester City in the summer. The England right-back came close to leaving the treble winners for Bayern Munich but ultimately opted to stay and this week extended his contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2026. The 33-year-old had a spell out of favour last season but has started the new campaign strongly and Guardiola is pleased to have retained his services after losing experienced pair Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez. The City manager said: “After Gundo and Riyad, losing Bernardo (Silva) and Kyle would have have been a big, big problem. “It’s not about the quality – the skills you can find quite similar, or different players can help you – but there are some things in the locker room that are so difficult to replace. “These guys have a lot of experience in the important moments of important games. You know exactly how he’s going to respond in the bad moments. “It would have been a big loss. That’s why as a club of course we fought for him to stay with us.” Walker joined City from Tottenham in 2017 and has since won 15 trophies, including the Champions League and five Premier League titles. Guardiola believes he has matured into a far better player than when he arrived and recently underlined his qualities with his response to a calamitous error last month. Walker was at fault as Sheffield United claimed a late equaliser against City in their Premier League clash at Bramall Lane but then recovered to tee up Rodri’s dramatic winner. Everyone makes mistakes but he has an incredible heart. Pep Guardiola on Kyle Walker Guardiola said: “He made a wrong decision when they equalised but, right after the equaliser, the next two actions came from Kyle in the byline. It was a goal. What a top, top player. “He forgets what happened, says, ‘OK I’m going to win the game’. That defines the big, big players. “No doubt he’s a much, much better player than seven years ago when he arrived. That is clear. “Everyone makes mistakes but he has an incredible heart. And he’s a really nice guy, really nice, always tries to help. “When a player is injured, he always calls him. I was at home (after back surgery) and he called me twice. ‘How you feel, Pep?’ This counts a lot in the group of people. “The reason why we have a lot of success? The quality of human beings that we have.” Walker has captained City so far this season and, with Kevin De Bruyne currently sidelined, could be the favoured choice to succeed Gundogan in the role full-time. A vote among the squad and backroom staff – in which Guardiola will not participate – is due to be held in the coming days. Guardiola said: “The vote will be taken the next days and the players will decide. It belongs to the players, not to me. What they decide, I’m fine (with).” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mauricio Pochettino feels Chelsea’s young squad must be given time Erik ten Hag unsure whether Jadon Sancho will play for Manchester United again Early stages of life at Spurs ‘nothing like my honeymoon’ says Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou has laughed off talk he is in the honeymoon period at Tottenham but promised they will continue to improve. Spurs’ flying start to the new campaign earned their new head coach the Premier League manager of the month award for August on Friday. The last Tottenham manager to receive the accolade was Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of the 2021-22 season but he was sacked months later in October. When it was put to Postecoglou that he was still enjoying the honeymoon phase of life in north London, he was happy to point out some of the challenges he has faced in N17. “I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about,” Postecoglou reflected. “I don’t sit here and think this has come to me or been served on a platter. I’ve worked hard, mate, I’ve worked really hard. It’s been a really tough period, nothing like my honeymoon. “At Celtic I lost three of our first six. At Yokohama, we were battling relegation, but I can tell you the same sort of building stuff I did at the those clubs, I’m doing here. “The only difference is the results have been better, encouraging, for sure, but I love this period because there is pretty much a day-to-day uncertainty about where we’re at. That will be here for the next six months to a year. I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about Ange Postecoglou “Everywhere I’ve been, the second year is where I’ve felt like the team has really taken hold, but I also understand at this football club I can’t go three, four, five months without results because I won’t last. That’s the reality of it. “If you measure on outcomes, yes, this looks like this has been smoother than the others. “But I can assure you this has been just as challenging, if not more challenging because of the stakes here in the Premier League.” Postecoglou admitted it would take two more transfer windows for him to feel his playing group has the squad depth it needs, with Spurs only required to challenge in the Premier League until January. He added: “I definitely think we need at least two more windows to get to a space where I think ‘okay, we (are happy) as a squad.’ “Don’t forget this year we’re out of the Carabao Cup now and we’ve got no European football, so the fixtures are a little bit kinder to us between now and Christmas, but that’s not our aim. “We want to have games, we want to be in Europe, we want to be in cup competitions. So we’re going to need a stronger squad and I don’t think we’re anywhere near that point where we’ve got a robust enough squad at the moment.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag unsure whether Jadon Sancho will play for Manchester United again Steve Borthwick says Lewis Ludlam is ‘the right person to start’ against Japan Dawid Malan’s happy to be left holding the baby after shining in England victory

Jadon Sancho’s future at Manchester United looks bleak after Erik ten Hag admitted he does not know whether the winger will play for the club again. The 23-year-old is training away from the first team as a disciplinary measure after claiming on social media that he had been made a “scapegoat” following his omission from the squad for the defeat at Arsenal before the international break. Ten Hag hinted that it was not just this misstep that was taken into consideration when deciding the punishment, though repeatedly declined the opportunity to speak about Sancho when asked at his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton. The episode bears similarity to the way Cristiano Ronaldo was jettisoned out of the club after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan last year and Ten Hag said he did not know how long Sancho’s disciplinary procedure would last or whether he will represent United again. Asked directly whether he would pull on the United shirt again, Ten Hag said: “I don’t know. I am sitting here. Tomorrow we have a big game, we are going into a new block of games, many games in a condensed programme. I focus on that.” On how long the disciplinary process might last, the Dutchman replied: “I don’t know but, as I say, I don’t think about that. I