Man City land £20m German international Gündoğan, Mourinho pulls out of Old Trafford charity match, and German amateur club try to sign Zlatan…
1. It was widely rumoured to be on the cards yesterday, and today Roberto Di Matteo has been unveiled as the new Aston Villa manager, with former Chelsea team-mate Steve Clarke appointed as Di Matteo’s assistant.
2. Manchester City have signed German international İlkay Gündoğan from Borussia Dortmund for a fee reported to be around the £20m mark. However the 25-year-old midfielder will miss the European Championships and the start of the Premier League season with an injury.
3. Blackburn Rovers have appointed former Bolton and Burnley manager Owen Coyle as their new head coach. 49-year-old Coyle left American side Houston Dynamo last Thursday and succeeds fellow Scot Paul Lambert in the Ewood Park hotseat.
4. José Mourinho has pulled out of his roll as manager of the England team, made up of retired professionals and celebrities, for the Soccer Aid charity match at Old Trafford on Sunday. Sunderland’s Sam Allardyce will replace him.
5. Northern Ireland have reached their all time highest FIFA ranking of 25th. Michael O’Niell’s squad are preparing to take part in their first ever European Championships having last qualified for an international tournament in the 1986 when they reached the World Cup.
6. Giant six foot six Denmark international Jannik Vestergaard of Werder Bremen found out he was just too tall for Japanese shower cubicles whilst visiting on international duty (Metro).
7. A German amateur side have attempted to sign Zlatan Ibrahimović by appealing to his ego; they have promised to make the Swede the King of their town if he snubs Manchester United in favour of them (WhoAteAllThePies).
8. Marin Skender; remember the name as he is about to become your new favourite goalkeeper. Watch as he quite literally used his head to prevent his team conceding a goal (Mirror).
9. Republic of Ireland fans have surpassed themselves with a flag in honour of Jack Grealish choosing to play for England instead of the Republic, and then subsequently being left out of Roy Hodgson’s squad (Joe.ie).
10. And finally…BBC Sport showed footage of Euro ’96 to some 20-year-old fans to mark the anniversary of when football came home. Some of the reactions are remarkable (BBC).
By Chris Horricks (@chrishorricks31).
The Offside Rule 
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