PEP KEEPS FAITH – GREALISH MIGHT STILL WEAR CITY BLUE AGAIN
Pep Guardiola confirms Jack Grealish could return to Man City from his Everton loan, stating "a lot of things will still occur." He also praised Erling Haaland's peak form, calling him a crucial player in world football.
Jack Grealish's return to Manchester City is still possible, according to Pep Guardiola.
Since joining Everton on a season-long loan from City in August, the England international has had a significant impact on the Merseyside team.
At the Etihad Stadium, the 30-year-old playmaker had lost his position.
Since Grealish cannot play against his parent club, Guardiola does not need to figure out how to keep him in check when the teams play in the Premier League on Saturday, but his play has been observed.
Guardiola, the manager of the city, stated, "I believe he has a one-year contract with us.
"The fact that he has returned is crucial. He has a significant impact on the Everton games. Perhaps Manchester City wants him back after what occurred, but I am not sure.
"A lot of things will still occur. Let us see.
"What matters is that he is playing a lot of minutes again. This is the norm. I am glad he is back and doing his best."
Guardiola is also happy that he does not have to bench Erling Haaland, who he believes is playing at his peak right now.
In just 12 games this season, the prodigious striker has scored an incredible 21 goals for City or Norway.
His achievements include a hat-trick against Israel last weekend and a five-goal haul against Moldova in September, which have put Norway in a position to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
The only time he has failed to score in nine City games is during the September loss to Tottenham.
Since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, the 25-year-old has scored 136 goals total, including 12 this season.
Guardiola quipped that if he were an opposition manager, he would have to wear "four central defenders" on him.
"I hope I will not have to reencounter him for the rest of my life," he continued. "I had the pleasure of facing him while he was in Dortmund.
"He is a very good player. There are four, five, six, or ten players who are crucial in world football. He seems like one of them to me. We are quite happy that we have him, and we plan to have him for many years to come."
The Spaniard responded, "I think it is," when asked if he believes this to be the greatest Haaland has ever been.
"Not only does he perform exceptionally well in terms of goals, but he feels great about himself."
Guardiola stated that he does not feel the need to manage Haaland and will only intervene if he has a poor run.
"I am saying that [he] will drop because it is not feasible to maintain it, [but] I will be there; we will be there," he stated.
"We must always support one another during difficult times. He does not require anything special or praise these days.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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