In his latest column, the Betway ambassador discusses Liverpool's contract situations, a potential Tottenham return for Mauricio Pochettino and Ireland's momentum after two important wins.
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Cup disappointment will be forgiven if Liverpool win title
It’s inevitable now that Liverpool will win the league. They’re too far ahead, they’ve definitely been the best team all season and deserve to win it.
Getting knocked out of the Champions league and losing the EFL Cup final was obviously disappointing for them, but they were playing against PSG, who are a really strong side, and you have to give a lot of credit to Newcastle. I thought, man for man, they were the better team all over the park. They didn’t give Liverpool a second and that’s probably the poorest Liverpool have played this season. From the start, you could see how much it meant to the Newcastle players and fans. It’s such a unique football club and the fans deserve a bit of success.
If Liverpool win the league, I think everything will be forgiven. It would be special to win it with the fans there as well, because the last time was during lockdown.
Contract situations have Liverpool fans in limbo
The situation with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold is obviously a concern for Liverpool. The fans are stuck in limbo at the moment. They are three players who are that vital to what Liverpool do, so I’m not really sure what’s going to happen. My worry would be that there’s only a couple of months left in the season, so that may suggest that things are happening in the background that could lead to them leaving.
I’d be surprised of all three left, and I’m sure Liverpool are doing everything that they can to keep them. As to the one they would miss the most, you could make an argument for all three, really, but I think Salah’s goals and the numbers he provides are incredible. He’d obviously be a huge loss, but Van Dijk is also so important at the back so it’s a tough one to call.
It looks like Trent will go. We’ve seen in the past with players like Michael Owen, David Beckham and Steve McManaman that when Real Madrid come calling it’s very difficult to turn them down. They’re one of the best teams in the world at the moment and if he’s close with Jude Bellingham then that will also have an influence. If he goes, I think he’s been unbelievable for the football club and it’s just a shame, if he does leave on a free, that you don’t get anything for him. He’s come through the ranks and I think he’s given everything for the club.
I’m sure the fans will be disappointed if he leaves, but I think many of them will probably understand. Conor Bradley is a different player than Trent, more defensive-minded, but he can still get forward a lot and he’s certainly a player that can fill that role.
I went to Inter Milan when I was only 20 years of age, so it was a little bit different for me. I was probably too young at the time, having played one year in the Premier League and two years in the Championship. I was still a young kid, and I probably should have gone a little bit later. I think Trent, at his age, would be completely fine. He’s played for a number of years and he’s at a perfect age to go. Players settle in fairly quickly nowadays. When I went to Italy only Clarence Seedorf and Christian Vieri spoke English, and that was challenging. Nowadays everybody speaks English, so even for myself at the two clubs I’ve managed abroad, it’s basically English speaking.
Isak is the perfect Nuñez replacement
I can see Darwin Nuñez leaving Liverpool in the summer. I think that’s inevitable. If they can get a lot of money back for him, they’ll get rid.
If you’re looking for a striker, I think Julian Alvarez is a top, top player, but he’s not a typical No. 9. He can drop into that No. 10 role but they already have Diogo Jota for that. Alvarez can certainly finish, but I would lean more towards Alexander Isak. He’s a No. 9, he gets in behind, he’s quick and he can score goals.
Viktor Gyokeres played for my former club Coventry in the Championship, he’s gone to Sporting and done well, but I think the Premier League’s a different animal. I know he’s scoring a lot of goals, but the Premier League is such a tough league. I think he could do OK, but he has to go to a club that would really suit him and the way he plays in order to be a success.
Pochettino’s return to Spurs is inevitable
I think it’s inevitable that Mauricio Pochettino will go back to Spurs at some stage. He was great for Tottenham. I know him personally and he and his assistant Jesus Perez are really good people, and it’s clear to see the love they have for the football club.
Obviously, Ange Postecoglou is the manager there at the moment, and I’m not too sure whether he will be there next season, but Pochettino has a contract with the US national team to be there for the World Cup so nothing will happen until after 2026. And if the manager does leave this summer, someone else comes in and does well, what are you going to do?
