Liverpool Legend Didi Hamann: Trent Alexander-Arnold Deserves a Hero’s Welcome — and Man City May Have Won Their Last Trophy Under Pep Guardiola

Speaking exclusively to FootballBlog.co.uk, former Germany international midfielder Didi Hamann is eagerly anticipating tonight’s clash between Liverpool and Real Madrid and has tipped the Reds to beat the Spanish giants.

In a wide-ranging interview, Hamann also looks ahead to Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and sensationally suggests that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola won’t win another major trophy in England.

Liverpool

What kind of reaction do you think Trent Alexander-Arnold will get when he returns to Anfield this week?

I hope he gets a very good reception, a hero’s reception — that’s what he deserves. He made a decision in the summer, and I think it was his decision to leave. He still should have some great years ahead of him, but he gave some of his best years to the club. He was a great servant, a great player for the club. Coming through the youth teams, playing for his club from the city that he was born in, it obviously hurts to see him leave, but I don’t think he deserves anything else than a hero’s reception. I know people said he shouldn’t have gone on a free, but it’s business as much as it’s football. He’s done wonderful things for the club, he’s been a brilliant player. I always loved watching him. I hope he gets the reception he deserves.

Was it a mistake to buy Alexander Isak after signing Hugo Ekitike?

I think centre forward and goalkeeper are the two positions where you don’t really want too much competition. Obviously you need somebody who plays when your centre-forward is injured, and to keep him on his toes. But if you’ve got two centre forwards that cost £100 million or more, the question will be, can they play together? Because over the course of a season, I don’t think either will be happy to sit out half the games, or more than half the games. Clearly they have a plan for this, or they wouldn’t have bought them both, so I’m sure Slot thinks there is a way to fit them both into his team. There’s not many teams these days playing with two centre-forwards and then obviously what doesn’t help is that Isak didn’t train for a long time. He missed a lot of pre-season and maybe wasn’t as fit at the start of the season because of it. It’s very hard to pick up fitness during the season. I think this is what we see now. Once he’s back to full fitness, which is hopefully soon, I hope there’s a way they get both on the pitch and we see the form he showed in Newcastle.

Was Alexander Isak unprofessional in the summer by not getting himself properly fit and ready to fire on all cylinders for Liverpool?

It’s very hard to train on your own. You can’t replace training with a team if you’re by yourself. Obviously you can do your stuff on your own. You can do some shooting practice or whatever in pre-season, but nothing replaces training with a team two, three times a day in pre-season. That’s when you work hard, when you play 3v3, 4v4, where you get your sharpness and fitness up. There’s nothing you can do really on your own. You can do runs, you can do sprints, you can work out. But nothing replaces team training. I don’t think he let his fitness slip because I’m sure he trained alone while he didn’t train with Newcastle, but it’s simply not the same and I think it showed when he came.

Why do you think Florian Wirtz has struggled in his first few months and do you have any concerns that he may not be able to handle the demands of the Premier League?

We’ve had nine or 10 games now, so we have played a quarter of the season. We’ve got an international break ahead of us, and then we’ve got six, seven more games. We’ve got Christmas after that. Obviously the team is struggling at the moment. You’ve got to say that probably the two best performances in the Premier League were against Everton and then Saturday against Villa. These were the two games where he didn’t start. At some stage he’s got to come to the party and show why he’s been brought to the club, and why the club paid such an enormous fee for him. He’s an outstanding player. I watched him, and think he’s a player who, I don’t think there’s many others around at the moment with the ability he’s got, but it’s no good if he doesn’t show it. There’s a lot of things that happened this summer at Liverpool. I don’t want to use the fee as an excuse, and when you pay so much money then sometimes you have to make things happen. So far he’s not been able to do that. I hope that will change, but obviously it’s got to be some time soon, because people will be watching him. I think he’s still got the confidence, and people in the club and the manager believe in him, but at some stage he has to click and he has got to do that sooner rather than later.

Would you start Isak or Ekitike against Real?

I would probably play Ekitike. I’m not too worried about the game because in the Champions League they had pretty good performances, obviously apart from losing in Istanbul. But you know, the football is not as frantic and as quick in the Champions League as it is in the Premier League. I think Wirtz will also probably start the game on Tuesday tomorrow, and won’t play against City because in the Champions League the performance against Atletico Madrid, second half and also in Frankfurt, I think he’s done OK. His best games were in the Champions League. I think he’ll start with Ekitike.

What do Liverpool need to do to beat Real Madrid?

Apart from the game in Istanbul, I think Liverpool have done quite well in the Champions League. One of their best performances of the season was when they demolished Eintracht Frankfurt. They just have to show that same urgency and desire when they are out of possession as they did last season. I think they’ve been lacking a little bit there. I think Andy Robertson will come into the team and hopefully he gets a spell in the left-back position now. I think that intensity, urgency, Liverpool have lacked it a little bit in the season so far. As I said, in the Champions League it’s been a bit different. If they do that, I think they have a very good chance to beat Real Madrid and I think they will do it.

