James Milner in action for Aston Villa against West Ham on Saturday.
James Milner in action for Aston Villa against West Ham on Saturday.

Milner completes move to Man City



James Milner has finally completed his protracted transfer to Manchester City. The England midfielder, 24, has joined City after a summer of speculation over his future, although Eastlands always seemed likely to be his ultimate destination. Milner has signed a five-year contract while the midfielder Stephen Ireland has joined Villa from City as part of the deal. Milner, who completed his medical late yesterday, could make his City debut in their Premier League clash with Liverpool at Eastlands on Monday. City boss Roberto Mancini told www.mcfc.co.uk: "I am very happy to have James with us, everybody knows we have admired him for some time.

"He is an excellent midfielder who can play in a number of positions. This is important for the team and I am looking forward to seeing him play for us. We have a very strong squad and this signing is a very important one for us. "James is already a very good player who has proved he can play at the very top level. But he is also young and a good character, I think he can also improve and be a great player for Manchester City for a long time." Milner replaces Ireland as City's No 7, and Mancini added of the departing midfielder: "I hope things go well for Stevie at Villa. "He is also a very good player and he has played a big part in City's history. I think he will enjoy the change of being at another club and I hope he does well for Aston Villa."

Milner's future had been the subject of ongoing speculation since Villa rejected a bid of around £20 million (Dh 71.36m) from City in May. Then Villa boss Martin O'Neill revealed last month that the midfielder had asked for a move away from Villa Park and had refused to sign a new contract. Villa's decision to sell Milner and how much of the fee O'Neill would be able to reinvest in the transfer market were rumoured to be key factors in the Northern Irishman's shock resignation last week. Under O'Neill, Milner developed into one of England's top midfielders last season, proving a revelation after moving from the wing into the centre. He was the principal figure behind Villa's ultimately unsuccessful push for a Champions League spot and his form earned him a starting spot in three of England's four World Cup games in South Africa.

Indeed, Milner was one of the few players to emerge with his reputation intact from a disappointing tournament and City continued their pursuit on his return. The two clubs finally agreed a fee but the deal was held up still further by the involvement of Ireland, who reportedly demanded a £2m pay-off from City. Milner played in Villa's opening Premier League game of the season against West Ham last Saturday and scored in a 3-0 win, earning a standing ovation as he bade his farewell. But the transfer has now finally gone through, bringing an end to two years at Villa Park for Milner and eight years with City for Ireland. Ireland, now 23, looked set for a great future at Eastlands after breaking into the first team as a teenager and then picking up the club's player of the year award for the 2008-09 season.

But his opportunities dried up once Mancini replaced Mark Hughes last autumn and the Italian made it clear Ireland's future lay elsewhere. Milner began his career with Leeds and became the Premier League's then youngest scorer when he netted against Sunderland on Boxing Day 2002, nine days before his 17th birthday. Leeds's relegation saw Milner sold to Newcastle in 2004 but he was on the move again a year later when a clause in the deal that took Nolberto Solano from Villa to St James' Park sent Milner on loan in the other direction. A permanent deal seemed on the cards the following summer but Newcastle eventually decided to keep the midfielder, and he stayed with the Magpies for another two seasons before joining Villa for a reported £12m in 2008. Milner becomes City's eighth signing of the transfer window and follows in the footsteps of former Villa teammate Gareth Barry, who moved to Eastlands last summer. * Press Association

Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.

The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?

My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.

The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.

So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.

 

 

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

START-UPS IN BATCH 4 OF SANABIL 500'S ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME

Saudi Arabia

Joy: Delivers car services with affordable prices

Karaz: Helps diabetics with gamification, IoT and real-time data

Medicarri: Medical marketplace that connects clinics with suppliers

Mod5r: Makes automated and recurring investments to grow wealth

Stuck: Live, on-demand language support to boost writing

Walzay: Helps in recruitment while reducing hiring time

UAE

Eighty6: Marketplace for restaurant and supplier procurements

FarmUnboxed: Helps digitise international food supply chain

NutriCal: Helps F&B businesses and governments with nutritional analysis

Wellxai: Provides insurance that enables and rewards user habits

Egypt

Amwal: A Shariah-compliant crowd-lending platform

Deben: Helps CFOs manage cash efficiently

Egab: Connects media outlets to journalists in hard-to-reach areas for exclusives

Neqabty: Digitises financial and medical services of labour unions

Oman

Monak: Provides financial inclusion and life services to migrants

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.5L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh129,999 (VX Luxury); from Dh149,999 (VX Black Gold)

The five stages of early child’s play

From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:

1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.

2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.

3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.

4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.

5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.

Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)


Abtal

Keep up with all the Middle East and North Africa athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      Abtal