Roberto De Zerbi believes Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister “deserve to play in another level” but hopes European football can convince the in-demand duo to stick with Brighton. Ecuador international Caicedo and Argentina World Cup winner Mac Allister continue to be heavily linked with summer transfers following standout seasons in Sussex. Albion potentially strengthened their hopes of retaining two of their star performers by securing continental qualification with Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League win over relegated Southampton. While De Zerbi feels that may prove persuasive, he does not wish to hamper the careers of the pair and concedes Wednesday evening’s match with Manchester City could be their final appearances in a Seagulls shirt at the Amex Stadium. “It can be the last game but I don’t know,” said the Brighton head coach. “They can have the possibility to change (clubs) because they deserve to play in another level. “But now we can offer them the possibility to play in Europe because our level is bigger now. We can offer them one possibility more.” Asked if a European place can make the difference, De Zerbi replied: “It can be. They can have more motivation. But they are very good guys. “When I work, I think for myself, I think for my club but I think still for the players because the players have one career, one life and we can’t decide for them. “I don’t know what Tony (Bloom, Brighton owner) can decide but if they want to leave, for myself, it’s right they leave.” Albion will almost certainly finish sixth and be in the Europa League next term due to their goal difference being significantly better than Aston Villa’s but need one more point to banish any prospect of slipping into the Europa Conference League. De Zerbi insists his side will not play for a draw against champions City as they attempt to cement their spot in the superior competition. “The focus is to play seriously,” said the Italian, whose team conclude the campaign at Villa on Sunday. “We want to play in the Europa League and to play in the Europa League we have to make another point. “We can’t start the game to make one point. We have to think to win the game. “We have a big, big, big target – bigger than Conference League because we expect Conference League. “If we have the possibility to play in a more prestigious competition, we have to try it.” City boss Pep Guardiola compared De Zerbi to a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant ahead of the midweek clash on the south coast, while hailing him as one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years. De Zerbi reciprocates that respect and praised the Spaniard for aiding his transition to life in England. “I can’t forget that before I arrived here, I received his call and he helped me a lot in the first period,” De Zerbi said of Guardiola. “He was very nice with me. “I can’t explain Guardiola. My opinion is he is the best coach in the Premier League and the best coach in the last 30 years. It’s my opinion but I think a lot of people think like me.” Meanwhile, De Zerbi backed Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk for an international recall. England boss Gareth Southgate will on Wednesday name his squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. “He deserves to play in the national team,” De Zerbi said of defender Dunk, who won his only international cap in 2018. “It’s not my work to decide the players of the national team but for us it should be a target. I hope he can play in the national team.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ECB CEO sees bright future for The Hundred despite Sanjay Patel’s impending exit Pep Guardiola expecting City’s intensity to drop but warns of challenges to come ‘This is the right club’ – Bukayo Saka signs new long-term Arsenal contract

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A man who spent thousands of pounds to look like a dog has revealed what his life is like. In July, the man who goes by Toco on YouTube, went viral after he posted a video of himself walking around Tokyo wearing a realistic Border Collie suit, which cost him £12,500 to have custom made. He explained in the video that his life-long dream was to become a dog and explained that he chose to become a Border Collie due to the breed's size. Now he has shared more about his life as an animal in a series of press interviews. “My desire to be an animal is like a desire to transform, a desire to be something that I am not,” he told the New York Post. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He added that he wears the costume once a week, mostly at home and his family are accepting of him. “The family was surprised, but received it favourably,” he said. 【驚愕】人が犬に変身！　リアルな着ぐるみで外を散歩してみた！ www.youtube.com “I am very happy that they accepted it.” In a separate interview with the Mirror, he said: “I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird. “My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal. But he told the Daily Mail his colleagues are less accepting. “They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face.” But that won't stop him living the life he loves. “I’m just sad that people can think that,” he said. “I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie.” He continued: “This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The WNBA has suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon for two games for violating league and team respect in the workplace policies

A Donald Trump-supporting New York billionaire says that he wants to buy embattled CNN from Warner Bros. Discovery. Grocery mogul John Catsimatidis told The New York Post that he would “go run the place tomorrow morning and all I’d want is $1 per year.” The news network has been hit by falling ratings and earlier this week under-fire CEO Chris Licht, who attempted to drag CNN to the right, was fired after a searing profile in The Atlantic. Greek-born Mr Catsimatidis, 74, refused to tell the newspaper how much he would be willing to offer for CNN. “It’s up to the investment bankers to come up with the numbers,” he said, as he suggested that finance to complete the deal would not be an issue. “We could always bring partners in, but I want to run the place,” he continued. “We are capable of putting down a substantial amount of money.” And he added: “I’d go run the place tomorrow morning, and all I’d want is $1 per year and a piece of the upside.” Mr Catsimatidis, who has a reported personal wealth of more than $4bn, is already in the media business having bought New York’s WABC radio station for $12.5m in 2019. “Whoever is running that company (CNN) is wrong,” Mr Catsimatidis said, telling the newspaper the network should not have fired Mr Licht, who supported the controversial Donald Trump town hall. “If the network is getting half a million (viewers) a night and they have Trump on and they get 3 million (viewers), to fire the CEO for getting that many people…” he said. But he insisted that if took over CNN he would continue to try and ensure that Republicans got equal coverage to Democrats. “I want the truth, not opinions. If people say there’s two truths, let’s voice both truths and let the viewers decide.” Read More How Chris Licht’s botched effort to drag CNN to the right ended with his own stunning downfall CNN CEO Chris Licht out days after devastating expose CNN’s own media reporter turns on embattled CEO The folly of trusting Trump claims two more victims. Why do they do it?

President Joe Biden's top economic advisers believe the worst effects of inflation are in the rear-view mirror. They are increasingly confident the economy is heading for a soft-landing, averting a recession. And a growing number of economists are beginning to agree.

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