The towering centre back was going to find chances hard to come by under Pep Guardiola at City and so he has returned to the Championship on loan, having spent last season at West Brom.

Lewis Holtby has signed a two year contract with Blackburn Rovers. The 29-year old former Tottenham and Germany midfielder was a free agent after leaving Hamburg.

It was one of the darkest moments in Tottenham's 137-year history but some solace can be taken in the fact they're not the first English club to be embarrassed in European competition

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND-UP: Preston took moved up into second place in the Championship after coming from 2-0 down to beat Blackburn with a late goal from Tom Barkhuizen.

ADAM LANIGAN AT ELLAND ROAD: Marcelo Bielsa's side maintained the pressure on Preston North End and West Brom as they secured their fourth straight home win.

Former Blackburn defender Gael Givet has revealed Sam Allardyce showed his players the films Gladiator and 300 before a humiliating 7-1 defeat by Manchester United in November 2010. 

Our scout is a top football expert who attends matches searching for the next star. This week they give you the lowdown on Brighton keeper Christian Walton, who is playing on loan at Blackburn.

Turkey football legend Hakan Sukur has opened up on the bizarre path his life has taken since retiring from the sport, taking him from a political 'exile' to running a cafe and driving for Uber in the USA.

Liverpool youngster Curtis Jones is reportedly wanted by Championship side Blackburn, who are hoping to entice the promising midfielder with the lure of first team football.

To celebrate the 25-year anniversary of Blackburn's title triumph, Sportsmail got the SAS back together to look back on their famous 1994-1995 season.

ALAN SHEARER AND CHRIS SUTTON: All good things must come to an end, and so it proved with Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton's prolific partnership at Blackburn.

Chris Sutton recounts to Kieran Gill the day he became public enemy No 1 in north London, while Martin Keown explains how it inadvertently helped Arsenal clinch the Double the following season.

Blackburn Rovers legend Morten Gamst Pedersen has given a rare insight into the wild days under Paul Ince at Ewood Park, in which the players were pushed to the edge by the ex-midfield general.

Uzbekistan's most decorated Olympian Artur Taymazov has become the 60th athlete and eight gold medallist to be disqualified from London 2012 following analysis of doping samples.

Beatriz Haddad-Maia failed a urine test following a WTA Tour event in Croatia in June but was still able to play at Wimbledon, where she earned £72,000 in prize money.

The controversial Yang has been in the spotlight in Gwanju for the past week since  Australia's Mack Horton refused to share the podium with Sun after he finished second in the 400m freestyle final.

LIZ BYRNES IN GWANGJU: Peaty has hit out at swimming's governing body for refusing to respect freedom of speech after his Scott was warned for protesting against Yang.

Dillian Whyte underwent a hearing in front of a doping panel just hours before his clash with Oscar Rivas, Sportsmail can reveal. He went on to beat Rivas on points at The O2 in London on Saturday.

Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion of the world, does not buy any notion that boxers accidentally take the wrong substances.

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack reportedly failed a doping test ahead of the World Championships.

The Australian swimming team has been left reeling after it was revealed freestyle swimmer Shayna Jack was forced to pull out of the World Championships because she failed a doping test. 

OLIVER HOLT - MAIL ON SUNDAY CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: A year to go to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and, right on cue, the spectre of doping rides back into town.

Chinese swimming fans called Shayna Jack a drug cheat, many spamming enojis of medical pills, and drowned out messages of support from Australians as she tried to explain herself.

Eleven players in the Premier League failed drugs tests over the past three years but were allowed to play on. The FA accepted the reasons given by players for taking the substances.

Shayna Jack, the young Australian swimmer who tested positive to a banned substance, has been in tears every day, says her manager. 

Brisbane based freestyler Jack on Sunday night confirmed she was the latest athlete to be caught up in a doping scandal, having tested positive to Ligandrol during a routine drug test.

Australian swimmer Mack Horton said Shayna Jack's positive test hadn't changed his position on doping, saying he supported the decision to have her withdraw from the competition.

The Brisbane-based 20-year-old is the latest rising star to be embroiled in a doping scandal, having tested positive to Ligandrol during a routine drug test last month.

Mack Horton looked less than impressed when a reporter asked him about his teammate Shayna Jack, who has been caught up in a doping scandal on Sunday.

Sun Yang was pictured walking through Hangzhou International Airport in China on Sunday after winning gold in the 200m freestyle at the World Championships in South Korea.

The Australian wheelchair basketballer and tennis player said he owes Horton an apology, but said he could no longer cope with the online abuse he was receiving from Chinese trolls.

The sporting authority released a statement on Monday to address its general investigative processes - after it came under heavy fire for not revealing the results.

FINA executive Cornel Marculescu said two more athletes - who are not Australian - have been caught doping. He did not disclose whether or not they are world champion competitors.

Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho believes his legal battle with WADA over a drug test blunder will not be a distraction on the pitch this season. Sakho is suing the agency for £13million.

Jack will speak with ASADA in Brisbane to discuss the muscle growth drug Ligandrol that was found in her system - which she says was ingested unknowingly through supplements.

Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, 20, could escape severe punishment for a failed doping test by using a loophole that saw a Japanese swimmer's ban cut in half.

Former Australian swimmer Giaan Rooney believes Shayna Jack accidentally ingested Ligandrol ahead of the FINA World Championships in South Korea.

Australian star Mack Horton believes swimming's doping system has 'gone wrong' and it's now up to the athletes to stand up for a clean sport, as he did when refusing to share the podium with Sun

The 23-year-old refused to share the podium with victorious Sun after winning silver in the men's 400m freestyle final at FINA's World Championships in South Korea on July 21.

Riyad Mahrez missed out on Manchester City's Community Shield win on Sunday amid fears from club doctors he would fail a drugs test, according to Pep Guardiola.

Algeria distanced themselves from suggestions that medication taken by Riyad Mahrez on their watch led to fears the Manchester City star could fall foul of doping rules.

Christian Coleman will undergo a hearing on September 4 to determine if he is cleared to run at the World Championships after allegedly missing three doping tests.

A blind triathlete from Brisbane has been banned from fulfilling his life-long dreams amid a doping scandal, but he claims he's never had anything stronger than coffee.

Cycling's drug problem has been well documented for years, but for once the sport was happy to assist in catching those committing doping violations - albeit accidentally.

The AIU have stated their support for a change to the key rule in the saga, which saw one of Coleman's three 'whereabouts' breaches in a 12-month period backdated by two months.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: We round up hidden stories as agents attempt to sign up Rashford and Arsenal ban stewards from drinking coffee from their club sponsor to cut costs.

The American, who is the heavy favourite to win the 100m in Doha, had faced a potential suspension after three missed tests in a 12-month period, as revealed by Sportsmail .

American sprinter Christian Coleman has accused the United States Anti-Doping Agency of "going after a big fish" and demanded a "public apology" after a case against him was dropped.

MATT HUGHES: Russia are facing a worldwide ban from all major sports events after being given three weeks to explain signs of tampering with drug tests. 

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Athletics' chiefs want to tighten the sport's drug-testing regime after the world's fastest man Christian Coleman escaped doping sanctions earlier this month.