Raheem Sterling has backed a more ‘streetwise’ Manchester City to improve on their 2016-17 campaign in the upcoming season.

City failed to mount a genuine title challenge, faltering after a flying start under Pep Guardiola to finish third behind Chelsea and Tottenham.

But they have already shown intent with their summer recruitment, bringing in Bernardo Silva and Ederson Moraes, with more signings expected.

And Sterling, who racked up ten goals last campaign, expects City to be much improved next term as they look to reclaim the Premier League title they last won in 2013-14.

He said: “Last season was a little underwhelming in terms of what we expected.

“We had started really well and made some good strides but we didn’t finish by doing what we wanted to do.

“We can take a lot of positives out of the season and take them into next year.

“With the team, the players and the manager we have, it’s looking to be good in the future.

“We’re a team that can punish teams. We need to defend better as a unit – not letting in as many cheap goals. That’s what has cost us – our own mistakes and collective errors on the field.

“Once we become more streetwise, we’ll be a real force.”

New Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has arrived at Old Trafford with silverware at the forefront of his mind.

The Sweden international, 22, put pen to paper on a four-year-deal with Jose Mourinho’s side after agreeing a £31 million switch from Portuguese champions Benfica.

Lindelof has won 12 caps for his country, scoring once.

United won the Europa League, EFL Cup and Community Shield in Mourinho’s first season in charge, after one trophy in two years under Louis van Gaal – the FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace in May 2016.

Photo by Bruno Barros / DPI / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Lindelof arrives from Portugal having won numerous domestic honours with Benfica, and believes he is fully equipped to perform on the biggest stage for the Red Devils.

“United are one of the biggest clubs in the world and always want to win titles,” Lindelof said.

“That’s also my goal. I want to come here and win titles. That’s the goal of the club and all the players as well.

“It’s been great for me to be playing at [Champions League] level and playing against some really good teams.

“For me to be able to play in the Champions League has been very good.  I think I have learned a lot from those games.”

Gabriel Jesus is expected to be fit in time for Manchester City’s pre-season tour to the United States after revealing he won’t need surgery on a fractured eye socket.

The Brazilian international, who scored seven goals in eight starts for City last season, was stretchered off during a game against Argentina after a collision with City team-mate Nicolas Otamendi.

But the young striker should be back in action sooner than some had feared and took to Twitter to thank the medical staff who had looked after him.

“I won’t need surgery, within three weeks I should be back,” he said. “Many thanks to all the fans for the support and love, thanks to Dr Pagura and his team.”

After a facial resonance and several exams it was determined Jesus won’t need surgery, but he explained on Facebook that he will be re-assessed in a couple of weeks time.

(Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

“My recovery is going very well and I won’t need surgery. In 15 days I will be reassessed, but all signs show that I will be back within three weeks,” he wrote.

“Thanks a lot to everyone that sent me messages, who supported me, sent positive vibes and prayed for me!

“Thank you to Dr Jorge Pagura, Dr Claudio Lotemberg and Dr Sergio Miranda, for the treatment and attention.”

Chelsea’s Under-20 World Cup winner Jake Clarke-Salter admits his immediate future lies away from Stamford Bridge, but the starlet does believe he can make the grade in south-west London.

The Blues have built up a reputation for being one of the worst clubs to give youngsters opportunities at first team level, often shipping players out on loan indefinitely before selling them on.

But Clarke-Salter is one of Chelsea’s brightest prospects, and alongside another Blues defender in Fikayo Tomori, helped guide Paul Simpson’s Young Lions to a maiden World Cup triumph on Sunday – England’s biggest international title since 1966

The 19-year-old – who has already won the FA Youth Cup three times and the UEFA Youth League twice – played four times throughout the tournament, including the semi-final and final victory over Venezuela.

And while he is anticipating a loan move this season away from Chelsea to gain valuable first-team experience, Clarke-Salter is relishing the challenge and the thought of improving even further.

