Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has been praised by defender Josko Gvardiol for his early sessions with the team.

Enzo Maresca has been called a ‘perfect’ choice to replace Pep Guardiola as Manchester City players enjoy working with the new manager. Maresca took on the daunting challenge of succeeding one of the greatest coaches in the game when he left the Etihad in May after a decade at the club.

All eyes are on Maresca and City to see how they will cope without Guardiola, and their rivals are relishing the prospect of no longer having to compete with the Catalan. Maresca has built his reputation as a head coach over the last three years though and relished the opportunity to take charge at the Etihad after leaving Chelsea last season.

It is still early days for the squad with many still resting after the World Cup, but those players who have started to work with the new coach have been impressed by his training sessions. City defender Josko Gvardiol described Maresca as perfect for the way that he and the team want to play going forward.

“The level is that high and Enzo has been chosen with reason as the manager,” he said. “I think he has a quality, has some new ideas and also we need to see what we’re going to do [with] the style of [play], the football we are going to play and the tactics and everything. I think he is a perfect one, but of course it takes time.

“It’s something totally new, it’s not easy to change the manager, so we will take time. It’s our job to help him as much as possible and also to listen to try to adapt as quick as possible.”

Gvardiol was speaking in a wide-ranging interview covering the disappointment of last season and why he will have to play through the pain barrier this season. You can read the full article here.

He is one of #France’s most memorable #football players: nearly thirty years later after helping ‘Les Bleus’ win their first #WorldCup – and twenty years after his infamous #redcard, Zinedine #Zidane is coming back to coach the squad.

Jaron Ennis believes there are now bigger fish to fry than the man who many would argue is his most dangerous rival at 154lbs.

The 29-year-old became a two-division unified champion in June, dethroning Xander Zayas with a seventh-round finish to claim the WBO and WBA world titles.

As a result, ‘Boots’ has now set his sights on becoming the undisputed super-welterweight king, rather than focusing on a long-awaited showdown with Vergil Ortiz.

But while collecting all four major belts would, indeed, be a phenomenal achievement, it must be said that Ortiz represents his most commercially viable option.

Even after having not fought since his second-round stoppage of Erickson Lubin in November, the 28-year-old is still repeatedly mentioned in the same breath as Ennis.

More importantly, though, Ortiz is now free to revisit the negotiating table after reaching a promotional settlement with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy.

Yet despite the enormous appetite for an Ortiz clash, Ennis would much rather face Sebastian Fundora, who is set to defend his WBC title against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj later this year.

Speaking with YSM Sports Media, the American even claimed that fans would rather see him collide with the 6ft 6in ‘Towering Inferno’ than Ortiz.

“It’s still on the table but, right now, we’re collecting belts. I feel like the two guys with the belts [would make for] bigger fights right now. I feel like Fundora is a bigger fight [than Ortiz].

“Everybody wants to see that fight. Vergil Ortiz is a good fight but no one really wants to see it, because I’m going to knock him out.

“I’d rather fight the tall guy [Fundora] that y’all think is this monster, get him out of there, and then I’ll run through the whole division.”

While preferring Fundora, Ennis could instead enter a three-belt unification match against Josh Kelly, who retained his IBF title with a hard-fought victory over Caoimhin Agyarko last Saturday.

A scary training camp collision briefly threatened Cyrus Allen’s strong start with the Kansas City Chiefs, but the rookie wide receiver appeared to avoid a serious injury.

Initial tests showed Allen sustained only a shin bruise, with no tear or broken bone, ESPN reported, citing sources.

Allen was not the only Chiefs receiver to have an injury scare Saturday. Xavier Worthy went down during an 11-on-11 period after hauling in a deep pass near the end zone and landing on his shoulder.

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Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy receives a pass during practice at Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Aug. 1, 2026. (Roman Puno/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA)

Worthy has already dealt with shoulder-related concerns early in his NFL career. He injured his right shoulder on the third snap of last season after colliding with tight end Travis Kelce on a crossing route during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Worthy later underwent an offseason procedure to address the injury.

Allen went down Saturday during a special teams period as the Chiefs practiced pooch punts. He and defensive back Kaiir Elam, both lined up as gunners, ran into each other near the goal line while attempting to track down the ball. Elam got up and walked off, but Allen stayed on the grass before two staffers helped him onto a cart.

FANS STUNNED AT TRAVIS KELCE’S TRAINING CAMP PHYSIQUE AFTER NUPTIALS TO TAYLOR SWIFT

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Cyrus Allen runs drills during the team’s mandatory minicamp at the Chiefs practice facility in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 9, 2026. (Denny Medley/Imagn Images)

Allen appeared to shake his head before covering his face with his jersey.

Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said Allen had been making a strong push for a role before the injury.

“I hate to see somebody get hurt, especially on a special teams drill,” Toub said. “We’ll see how he is. He’s really doing well on offense, and he’s doing well for me too. He’s at gunner and returner, and he’s doing a real good job, putting himself in a good position to be a guy that’s going to help us this year.”