I like Ange, I think he’s been good, but this season’s been very disappointing for the club. If they win the Europa League it’ll all be forgiven.
Son Heung-min’s had a difficult season, although I think that goes for the whole team. He’s definitely missing Harry Kane, as the two of them bounced off each other very well and that was always going to be a huge change for Sonny. He hasn’t been playing as often as he would like, he’s lacking a little bit of confidence, but he’s still a top, top player.
I hope he won’t leave in the summer because he’s been an incredible player for Spurs, but there comes a stage with every player where the fans might want to see something different. It seems to me that maybe he and the manager don’t have the relationship that he had with other managers before, because he takes him off a lot and drops him.
Mathys Tel hasn’t made much of an impact so far and I am not too sure whether they’ll sign him permanently. I don’t think he has done enough, at the moment. He needs to do a little bit more, but there’s definitely a good player in there. He needs to play on a regular basis to get his numbers up and to score some goals, which he hasn’t done as often as you’d like.
Leeds fans deserve promotion
I really hope Leeds will get promoted. It’s a club close to my heart, with an incredible fan base. You see the atmosphere after games when they win and it’s just a special place, and I think the fans deserve it. They’ve been through a lot over the last 20 years and if there’s any club you want to see go up it’s certainly Leeds, with that fan base and what they can bring to the Premier League.
Ireland can take huge momentum into qualifiers
I’m delighted for Ireland to have won back-to-back games. It’s been a long time, and I think that will just give them a lot of confidence. The performances over the two legs against Bulgaria were decent enough, and the results will give everybody a lift – especially the fans as they haven’t seen that for a while. That momentum going into the World Cup qualifiers is huge, so I’m delighted with that and long may it continue.
Looking at the group, Portugal is always going to be a tough game, and I know Hungary very well, with the players that I have at Ferencvaros. They haven’t done particularly well in recent games but there are the makings of a good team there. Armenia are a side who always play good football, like to keep the ball on the ground and have technically very good players. But I think Hungary and Armenia are at a similar level to ourselves, so you look at the group and you’ve got to think we have a chance.
You wouldn’t say there are many superstars in the current Ireland squad, but sometimes you don’t need superstars to be a strong team. Ireland have Premier League players, and also those playing on a regular basis. Troy Parrott is doing very well and you can see the confidence in him. He’s got a sharpness that comes with playing regularly.
I was a striker myself, so I know that if you’re not playing it can be tough to get that sharpness and fitness. Evan Ferguson hasn’t been playing as often as he’d like. Maybe he thought he was going to go to West Ham and jump straight into the team, but that hasn’t been the case. It’s important for him to stay ready and if he does get his opportunity he’s got to take it. That goal against Bulgaria will certainly give him a lot of confidence.
Melia can earn a first-team chance at Spurs
Mason Melia is a young lad going to a huge football club. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure, and the advice I’d give him is just to keep his head down, work as hard as he can and try to get himself as close as he can to that first team. If he can show what he’s capable of doing, I’m sure the manager will give him an opportunity. Here at Ferencvaros I gave Alex Toth a chance at 19 years of age because he was good enough and he had a great attitude. If the manager can see that you’re working hard to try and improve every day, that’s the key.
I wouldn’t be going to Tottenham thinking too far ahead about getting into the first team, because he’s still a long way off that, but if he puts his head down and works hard it won’t go unnoticed.
Brilliant seeing Pirlo and Cafu at Spurs Legends game
It was great to go back to Spurs and see old faces again, and to play against some old friends as well. Pirlo and I played together at Inter, and Cafu I know very well, along with Dida and Dario Simic. I do a lot of charity games with them, they’re great guys and it was good to see them all again. It was also nice for the Spurs fans who came along to see a lot of goals, because it’s been a tough season.
Everyone enjoyed it. You forget how close we were at the time and how we were such a good team. When we get back together we just fall back into place again. It was special, of course, to raise a lot of money for charity, which is the most important thing. To do that and then to play a game of football in front of the Spurs fans in that stadium was very enjoyable.
