Man City: Manuel Pellegrini denies deal to replace Roberto Mancini

Malaga's Manuel Pellegrini has denied he has agreed a deal to replace Roberto Mancini as Manchester City manager.

After losing the FA Cup final to Wigan on Saturday, Mancini criticised City's owners for not quashing reports that a deal with Pellegrini, 59, was done.

But Chilean Pellegrini told Malaga's website: "I categorically deny that I am the new Manchester City coach."

On Monday morning, Mancini took training ahead of the match against Reading on Tuesday.

He made no comment as he arrived at Loftus Road, where City are based following the FA Cup final.

In his statement Pellegrini said: "I have an agreement with Malaga not to talk to anyone and nothing has been agreed with any other outfit."

He added: "Nothing has been signed and no agreement reached. I've been fortunate enough, and very proud, that every year the big clubs are interested in me.

"I hope the future of this club will become somewhat clearer in the next few days."

Mancini took over from Mark Hughes in December 2009, leading City to the FA Cup in 2011 and the Premier League title a year later.

City officials met with with Pellegrini's agent, Jesus Martinez, in April. Martinez also represents Malaga midfielder Isco, a reported target for the Blues.

Mancini said he did not know why the meeting had taken place.

Pellegrini, who has previously had spells in charge of Real Madrid and Villarreal, took charge of Malaga in November 2010.

In his first full season in charge, he guided Malaga to fourth in La Liga and Champions League qualification for the first time.

Malaga reached the last eight of the Champions League, before being knocked out by Dortmund. They are currently sixth in La Liga.

They will not play in European competition next term after being banned by Uefa over unpaid bills.

Chelsea and Man City eyeing Ibrahimovic?

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Praying for a move to the Premier League?

The transfer window may be shut but gossip never sleeps. Here are the latest rumours from the papers and beyond.
Transfer stories and gossip from today's Daily Mirror

Tottenham and Arsenal on transfer alert as Christian Benteke hints he may look to quit Aston Villa.

Sergio Aguero is staying at Manchester City this summer – despite efforts from Real Madrid to lure him to Spain.

Tottenham look poised to miss out on long-term target Joao Moutinho again, after the Portuguese midfield schemer flew to Monaco to join the ambitious French side.

Former West Ham striker Carlton Cole is set to snub Southampton, Stoke and Hull for a move to the MLS.

Gareth Bale would fit right in at the Bernabeu, according to Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos.

Arsenal are desperate to offload flop Marouane Chamakh who has ended up costing the club £14million over the last three years - and has scored just 12 goals.

Rio Ferdinand has spoken of his delight at signing a one-year contract extension with Manchester United.
Transfer stories and gossip from other papers and websites

Zlatan Ibrahimovic could leave Paris Saint-Germain this summer, sparking interest from Manchester City and Chelsea. (Daily Star)

Chelsea are tracking Atletico Madrid's Turkey winger Arda Turan. (Daily Mail)

Arda Turan (R): On Chelsea's radar

Arsenal are ready to go head-to-head with Borussia Monchengladbach for Leon Goretzka, an 18-year-old VfL Bochum player who has already been compared to Mario Gotze. (Daily Express)

Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic says he wants to sign for Liverpool this summer. (The Sun)

The Potters could sign FC Twente goalkeeper Timo Plattel as a replacement for Begovic. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City will have to battle Real Madrid for £30m Malaga midfielder Isco. (The Sun)

Money-bags Monaco are ready to make a £26m move for Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany, who is also a target for Barcelona. (Daily Mail)

Newly-promoted Cardiff are ready to launch a £4m bid to sign Sunderland striker Danny Graham. (Daily Star)

Stoke City's Steven Nzonzi wants to leave the club and has submitted a transfer request. (Daily Telegraph)

Argentine club San Lorenzo will make another attempt to sign Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini. (Daily Mail)

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis says the Serie A club have made an approach for Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas. (Daily Mail)

Sergio Aguero signs new Manchester City deal

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has signed a one-year contract extension with the club.