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Cyrus Allen was helped up after an apparent injury during practice at Chiefs training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, on Aug. 1, 2026. (Roman Puno/Cal Sport Media/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect)

Toub added that Chiefs rookies are always asked to put in work during special team drills.

“Anytime you have a rookie, everybody is on special teams until they aren’t, until they establish themselves, whether it’s a starter on offense or defense,” he said.

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The Chiefs took Allen in the fifth round of April’s draft, and he quickly emerged as one of Patrick Mahomes’ go-to targets early in camp. Allen has led Kansas City’s wide receivers in catches during 11-on-11 periods.

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The 2026 trade deadline is set for Monday, Aug. 3, and the deals look like they could go right down to the last minute

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The reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring left-handed starter and back-to-back American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal in a blockbuster trade with the Detroit Tigers, ESPN reports. In return, the Tigers are receiving a package headlined by outfielder Zyhir Hope, along with right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith.

With the deadline trade, the Dodgers, already boasting a roster and rotation stuffed with stars, have acquired the top talent available in their mission to win the World Series for a third straight season. 

The 29-year-old Skubal, who’s slated for free agency this coming offseason, missed time earlier this season after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery. While that injury likely removed him from contention for a third straight Cy Young award, he’s still pitched at an ace level when healthy: 

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Armed with a blazing fastball and a repertoire filled with plus offerings, Skubal during his 2024 and 2025 Cy Young campaigns was simply dominant. Across 62 starts and 387 ⅓ combined innings in those seasons, Skubal put up an ERA of 2.30 while striking out 31.2% of opposing batters and amassing a WAR of 13.1. With the deal, Skubal becomes the first pitcher to be traded in the offseason or season following a Cy Young win since R.A. Dickey in 2012. 

Skubal will be owed the remainder of a $32 million salary for this season, and because he was traded in-season, he’s now ineligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Dodgers.  

For the Tigers, the decision to trade Skubal was not an obvious one. While they’ve been among the most disappointing teams in baseball this season, they’ve played stronger than their record at an underlying level. As well, the bar for contention in the American League this season is quite low. Ultimately, though, lead decision-maker Scott Harris decided that getting something in return for Skubal before he hits free agency was in the organization’s best interests. 

As for the Dodgers, they add Skubal to a high-end rotation that presently is quite compromised by injury. Shohei Ohtani is presently limited to DH duty because of knee and bicep issues, and it’s not certain when he’ll be able to return to the mound. Tyler Glasnow, meanwhile, has been sidelined since early May with back spasms. While he may be able to begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon, a pitcher with Glasnow’s injury history carries no guarantees. Elsewhere, Blake Snell has made only one start this season. He underwent surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow back in May. He’s on rehab assignment presently, but, like Glasnow, Snell has a substantial injury history that can’t be ignored. The Dodgers also have no idea when Gavin Stone will be able to pitch again as he continues an uncertain recovery from a spring shoulder injury. 

The goal in acquiring Skubal to join the front of the rotation alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto is, in true Dodger fashion, to win the World Series. On that front, Skubal for his career has made six playoff starts, and in those starts he’s put up an ERA of 2.04 with 56 strikeouts and just five unintentional walks in 39 ⅔ innings. A secondary and related motivation on the part of the Dodgers and lead exec Andrew Friedman was to keep Skubal away from teams that figure to challenge the Dodgers for the pennant; the Braves and Phillies have been tied to Skubal in recent days and weeks, and the Brewers — with perhaps the strongest farm system in the game — have been strongly linked. Instead, it’s another needle-moving, headline-grabbing addition by Friedman and MLB‘s contemporary dynasty.

The Tigers’ return

On the return front, the package going back to the Tigers is fronted by Hope, a 21-year-old former 11th-rounder out of a Virginia high school. Coming into the season, CBS Sports ranked Hope as the No. 36 prospect in all of baseball. Here’s part of that write-up: 

“Hope, the best part of the return on Michael Busch, batted .266/.376/.428 with 13 home runs and 27 stolen bases while spending most of the year in High-A. He’s a physical left-handed hitter with clear loft to his swing. He knows how to lift and pull the ball, which is a good thing given his innate strength. Hope also possesses a patient approach that, when married to his swing-and-miss tendencies (he connected on fewer than 70% of his swings in High-A), could result in an uncomfortably high strikeout rate. A larger sample of him in Double-A should reveal just how high.”

He’s improved that already impressive standing with a strong season to date. In 94 games for Double-A Tulsa, Hope has a slash line of .293/.369/.530 with 23 home runs and 18 stolen bases. Overall, he has an .862 OPS across parts of four minor league seasons. Hope in 2026 has split time between the outfield corners. 

Ryan, who soon turns 28, made four highly effective starts for the Dodgers in 2024, and this season he’s made eight starts in Triple-A in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in August of 2024. The 21-year-old Smith, who was recently promoted to High-A, has a 4.36 ERA in 21 starts this season with 113 strikeouts and 30 walks in 74 ⅓ innings.