Football news - Pep Guardiola 'has not committed to new Manchester City deal'

Pep Guardiola has admitted that he is under pressure when it comes to earning a new contract at Manchester City. He has 18 months left on his current deal and is yet to commit to an extended stay. The Mirror quotes him as saying: “I think, in football, one-and-a-half years is a long time for the managers, a lot, a lot of time, so we have to see altogether how it works, how it’s going on. I said many times what an incredible and good time I have here, and I would like to stay as long as possible. So that is my desire, but I will only be sure if it’s the best for the club that they want me to stay longer.”

Paper Round’s view: Guardiola’s brother has gone into business with City’s parent company, and they own Girona together. Usually the Spaniard has moved on every few years after each club, and his family have returned to Barcelona. It is conceivable that he is going to stay at City and build something more like a business than a legacy, but there are other countries he is yet to manage in.

Fresh from signing Toby Alderweireld to a new deal at Tottenham, manager Jose Mourinho has admitted he is keen on getting Jan Vertonghen to stay at the club too, the Guardian reports. The new Spurs manager wants the 32-year-old Belgian to extend his contract, which will expire at the end of the season. He said: “I think a player will sign a contract when the club wants – I am the club, Mr Levy is the club – when the player wants, when the family wants, when the agent wants. If one of these parts doesn’t want it is very difficult to make it happen unless the player changes agent and gets an agent who also wants.”

Paper Round’s view: Mourinho loves experienced defenders, and with Alderweireld and Vertonghen together he has a pairing that can be used as he develops players like Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth. Extending Vertonghen’s stay also has the benefit of freeing up funds to be spent elsewhere, which will be useful if Christian Eriksen leaves for nothing in the summer.

Spanish newspaper Marca looks at Kylian Mbappe’s future. Real Madrid are preparing to play the long game and secure his signature in the same way they did Eden Hazard when they signed him from Chelsea. Mbappe’s contract is up in 2022 and there is no sign he will renew, meaning he could be available on a reduced price in 2021 so that Paris Saint-Germain do not lose him for nothing.

Paper Round’s view: With Financial Fair Play a key consideration for Paris Saint-Germain after they spent so much money on Neymar and Mbappe, they will have to ensure they do not lose a player worth close to £200 million for nothing. If they do not tie him down to a new contract in the next few months they may even have to consider selling him and hope his value is raised by an impressive showing at the Euro 2020 tournament.

The Telegraph reports that Carlo Ancelotti is set to be in the stands for Everton’s game against Arsenal at Goodison Park on Saturday. The 60-year-old Italian will start assembling his backroom staff, who have been with him across Europe. Duncan Ferguson could stay on as an assistant, but he will be joined by Ancelotti's son Davide, fitness coach Francesco Mauri and video analyst Simone Montanaro.

Paper Round’s view: It is not yet clear what Ferguson’s role will be at Everton, if he will stay on at all. It might be that Ancelotti is wary of keeping on his potential long-term replacement after he impressed in a caretaker role. However, for now Ancelotti will have to focus on improving the mood at the club before planning an extensive rebuild to improve the patchy quality of the squad.