The 24-year-old Argentine signed a five-year deal when he arrived from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and his new deal runs until 2017.

Aguero famously scored the injury-time goal against QPR which clinched City the 2011-12 Premier League title ahead of rivals Manchester United.

Overall, he has scored 47 goals in 88 appearance for City.

Aguero had been linked with a move to Real Madrid but insisted the speculation was just rumours and he has backed up his stance by signing the new deal.

"I'm very happy at City and I feel very appreciated," the City website quoted Aguero as saying recently.

"It's been barely two years since I've arrived and sometimes I feel like I've been here for all my life.

"I have a fantastic relationship with the fans. That always reminds me of our title and that goal against QPR.

"Now I am looking forward to next season and pushing hard to win the title again."

I've got unfinished business at Man City so I'm going nowhere, claims Kompany

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has distanced himself from transfer speculation regarding a move away from the Etihad.

Barcelona and Monaco have have been linked with the centre back but the Belgian insists he is going nowhere.

Kompany tweeted: 'Speculations and questions about next season.. I'm not going anywhere. I love playing for City and I've still got some unfinished business.'

No uncertain terms: Vincent Kompany says he will not be leaving Man City

He is still trying to rid himself of a calf injury which afflicted him all season long.

Kompany was back in action as he played the first half of City’s 4-3 win over Chelsea in St Louis in the early hours Friday morning.

But afterwards City coach Brian Kidd revealed: 'After the Cup Final, Vinny was feeling his calf and couldn’t do any training.

'He missed Reading and then had one day of training before the Norwich game and it wasn’t worth risking him.

'We were trying to protect him. It’s like everything. Vinny wanted to play the last game of the season but one game wasn’t worth the risk.'

Injury trouble: Kompany did not play in City's final few games of the season

Kompany’s issue will concern City, given that he can’t seem to shake it off permanently.

Former City manager Roberto Mancini – sacked last week – said earlier in the season that Kompany may need an operation if the problem continued.

But Kidd added: 'He won’t need an operation other people have had a chance.

'Matija Nastasic is back in New York getting treatment on a problem but against Chelsea here Micah Richards did well and Joleon Lescott was super towards the end of the season.

'We have some very good players in this squad.'

The Sweeper: Pellegrini arrival could prompt Tevez stay

The 59-year-old's appointment could see the Argentina international stay at Manchester City while Tottenham and Internacional will talk transfers at the Champions League final

Carlos Tevez could be set to stay at Manchester City

PELLEGRINI COULD PROMPT TEVEZ RETHINK

The imminent arrival of Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City’s new manager could impact on the futures of several players in the club’s squad - not least Carlos Tevez.

The Argentine striker has just one year left on his contract and City had been preparing for his departure this summer, with big-spending Monaco considering moving for the 29-year-old forward as well as Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra.

Tevez continually clashed with former boss Roberto Mancini and missed much of the 2011-12 season after going on strike following his refusal to warm-up as a substitute during a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.

City are understood to be planning talks with Tevez and his representative, Kia Joorabchian, next week, with strong suggestions that chief executive Ferran Soriano will offer the 29-year-old a lucrative new contract.

Tevez, for his part, is believed to be impressed with the arrival of Pellegrini, a fellow South American who speaks Spanish, and is ready to stay at the Etihad Stadium next season.

His current deal is worth £198,000-a-week and City are unlikely to offer him a contract on the same terms, despite the fact that Monaco could match his wage demands.

Juventus have also shown an interest in the former Manchester United and West Ham forward, who has constantly expressed his desire to return to South America.

SPURS TO MEET WITH INTERNACIONAL OVER DAMIAO

The Champions League final brings hundreds of Europe’s top executives to London this weekend, with a number of clubs hoping to take the opportunity to talk transfer business.

The likes of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez will be among the 20,000-plus guests of the ‘Uefa family’ when Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on Saturday.

The Spanish giants are preparing a monster bid for Tottenham star Gareth Bale, although the Welshman has already agreed to a new contract that will keep him at White Hart Lane next season.

