Reports claim Manchester City are interested in bringing a Serie A star to the club this January.
Manchester City are reportedly ready to renew their interest in Julia Grosso. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Manchester City are set to make a move Juventus playmaker Julia Grosso in this month’s transfer window, according to reports.
Linked to the club in the summer, head coach Gareth Taylor is thought to be a long term admirer of the midfielder and could make her a target in January as City bid to break into the WSL top three in the second half of campaign. City – alongside Everton, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid – had been credited with an interest in Grosso prior to her move to Juventus, however, the midfielder opted to join the Italian giants in December 2021.
The club are in the process of rebuilding their midfield after losing key trio Keira Walsh, Caroline Weir and Georgia Stanway in the summer and are thought to see Grosso as someone who is capable of making an instant impact. The 22-year-old midfielder has already enjoyed a trophy laden career, winning Olympic gold in 2020 with Canadian, scoring the decisive penalty in her country’s shoot out win over Sweden. She won the Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiania in her debut season with Juventus.
During her time in Italy she has provided five assists in just 10 league games for Juve, while also appearing in the UEFA Women’s Champions League nine times. Born in Vancouver, the midfielder had previously played for three years with American side Texas Longhorns, garnering a solid reputation as a creative midfielder with a fine range of passing.
City are also believed in discussion over new deal with midfielder Laura Coombs after her superb start to the WSL season that has saw her grab four goals in nine games. Coombs’ contract will expire in the summer and ManchesterWorld understands the club are increasingly confident they can extend her contract with the club.
Vieira concedes ‘you can’t stop’ Harry Kane and discusses potential signings in January
Patrick Vieira has told his Crystal Palace players it would be naive to solely focus on shutting down Harry Kane when they host Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Kane’s 13 goals so far this season are good enough for second-most in the Premier League, still eight shy of Erling Haaland’s astonishing 21 for Manchester City.
Vieira, who picked up his first win as the Eagles’ boss against Spurs last season, appreciated the threat posed by the England captain but cautioned against becoming myopic in the midweek match-up.
“You’re not going to stop him,” said Vieira. “And I think if we only put our concentration and focus on him it will be a massive mistake, because there are so many good players around him who can provide the quality ball for him to finish it.
“So the team performance will be the main focus for us.”
Haaland has scored more goals this season than nine Premier League sides, while Kane’s total matches those of Everton and West Ham and is better than Nottingham Forest and Wolves’ team efforts.
Palace have netted 17 so far this season, two of them coming in the first half of their 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, a relief after a worrying 3-0 defeat to Fulham on Boxing Day in which they failed to register a single shot on target.
Wednesday’s contest will be the second of three games across one week for the 11th-placed Eagles, a stark contrast to the sporadic first half of their campaign.
Palace did not play for nearly a month after train strikes and the Queen’s death resulted in back-to-back September postponements, then Premier League action paused again for the World Cup.
They will wrap up the week by hosting Southampton in their third-round FA Cup clash, hoping to do as well or better than their semi-final run last season when they lost to eventual runners-up Chelsea at Wembley.
Vieira, whose side face a difficult run against top-10 teams to start the New Year, also reiterated his ambition to bring in more support during January’s transfer window to give him greater options in the second half of the season.
He would especially benefit from help in midfield, with the injury-plagued James McArthur not set for an imminent return and his contract expiring next summer, though Vieira said the 35-year-old could participate in some team training this week.
Asked about the busy fixture list, Vieira added: “We prepare ourselves for that. We had two weeks’ break and then we came back and we physically tried to get where we left it, and of course it is a challenge because you’re going six weeks without proper competition.
Source: manchesterworld.uk; football365.com