“Everyone was away from their families for about five weeks and I think that helps you grow up in itself,” he said.

“You’ve got to just knuckle down and it is all football, football, football in a major competition, so I think that helped a lot.

“I think a few of the boys must have felt nerves [for the final] as it was shown on BBC2 and it was everywhere so we felt the pressure, but we rose to it, we got the result.

“Next season I think will most likely be a loan for me, to get some more vital experience I need to hopefully come back and fight for a place in the first team soon.”

With the Premier League fixtures released this week, football fans up and down the country can begin preparations for the new season already.

And Everton fans have some exciting young talent that they can look forward to seeing at Goodison Park and in the upcoming campaign.

Here’s three players we think are worth keeping an eye on for the blue half of Merseyside this coming Premier League season.

Mason Holgate

The 20-year-old joined Everton from Barnsley in 2015 and after a season with the under-21s, moved up into the first team, where he made 19 starts last term.

(Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

He made 16 of those in the Premier League either at centre-back or right-back and signed a hefty four-year deal to keep him at the club until 2021 in December.

With Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka both over 30 now, Holgate is likely to play an ever-increasing role at the heart of the Merseyside defence.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

After scoring the winning goal for England in their Under-20s World Cup final earlier this summer, Calvert-Lewin will now be hoping to make a similar impact in the Premier League.

The forward scored twice in the tournament and also made an assist in an impressive campaign which saw England go all the way to the final before beating Venezuela 1-0.

Calvert-Lewin joined Everton from Sheffield United in August 2016 and made his debut in December of that year, with his first Merseyside goal coming in a 4-0 win against Hull in March after returning from an ankle ligament injury.

Ademola Lookman

(Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)

Another Everton member of England’s Under-20s World Cup winning contingent – there were five in the squad for the final – Lookman was in imperious form throughout the tournament.

He found the back of the net three times for his country during the campaign, having scored just minutes into his Everton debut against Manchester City in January.

Lookman joined the Merseyside club at the start of 2017 from Charlton Athletic and has a contract at Goodison Park until summer 2021 so has time on his side to make further impacts under Ronald Koeman.

Southampton may be searching for a new manager after parting company with Claude Puel on Wednesday night but their player recruitment does not appear to have been hit.

Famed for their future planning and always having a replacement in mind ahead of any departure, it is no surprise they are on the search for fresh talent event without a manager at the helm.

And the club are reportedly interested in talented full back Mads Bech Sorensen after the 18-year-old helped AC Horsens to tenth in the Danish Superliga last season.

Although not a regular first team player as yet, he made his debut as a 16-year-old and has been on Saints’ radar since spending time with their under-18 and under-23 squads on trial last November.

Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Describing his own time there as an “insanely good experience” and inspiring him to keep working at his game and improving.

And following that time on trial, as well as his eye-catching appearances for the Danish U18 side, his manager Bo Henriksen admitted there are a string of clubs enquiring about his services.

“It’s not just Southampton. It is most clubs, not only in Denmark but throughout Europe because he is playing the U18 national team,” he said. “He has some prerequisites that are so eye-catching, so there is no doubt that there are many who are looking.”

Jurgen Klopp’s first full season at Liverpool ended on a high as his ‘gegenpress’ style helped the Reds secure Champions League football for the first time since 2014.

Klopp’s men would experience up and downs in the campaign as they turned on the style in the big matches but stumbled against lesser teams.

As we look back at the last 12 months for the Merseyside club, we’ve picked out some of our favourite quotes from the key moments throughout the campaign.

Liverpool’s season got off to a blistering start, losing just once in their first 13 matches and scoring 32 goals in the process. That run included a thumping 6-1 victory over Watford, but Klopp remained calm.

“There is nothing to celebrate in the moment – this is our responsibility to play well when you put on the red of Liverpool. It is all good until now,” he said.

