Here are the latest Premier League headlines for Monday, May 9.
Haaland close to City move
Erling Haaland has been allowed to take care of "personal matters" by Borussia Dortmund amid increased speculation the striker is poised to sign for Manchester City. The Norway international has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League champions with recent reports suggesting the club were ready to trigger his £63million release clause.
It has been claimed personal terms with the 21-year-old, who is one of the hottest properties in the game, have already been agreed. City did not comment on the reports when contacted by the PA news agency but speculation has gathered momentum with Dortmund revealing on Monday that Haaland had some unspecified issues to deal with.
"The players have no training today and we allowed Erling to take care of personal matters," Dortmund were quoted as telling German broadcaster SPORT1. It has been claimed Haaland could become City's highest-paid player, earning a five-year contract with weekly wages of around £500,000.
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The deal would end City's long search for an out-and-out centre-forward to replace record goalscorer Sergio Aguero, who left the Etihad Stadium last year. City tried but failed in a high-profile attempt to prise England captain Harry Kane away from Tottenham last summer. Haaland, whose father Alf-Inge played for City from 2000-03, has been prolific since joining Dortmund from RB Salzburg in January 2020, scoring 85 goals in 88 appearances for the German side.
Klopp dimisses Pep claim
Jurgen Klopp dismissed Pep Guardiola's assertion everyone wants Liverpool to win the Premier League and believes his Manchester City counterpart's comments stemmed from the emotion of a tight title race - something the German admits has happened to him. After Sunday's 5-0 demolition of Newcastle which moved the defending champions three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table, Guardiola said "Everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone.
"Of course because Liverpool has an incredible history in European competition - not in the Premier League, because they have won one in 30 years - but it is not a problem at all."
It seemed an odd outburst from the City boss, whose side's position was strengthened by results at the weekend which saw Liverpool drop points in a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham. However, Klopp said it was a mistake all managers made at some point, and he had done exactly the same on Saturday after making comments about Antonio Conte's style at Spurs.
"I live in Liverpool so, yes, here a lot of people want us to win the league - that's true - but even here only it's probably only 50 per cent because the other people (Everton) were involved in another fight (relegation)," said the Liverpool boss on Guardiola's comments. "I have no idea if the whole country is supporting us, I don't know that.
"It is not the feeling I get when we go to other places and play there, it is actually the opposite, but maybe he knows more about that than me."
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Gerrard's Liverpool challenge
Steven Gerrard has urged Aston Villa to embrace the challenge of facing Liverpool. They host Jurgen Klopp's side on Tuesday aiming to put another dent in the Reds' title hopes.
The visitors are three points behind Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham. Villa are coming off the back of Saturday's 3-1 win at Burnley which left them 11th and Gerrard wants his men to stand up against his former club.
"Liverpool are a world-class team. Arguably, the best team in the world right now. We're well aware of the challenge," said Gerrard. "I've spoken many times about how I respect the coach and the coaching staff there. You either fear that or you put your shoulders back and try to take it on and find situations where you can have your moments in the game.
"Every team on the planet, historically or now, there's always areas or situations that happen in a game where you can hurt them. We're well aware of the size of the challenge, but it's exciting and I'm looking forward to it. Big games of football are what it's all about.
"I know where the team is at and I know that we're capable of winning football matches. I know we're capable of going on runs to recover situations - we did it when we initially came in. We didn't get too carried away when we were winning games on the spin, and at the same time, when you go on a tough run and suffer a few bumps it's important to stick together and have belief in your players.
"It was tough - no one wants to lose four matches, but I had confidence that with the fixtures we had coming up we could put it right and recover our situation. My job is to win games for Aston Villa, that will always be the case when I'm representing the club. I want to win, fiercely, and that is no different tomorrow. In terms of Liverpool, the season is over 38 games and they play Aston Villa twice."
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