Premier League managers have been sitting down to talk with the media on Friday as the festive fixtures continue to come thick and fast.
[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]
Here’s a look at the main storylines from what they had to say…
Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that Harry Kane has picked up a big and is at home ill rather than on the training pitch.
On Boxing Day Kane, 24, broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year as he bagged a hat trick in the 5-2 win over Southampton to take his PL tally to 39 goals in 2017.
It seems like he may be okay to play in Spurs’ next game against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Jan. 2.
“He’s ill. He’s at home. The doctor was there at his house. We’ll see tomorrow if he can be training here. It’s no big issue,” Pochettino said.
PL Fantasy players everywhere are now sweating on Kane’s injury status ahead of Tottenham’s two games in three days next week…
Manchester City, the team who wins every time they play, had some positive injury news when it came to two star center backs.
Pep Guardiola revealed both John Stones and Vincent Kompany are on the mend.
Kompany limped off just 11 minutes into City’s 1-0 win at Newcastle on Wednesday (their 18th consecutive win in the PL) but the calf issue is not as bad as first feared.
“Not as bad as we thought. He will be ready for the next fixtures,” Guardiola said. “We will know exactly tomorrow. It was a calf strain, but it is not a big issue.”
Stones has been out since mid-November after injuring his hamstring in a win at Leicester City.
“Yesterday John Stones made his first complete training session,” Guardiola said. “He’s not ready for 90 minutes yet but the next game he will be fit. Huge news for us.”
City go for their 19th-straight win, equaling Bayern Munich’s record for the most consecutive top-flight victories in history, against Crystal Palace on Sunday (Watch live, 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
Jurgen Klopp revealed he is the kind of bloke who doesn’t look at the price tag when he goes to buy a loaf of bread and milk…
Okay, maybe he does, but he doesn’t look at the price of Virgil Van Dijk who Liverpool just signed from Southampton for $100 million with the deal to be completed on Jan. 1.
Asked about the transfer fee, a world-record for a defender, Klopp brushed off the price tag.
“I’m surprised about development (in transfer market) in last two years,” Klopp said. “The last half year changed everything. It’s about need and opportunity. If you want to sign a player the last thing I think about is the price – that’s not because I throw money around but it’s about the player. Not nice but that is the market. We have to adapt. That’s how it is.”
Klopp can’t seem to put a price on a key defensive reinforcement for Liverpool, and most Liverpool fans, pundits and neutrals would agree with that.