Photo credit: Getty Images

But their good run came crashing down after they squandered a 3-1 lead at Bournemouth, losing 4-3 in the last minute thanks to a Loris Karius blunder. Yet Klopp was quick to defend his much-maligned goalkeeper.

“If they [Bournemouth] thought before the game that Loris Karius is a weakness then I don’t know which game they were looking at,” said the German. “The game before against Sunderland he saved our life in three or four situations.”

The Reds season looked like it was coming off the rails in January after a home to loss to Swansea was added to defeats against Southampton and Wolves at Anfield in the EFL and FA Cups, respectively.

After defeat to Championship side Wolves, Klopp said: “If somebody asks me if this is the lowest point of my LFC time, I can say it is not possible to be lower.

Photo credit: Getty Images

“If we have to go through the history of Liverpool, better sides lost against worse sides. We know what we have to change, only we have to show it.”

A must-win fixture came in the shape of Tottenham at Anfield in Feburary and Klopp’s knack of conjuring the right performance in the big games was evident once again as they swept aside Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

“We had to show a reaction and it was perfect. It was an outstanding performance offensively in the first half, and defensively in the second half,” Klopp said.

Liverpool’s bid for the top four was helped by a remarkable overhead-kick from Emre Can at Vicarage Road as the Reds downed Watford 1-0.

Speaking about the strike, Klopp said: “We tried to create moments and the goal we scored obviously was a spectacular one. I would like to say I’m used to it but it’s not the truth, especially not from Emre.”

Photo credit: Getty Images

It all came down to the final day; beat already-relegated Middlesbrough and Champions League football would be theirs. Liverpool had struggled against bottom-half sides but they did not falter this time as they cruised to a 3-0 victory to pip Arsenal to fourth spot by a single point.

With Klopp concluding: “I’m really looking forward to next season. I think we have created a wonderful base. The better you’re organised, the more you feel free to do special things in offence.”

New West Ham signing Pablo Zabaleta is relishing the opportunity to face his former club when the Hammers take on Manchester City in Iceland later this summer.

Zabaleta switched to the London Stadium on a free transfer at the end of the season, following a nine-year spell with City.

The two clubs will go head-to-head at the national stadium in Reykjavik on August 4, in what will mark the first occasion two English Premier League teams have played against each other in the country.

Just one week later, West Ham will travel to the red-side of Manchester for their season opener at Old Trafford, and Zabaleta insists playing the Red Devils’ rivals will provide the perfect preparation for the start of the new campaign.

(Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

“Of course it will be interesting to face my former club, so soon after leaving,” he said.

“But more importantly, I am looking forward to playing with my new teammates and it will be a great test for us one week before the start of the season.

“It will also be a great honour for West Ham and City to be the first English Premier League clubs to play each other in Iceland.

“We all saw how well Iceland did in the European Championships last year – they made a lot of friends and it is clear they are a nation who love football.

“We will be proud to represent the Premier League and I hope we can give the supporters an entertaining match.”

Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has poured cold water on reports linking him with a move to Crystal Palace.

Mitrovic was part of the Newcastle United team who won the Championship title last season to gain promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt under manager Rafael Benitez.

The combative frontman, 22, has netted 15 times in 65 appearances for the Magpies, and has been linked with a move to Selhurst Park for much of the summer.

He also scored for Serbia in Sunday’s 1-1 with Wales in their World Cup 2018 qualifier, his ninth goal in 28 appearances for his country.

Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images

But he did not rule out a summer switch away from the north east if the move suited all parties.

“I’m very happy to help Newcastle back to the Premier League because that’s where the club deserves to be,” he said.

“I heard something about other clubs but for now I just want to rest. I need to prepare for next season.

“If there are some good offers for me – which are also good for the club – come in for me over the summer then we will speak about it.

“If it doesn’t happen then I’m still a Newcastle United player, I have three years on my contract.

“So we have to speak to the club, to the manager and we will see.”