Sky Blue News: Angeldahl Option, What Ilkay Wants, Maresca in Demand, and More...

Manchester City are back in training as Pep Guardiola and the lads get ready for a trip to Istanbul to face Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League Final. The Women's team have put pen to paper with two stars, keeping them tied to the club for the time being. Sky Blue News has all the latest to keep you current.

Man City captain Houghton signs new deal with club - Graham Falk - Manchester World

The former Lionesses captain is City’s all time record appearance holder having played a total of 233 times for the club since first joining from Arsenal in November 2013.

“I’m over the moon to have another year to look forward to at this amazing club” said the 35-year-old after agreeing a new deal.

“Manchester City has been my home for almost ten years, and I love everything about it – it’s my club, and to sign for another year, I’m absolutely buzzing. When I first joined, I just wanted to be here as long as I could, and to play at the top level, so I never really put a number on it. Once you get closer to that decade mark though, you do think about the idea of hitting that milestone.

CITY EXERCISE ANGELDAHL CONTRACT OPTION - ManCity.com

The Sweden international, who initially joined the Club in the summer of 2021 from BK Hacken in her homeland, has made 48 appearances in all competitions during her two seasons in Manchester.

Also scoring eight goals so far – including five in 25 outings last term – Angeldahl cemented her position in City’s midfield throughout the 2022/23 campaign.

And following the conclusion of the season, the Club have moved to extend her stay for a further year.

FA Cup final displays the true gap between Manchester United and Manchester City - Pauly Kwestel - The Busby Babe

When it comes to players, Manchester City are a club that looks forward. They don’t care about the past, they don’t care about what you’ve done for them. They care about what you’re doing now and what you will do in the future.

Gundogan’s performance in the FA Cup final spat in the face of a commonly held belief by fans - and sometimes the media - the belief that an outgoing player doesn’t want to be here anymore and shouldn’t play.

When City handed Gundogan a four year contract in 2019, they expected him to be productive through 2023. It doesn’t matter where Gundogan will play in 2024, if he’s still in his window of productivity and under contract with City they should benefit from it. Had they fallen into the trap of thinking that Gundogan wasn’t committed to the team because he hadn’t signed a new contract yet they would have missed out on a man of the match performance in the FA Cup final.

At the same time, they aren’t going to be influenced by a man of the match performance in a cup final into giving out a new contract that they don’t think presents fair value.

What Ilkay Gundogan wants from Erling Haaland in Champions League final as he sends Man City warning - Joe Bray - Manchester Evening News

Haaland has 52 goals and nine assists in 52 appearances for City, setting numerous records along the way, and already has two trophies to his name. If he can help City beat Inter Milan on Saturday, he will add the Champions League to his growing collection.

However, Haaland’s incredible scoring rate has slowed of late, scoring just one in his last seven appearances, so he will be hoping to end the season with a bang in Istanbul vs Inter Milan.

Backing his striker, Gundogan explained how Haaland has transformed the way City play this season, and predicted one last headline-making performance in the Champions League final.

“Right now, he might be the best striker in the world. He brings so much to our team,” Gundogan told UEFA.

“He gives us a different quality, with his physical strength, with his mentality, with his speed and with his goals too, of course. The last couple of years, we didn’t have a classic No.9 in the team. Therefore we needed to play a bit more flexibly, a bit differently.

“Now we know that we have someone in the box who can control the ball, including high aerial balls. He is very good with his head and can win battles against tall, strong centre-backs. This adds a whole new dimension to our game. It gives us a new dynamic. And in addition, he brings a great mentality and character. He has helped us a lot already. Let’s hope he can also help us in the final.”

Manchester City closing in on signing of Sunderland youth prospect - Luke Phelps - Sunderland Nation

Sunderland are becoming quite well-known for poaching younger talents from Premier League clubs. Pierre Ekwah, Joseph Anderson, and Dan Ballard are just three of many names to have dropped down from the top flight to join the Black Cats in the past year, but Bell looks like he could be making the opposite move.

An emerging report from the Twitter account ‘The Secret Scout’ has revealed that the Sunderland U14 goalkeeper is closing in on a move to Premier League champions Manchester City.

Obviously very little is known about Bell given his age, but it would be rather safe to assume that he’s a very bright talent given the fact that City are snapping him up at such a young age.

For Sunderland, it’ll of course come as a blow to their academy, but at the same time it’s a credit to those involved at the club for producing a player worthy of moving to the Premier League champions.

Leicester City and Celtic on course for managerial battle over Manchester City coach - Freddie Pye - City Xtra

Following Arsenal’s successful pursuit of Mikel Arteta from Manchester City during the 2019/20 season, and the transformative effect that the Spaniard has had on the Emirates Stadium, a number of clubs are keeping a close eye on those working around Pep Guardiola.

Former City captain Vincent Kompany – who spent several years working closely under the club’s Catalan coach – has since gone on to become a huge hit in the managerial scene himself, guiding Burnley to the Premier League in a 100-point Championship season.

Now, it seems as though a number of other clubs who could be in search of a new manager themselves in the coming days and weeks have taken their search to the Etihad Stadium, with Enzo Maresca the man in-demand.

After first being involved with Manchester City in the 2020/21 season, when he guided the club’s Elite Development Squad to the first Premier League 2 title in the organisation’s history, Maresca took up the lead managerial role at Parma in Italy.

And finally... The greatest club in England, and all the world.

REVEALED: The world’s most valuable football club ‘brands’, with Man City now TOP after overtaking Real Madrid, Chelsea tumbling to the SIXTH-highest English club and Man United overtaking Liverpool - Adam Shergold - MailOnline

City’s on-field success, especially this season as they chase an historic triple trophy haul, plus the continued expansion of the Etihad Stadium, has boosted their international exposure and prestige, leading to greater sponsorship and commercial appeal.

They thrashed Real 4-0 in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final and have now beaten them in terms of brand value too.

However, Brand Finance said Real remained the strongest brand in world football and were most likely to be considered ‘the best club in the world’ by fans.

Barcelona came third in the ranking, with a five per cent increase in brand value to £1.185bn, with Manchester United leaping ahead of rivals Liverpool into fourth spot.

There you are. Stay with Bitter and Blue as we move toward the UCL Final at the Atatürk Stadium. Sky Blue News returns tomorrow with more headlines.