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Manchester City are back in training as they prepare for their Carabao Cup clash with rivals Liverpool FC. Sky Blue News has all the latest to keep you current from around the web.

“It’s a shame” – Regrets over failing to beat Manchester City to ‘very strong’ signing, great work by Pep - Tom Coast - Sport Witness.

The 22-year-old has three goals in 12 appearances in the league to date, and that could increase if he is given more time during the second half of the campaign at Manchester City.

His situation, though, could have been very different had Fiorentina, who were interested, had signed him instead.

This is what agent Filippo Colasanto, speaking to Firenze Viola, said when asked if there were regrets at the Serie A side regarding the Manchester City starlet.

He said: “Álvarez is an excellent striker with great talent: physically strong, technically very strong. You can see that, together with an important player like Messi, he is a player capable of being both a supporter and an excellent point of attack.

“I don’t know what happened with Fiorentina and why he wasn’t bought. Pradè said they were interested. It’s a shame. He was signed by City for very little money. He would have been an excellent purchase for La Viola, as well as a large future capital gain. I really believe in this player.”

World Cup: Julian Alvarez Wins Third Star with Argentina - Emmanuel Odey - Bitter and Blue

As if back from the dead, defending champions France suddenly found their way back into the match through Mbappe’s heroics. The Paris Saint Germain forward even netted a hat-trick to bring the French side level again after Messi gave his team the lead with his second goal of the match.

But Alvarez and Messi alongside former Blue, Nicolas Otamendi, had the last laugh as they won through penalties.

City legend Sergio Aguero also joined in the celebrations. The former striker suffered many disappointments with the national team but was happy to see his close pal Messi finally lift the trophy for his homeland.

Alvarez will return to the Etihad Stadium full of confidence after a strong showing at the biggest stage for national football. With Erling Haaland holding sway as the main striker for City, it remains to be seen if Pep Guardiola will consider partnering him with the Argentine.

Man City transfer news: Dutch international issues come and get me plea - Graham Falk - Manchester World

Netherlands international goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar has issued a come and get me plea to Manchester City ahead of the January transfer window.

The Dutch star told Dutch site NOSvoetbal she is interested in a move to the Women’s Super League in the near future and admitted “Manchester City has always been my dream club”.

“I am still at FC Twente, I still have a one-year contract there and that club must also agree to a possible transfer,” she told the football site. “My good intention for the new year is to become champion with FC Twente and to get as far as possible at the World Cup.”

Kevin De Bruyne crowned Man City Fans’ Footballer of the Year - Alex Brotherton - Manchester Evening News

That De Bruyne has been one of the best players in the world for some time now is hardly a secret, but this year has arguably been the best of his career. After finding his best form in the new year to propel City to a fourth Premier League title in five years, this season he has put in some virtuoso performances and forged a special bond with star striker Erling Haaland.

De Bruyne, who has scored 13 goals and provided 16 assists in 30 league appearances this calendar year, was part of a four-man shortlist for the City prize, and just about managed to pip Haaland to top spot. The thousands of City fans who voted placed Phil Foden in third and Joao Cancelo in fourth.

Though Haaland has scored a remarkable 23 goals in 18 appearances since joining City in the summer, across the whole year De Bruyne is the worthy winner. From stunning goals to ridiculous assists, draw-dropping passes to relentless work rate, there are few players in world football who leave everything out on the pitch quite like City’s number 17 does.

Manchester City team news: Injury, suspension list vs. Liverpool - Matt Law - Sports Mole

Manchester City will be bidding to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup when they welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday night.

The Citizens suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Brentford in their last match before the season was halted for the 2022 World Cup, which left them second in the Premier League table, five points behind leaders Arsenal.

Pep Guardiola’s side booked their position in the last-16 stage of the EFL Cup courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Chelsea on November 9.

GOMEZ: WE WILL BE READY FOR LIVERPOOL - ManCity.com

Sergio Gomez says he is ready to play an important role as City return to action just four days after the World Cup final.

With 14 of the City stars that played in the World Cup missing the 2-0 friendly win over Girona on Saturday, Pep Guardiola says he is unsure who will be available for Thursday’s Carabao Cup fourth round tie with Liverpool.

Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer were among the players that headed to Abu Dhabi for warm weather training along with Gomez, who says they are prepared for the visit from Jurgen Klopp’s men.

And finally... City+ have produced another film about the rich history of our club.

Manchester City unveils ‘The Ballet on Ice’ documentary - Jake Bickerton - Broadcast

The film, which has been made by City Studios, looks back at the 9 December 1967 fixture between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, which was played in extraordinary weather conditions, one winter’s afternoon in Moss Side.

The pitch was like an ice rink, yet the match went on, as told by Mike Summerbee, Tommy Doyle, Cliff Jones, Alan Oakes and Chris Bailey in the documentary.

The film comes to Manchester City’s D2C platform City+ and its Recast channel soon.

There you have it Cityzens. Just two more days until our lads are back in proper action. Stay with Bitter and Blue for all the latest.