Here, Sports Mole rounds up the latest news snippets from across the footballing world, including Rio Ferdinand's high praise for Raheem Sterling, details of Harry Maguire's transfer fee and David Moyes's thoughts on Paul Pogba. Scroll down for more!
Ferdinand's praise for Sterling
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Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Raheem Sterling after the winger's stellar performance for Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday. The 24-year-old delivered a devastating hat-trick in the space of 11 minutes against Atalanta, while also setting up Sergio Aguero for the other two in a comfortable 5-1 victory.
"He's in the top five players in the world now, definitely," Ferdinand told BT Sport afterwards. "I don't care who you want to mention, the five top players – he's got to be in that conversation. Because the amount of goals he's getting, the effect he's having on games. It's impossible to keep him out."
Dutch, Belgian leagues planning to merge
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The Netherlands' Eredivisie and the Belgian Pro League are in talks about merging to create a new 'super' league in time for the 2021-22 season, according to Le Monde. The move is designed to help the two countries take on the might of the so-called 'Big Five' European leagues in the battle for TV revenue and would see the likes of Ajax and Feyenoord competing with Club Brugge, Genk and Anderlecht.
Bart Verhaeghe, president of Brugge, said: "We are setting up a competition together with the Netherlands to reduce the gap to the five top European countries. Belgian football is waking up and has entered modernity. We could tap into a market of 28 million people.
"A new meeting is scheduled this week. The championship would consist of 18 clubs, eight of which come from Belgium. It could all go very quickly. If it is not for next season, then without a doubt in the next two seasons."
United paid huge up-front sum for Maguire
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Manchester United paid £80m of the £85m transfer fee agreed for Harry Maguire up front over the summer, according to The Telegraph. The 26-year-old became the world's most expensive defender when he made the transfer to Old Trafford from Leicester City in August - and United were said to be so keen to get the deal done that they paid almost all of his fee in one lump sum.
Merson advises Kane to consider future
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Paul Merson has advised Tottenham Hotspur frontman Harry Kane to give serious thought to his future with the club at the end of the current season. The London side are in the midst of their rockiest patch since Mauricio Pochettino took over as manager five years ago, although spirits were lifted slightly on Tuesday with a 5-0 win over Red Star Belgrade.
"I don't know what it is but this team, with the quality it has, can't be turning in performances like they have done," Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
"If you are someone like Harry Kane, you've got to be sitting down at the end of the season and thinking: 'What am I going to do? Am I going to stay here and win absolutely nothing? Or do I go on and try and win something in my career?' I'm not having a dig at Tottenham, but you play to win in your career. Winning is the reason you play the game."
Moyes gives United advice on Pogba
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Former Manchester United manager David Moyes has warned the club that they must do everything they can to keep hold of Paul Pogba. The Frenchman was keen to leave Old Trafford over the summer, with Real Madrid and Juventus said to be interested in his signature, but neither side managed to meet United's valuation of the player.
Speaking to talkSPORT, Moyes said: "Pogba is still Manchester United's best midfielder player. He could probably play for any team in the world, certainly in Europe. He'd get a game for any team. I'm not always sure he's a player who's consistent and makes the difference all the time. For the profile he's got, you're hoping he makes the difference. He doesn't always make the difference, but do I think he should stay at Manchester United? Yes, I do.
"I don't think he wins games like Messi does for Barcelona or Ronaldo does for Juventus, but I still think he's a really talented player. He's got a lot to give. Watching him at his best when he was at Juventus, he played a little it further forward, he got nearer the box more often. If you were picking the Manchester United team, Pogba would be in their midfield at the moment, that's for sure."
Rodgers defends Choudhury
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Brendan Rodgers has launched a defence of Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury following criticism of his challenge on Liverpool's Mohamed Salah earlier this month. The Egyptian went on to sit out the Reds' 1-1 draw with Manchester United last weekend, while boss Jurgen Klopp described Choudhury's behaviour as "dangerous".
"The reaction to Hamza was right over the top for me. The boy went in to make a tackle," Rodgers said. "Mo Salah is a world-class player but you can tackle him. It wasn't even a bad tackle. You have to ensure they stay aggressive because that is their game, without overstepping the line."
Van Nistelrooy: 'No-one comes close to Messi
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Ruud van Nistelrooy has thrown his hat into the Lionel Messi vs. Cristiano Ronaldo debate by saying that no other player "comes close" to the Barcelona striker.
Speaking to Sport, the Manchester United legend said: "There is no-one who is at his level, he seems to play like a PlayStation player. Nobody comes close to Messi. Tell me who... Cristiano [Ronaldo] is a goal scorer, [Andres] Iniesta is a brain, [Mohamed] Salah, [Sadio] Mane, [Eden] Hazard and [Kylian] Mbappe are excellent players, but Messi is all that together."
City plan new stadium next to Etihad
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Manchester City are working on plans to erect a 21,000-seater arena directly next to their Etihad Stadium, the club has confirmed. City are assisting American developers Oak View Group (OVG) with the £300m project for an arena which would host music gigs, UFC and other sports.
Neil Wilkes