Tottenham may use the chance to make some strides forward themselves, with Internacional president Giovanni Luigi expected to meet with the Londoners concerning their long-term pursuit of Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao.

SPURS COACH FAILED VILLAS-BOAS

The Sweeper revealed last summer that Tottenham academy coach Chris Ramsey played a key role in the identification of Andre Villas-Boas as the club’s manager.


What we did not mention was that as an FA coaching assessor, Ramsey failed a young Villas-Boas when the Portuguese was taking his Uefa B license.

Ramsey need not worry about any retribution, though. He is highly regarded at White Hart Lane, with insiders describing him as the best coach at the club.

Beckham's MLS plans put on hold by Manchester City

The former England international had been looking for a venture in the United States, according to commissioner Don Garber, but will now take a step back to consider his options

David Beckham's plans to buy an MLS franchise have been put on hold after Manchester Cityannounced a partnership with the New York Yankees to form New York City FC.

The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is set to retire from football at the end of the season but retains an option to buy a new franchise in United States.However, MLS commissioner Don Garber has revealed that Beckham's plans have stalled following City's recent announcement.

"We've got some work to do on our next couple of teams," Garber told reporters. "We're pretty focused on taking a deep breath after this [New York] announcement and have got to figure out how to manage David's interests and figure out what kind of expansion would still make sense for us.

"We still don't have teams to the south of Washington DC and that represents 70 to 80 million people, which is bigger than the population of United Kingdom, but we have got to figure that out and we have got to do it at the right time, with the right facility plan.

"David has spent some time looking in Miami and we have been looking at the market there as well but Miami is proving to be a difficult sports market in America in itself.

"It's got a unique community, fabulous diversity which are all things I think are very positive for our sport but there are clearly weather issues there.

"We are a spring/summer sport and it gets pretty hot in Miami. We haven't been able to make any progress on a stadium and facility plan, so we have got to spend some time on that."

Although Beckham may not be set for an imminent return to MLS, Garber was quick to praise the former England international for the impact that he has made on the sport in America.

"David was great for us," he added. "Everything we asked David to do off the field, he did. He flew back from the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and came to play that morning in our All Star game against Chelsea, which we won.

"David sort of transcends sport in so many ways and now he wants to transcend his playing career into a business career.

"David really believed in MLS, he elevated the appeal and popularity of our sport. He took it off the sports pages and pushed it into the popular-culture scene and around the world and this new relationship [with Manchester City] will help to do the same thing."

Manchester City rule out Aguero sale

Chief executive Ferran Soriano says the club would reject any offer for the Argentine striker, and revealed that the club are closing in on new signings

Manchester City are adamant that Sergio Aguero will not be leaving the club this summer, amid speculation linking the Argentine forward with a move to Real Madrid.

The 24-year-old joined the Premier League runners-up in 2011 from Atletico Madrid, scoring 30 goals in his maiden season for the club, but only notching 12 goals in an injury-hampered 2012-13 campaign.

And now chief executive Ferran Soriano has categorically ruled out the sale of City's star forward, and says Aguero has no desire to leave the defeated FA Cup finalists.

"I can be really clear on this one. He’s not leaving. This has gone on and on and on," Soriano told reporters.

"We’ve had discussions with Sergio and his agent about several things and he has never expressed the willingness to go.

"We have never had an offer and even if we had an offer we would say 'no'."

City have been linked with a host of world-class players as they seek to regain the Premier League title next season, with Goal reporting that Isco, Fernandinho and Edinson Cavani are all on their wanted list.

And Soriano revealed that the club are on the verge of tying up several deals for new players as they look to strengthen ahead of the new campaign.

“Yes we are [close to bringing in new players]," Soriano continued.

"The way we want to work is identify the positions we want to improve, identify the candidates and then work on that.

"We’re at the closing phase with several of them but the closing phase can take one week or sometimes three months.

"We’ve been analysing the positions we want to improve and the market since the start of November.

"So we know what we want and we’re ready to go for the players that we want."