Friday Gossip

Rob Pollard@RobPollardMCFC

De Bruyne my toughest opponent, says PL star

There's big praise for a trio of City players in the press this morning.
Newcastle defender Fabian Schar says Kevin De Bruyne is his toughest opponent, and our local newspaper have eulogised Ilkay Gundogan and Raheem Sterling.
So, without further ado...
Football Daily: Fabian Schar discusses his most difficult Premier League opponent
Fabian Schar says: "It could be [Kevin] De Bruyne.
"To be honest, I'm a big fan of him. He's a fantastic player.

"How many assists he gets is crazy.
"His positioning in the game is really hard to defend [against]. He's always between the lines. You don't know exactly what to do.
"You go out, or you wait, it's really hard.
"That's the best thing of the game, playing against these players and learning from them."

Manchester Evening News:Gundogan is a better player due to his injury record
Stuart Brennan writes: Gundogan offers so much, and as the only player Guardiola has trusted to play in all three central midfield roles, has become essential to the team.
His precautions are working – he has not been out injured for a year, and last season made 31 appearances in the Premier League. Already this season he has started four in the league, and both Champions League fixtures.
Guardiola hailed him as one of the best signings in City’s history this week, quite a claim when you consider the galaxy of stars the Blues have had, especially in the last ten years.
But the fact he stepped into the worrying breach left by Fernandinho’s injury last season, and was one of the Blues’ best players, underlines what the manager said.
Gundogan does not see himself as a defensive midfielder and does not possess the physical edge which Fernandinho and Rodri have.
But he compensates for that with intelligence and tactical acumen.

Manchester Evening News: Sterling change has been noticed by Guardiola and teammates
Simon Bajkowski writes: "When Manchester City need a goal, Raheem Sterling is increasingly the man to deliver.
"The Manchester City manager wasn't sure about the England international's hunger for goals when he took over at the Etihad in 2016, and was still publicly critical of his finishing almost two years later. As Sterling has found at the last two tournaments with England, good performances can very easily be forgotten or misremembered if not accompanied by a goal.
"His improvement has been relentless though, and the hard work put in on the training ground or at home has now paid off on the pitch. Thirty-one goals were plundered for club and country last season and Tuesday's strike against Dinamo Zagreb takes the 24-year-old to 11 since August.
"There are assists too, but it is goals that count. Goals are what Sterling wants to be judged on - and not just goals but goals that win matches and ties and trophies. And goals are what Guardiola now firmly believes can deliver on a regular basis now that he is more hungry and more clinical for them."
That's all for this morning's Media Watch - but stay with us throughout the day as we bring you all the latest ahead of Sunday's game against Wolves.