think about tomorrow. I think about the way the team has to progress. I have a lot to consider to make the right decisions. “He is not available, so in this moment, he is not important, because he can’t contribute.” Ten Hag, who claimed he inherited a club with “no good culture” when he took over, was at pains to stress that he was not focused on Sancho and the team is the most important thing. “It’s in favour of the team. That is what my decision is based on,” he said. “That is not about me, and to be strict. No. This is in favour of the team. I don’t think about that (Sancho’s tweet) and I don’t talk about that, because I have to win a game. It is all about that. “The players who are there and available deserve me. I have to guide them, I have to prepare them, it is about that. I only focus on the players who are available. “It is also not about me, it is about the team and the club. I put my energy into giving the best performance tomorrow against Brighton. “As a club, as a team we have to deal with that. But once again it is no importance to the coming games, I have to put my energy so that the team play their best tomorrow, in a week, the coming period. I have to focus on that.” He is not available, so in this moment, he is not important, because he can’t contribute Erik ten Hag on Jadon Sancho Sancho’s misdemeanour is the latest in a long line of off-field issues that Ten Hag has had to deal with since his appointment last summer and he said part of his brief was to instil better discipline at the club. Ten Hag said: “Strict lines is what the club asked me because there was no good culture before I entered last season, so to set good standards, that is what I did and it is my job to control the standards. “Of course, it is never someone only makes one mistake, it is a whole process before you come to a certain outcome about strict lines. “If staff or players or whoever, there is a structure to cross lines so you have to be strong.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Early stages of life at Spurs ‘nothing like my honeymoon’ says Ange Postecoglou Steve Borthwick says Lewis Ludlam is ‘the right person to start’ against Japan Dawid Malan’s happy to be left holding the baby after shining in England victory

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Harry Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief that his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching Football Association betting rules, according to an independent regulatory commission. Toffolo was given a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The Nottingham Forest full-back placed the bets between 2014 and 2017. In written reasons published by the commission, it was stated Toffolo – who admitted the charge in full – placed 202 bets on matches in competitions in which his clubs were participating or had participated. There were also two spot bets placed by the player on events which involved himself as well as 15 identified to have been made against his own clubs. Of the 375 bets, he staked £1,323.92, averaging £3.53 per bet. His total return was £956.22 – a loss of £367.70. Toffolo placed a bet on himself to score in the 2015 League One play-off final at Wembley for Swindon, who lost 4-0 to Preston. The independent regulatory commission accepted Toffolo’s explanation of having placed that bet “in excitement”. The commission found Toffolo began placing bets on football, as well as other sports, when he was 18 and stopped at 21, with stakes “generally small”. He lost money overall, although he did profit from certain categories of bet. There was no suggestion Toffolo was involved in match fixing or benefited from “any particular inside information” and he was “driven principally, if not exclusively, by his own belief as to what the outcome of a particular match or event might be”. In the witness statements served on Toffolo’s behalf and also his own oral evidence, it was demonstrated the player “had a number of very difficult times in the period” when he was coming to terms with being told, during January 2014, he did not feature in the plans of then-Norwich manager Chris Hughton but could also not go out on loan to gain experience. The commission reported “as a result he perceived that his future at NCFC (in the U23 development squad) looked bleak” and it was around that time Toffolo began gambling, partly to “alleviate his low mood but principally because he wanted to ‘fit in’ with players who were claiming to be gambling regularly and successfully”. Following a loan move to Stoke, Toffolo said away from the pitch he “struggled with his mental health for a variety of reasons” which led him to gamble with increasing frequency. The player also talked about feelings of loneliness when staying in a hotel during a short-term stint at Rotherham and that he became depressed when sent out on loan to Preston until the end of the 2015-2016 season, when he considered his career in football “to be over”. The commission accepted there “appears to have been a link” between the state of Toffolo’s mental health and his gambling and noted when he joined Scunthorpe in August 2016 he “thrived far better”, with his family having also made the move. The frequency of his gambling decreased considerably and eventually stopped altogether. On the basis of the evidence, the commission concluded the bets placed by Toffolo during the relevant periods “were the result, at least in large part, of the significant mental health challenges” he endured over those periods. The commission found, with the support of his family and those around him and with external help from a sports psychologist, Toffolo made huge efforts to “turn things around”. “That he did so, and did so so successfully, is a credit to him and, we hope, might serve as inspiration to other participants who might find themselves struggling with mental health issues,” the commission’s statement added. On the sanctions, the commission stressed Toffolo’s breaches were “significant” and could not be described as “trivial despite the low stakes involved”. While there was “substantial mitigation”, the commission felt a sporting sanction was nonetheless “appropriate and proportionate in light of the serious nature of the breaches committed over a lengthy period of time”. It was acknowledged the suspended sanction could be viewed as “too lenient” but was concluded the “particular circumstances of this case justified the nature, duration and terms of the suspension”. Forest have declined to comment on the sanctions imposed on Toffolo. Manager Steve Cooper was among those to provide evidence to the commission, describing the defender as a ‘true professional’ and family man who has a positive impact on the dressing room and in the wider community. The sanctions on Toffolo follow the imposition of an eight-month ban on Brentford striker Ivan Toney in May for breaches of FA betting regulations. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Mauricio Pochettino wants Chelsea to be ‘naughty’ Gareth Anscombe reveals his relief at avoiding an unwanted World Cup double Klopp likes new Liverpool hoodie and lizards visit F1 – Friday’s sporting social