Who do you think will last longest in their current job — Arne Slot or Ruben Amorim?

Well, I’d be very surprised if either of them is not at the club at the end of the season. I think both Slot and Amorim are now more comfortable at their respective clubs after a difficult period for them both. Of course, Slot has plenty of credit in the bank, and rightly so, because of how quickly he adapted last year, and then also delivered a Premier League title at the first attempt. With Manchester United, Amorim has turned it around for now, and they just can’t keep changing their managers every 12 or 18 months. I think because of that, I can’t see either being removed before the end of the season. What happens after that, of course, is less clear.

If Slot is sacked, would Jurgen Klopp be the perfect replacement?

First of all, Slot won’t go or won’t have to go any time soon. I think the Aston Villa result has changed the mood at the club. As well as that, Klopp always emphasises how happy he is. I don’t think he’s got too much interest at the moment managing again. I don’t think the question will occur because Slot will stay there for quite some time and I hope he does. I think Klopp is pretty settled in with Red Bull, he’s making a few changes. There’s a few managerial changes at Red Bull clubs at the moment, so I think he’s heavily involved in that and I think it’s one of the last things on his mind at the moment, coming back to Liverpool and managing.

How has Klopp done at Red Bull so far?

Well, they’ve got a lot of clubs. RB Leipzig is doing really well in the Bundesliga, which hasn’t been the case in the last two years. They’ve got Salzburg as well — they’re in transition. They lost a lot of players. I think he’ll be reasonably happy because obviously Leipzig is the biggest club. They’ve got a stake in Leeds now, who are doing okay. I think he’d be reasonably happy at the moment and won’t be looking to move away any time soon, even for the Liverpool job.

Some fans on social media are already calling for Slot to be sacked — but how much of Liverpool’s poor form is actually his fault? Or is it more a case that he was handed an unbalanced squad by the recruitment team, with two attacking full-backs but no Trent replacement, no holding midfielder, two strikers competing for the same role, no backup for Salah, an inexperienced and now injured fourth-choice centre-back, and no competition for Gakpo on the left?

At a big club like Liverpool, I think the club has to buy the players. So I’m not sure how much input he’s had into the signings. But then again, obviously he would have spoken to the club, and they would have come up with a plan about what they needed. Obviously he was a big reason why Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike were bought. Now, you can argue about whether it was really necessary to then add Alexander Isak. I think centre-forward is a position like goalkeeper — you need to be clear on who is the first choice. You need competition, but you also need to know that if you’re performing well and scoring, then you’re going to start. And then again obviously they had that tragic incident with Diogo Jota in the summer, which you don’t know how much it affected certain people. It obviously affected everybody, some more than others. Some were very close to him. The thing is they brought in good players. The balance just needs working on. Last year in Jota, Nunez and Diaz — they had hardworking players. For all Nunez’s faults, when he did play, he always occupied two or three defenders. I think the dynamics in the team have changed. Not to forget Alexander-Arnold, who was obviously very important from the right-back position. He was probably one of the best, if not the best passer in the Premier League. I think an area that they will want to work on in training is the full-backs, as it’s taking Kerkez some time to adapt. Frimpong is not a right-back. Conor Bradley is doing a good job, but obviously he’s a different player to Alexander-Arnold. They’re a little open at times, and don’t have the same control over games like they did last season. How much is Slot’s fault? Well, he’s responsible for the team, but it’s still early doors. But obviously the run they had in the Premier League hasn’t been good enough for the team they have. They will be looking to improve.

Some have suggested that Arsenal could run away with the title. Both Liverpool and City have shown major weaknesses. Do you see the game at the Etihad as a must-win for either team to stay in the title race?

Liverpool are seven points behind Arsenal, and City are a point better off. So I don’t think that it’s a must win for either side, but I don’t think either side can afford to lose. Then you might end up 10 points behind, and you’ve got to go to play them again in the second half of the season. It’s an awful lot to make up, against a team that doesn’t concede any or many goals. I think for confidence, for self-belief, I wouldn’t say the team that loses is out of the title race, but almost.

Mo Salah recently made it to 250 goals for Liverpool, only the third player ever to do so. Where does he now stand in the list of all-time Anfield greats?

Some of the players in that all-time list were before my time or there only briefly. But you’ve got Dalglish, Rush, Owen, Steven Gerrard. All outstanding players, but you’d have to put Mo Salah in that top five, certainly. I am not exactly sure in what order I would put them, but certainly what he’s done for the club is remarkable. He helped bring a Premier League back, he was integral. He played a big role in that and the Champions League win, and he very rarely misses a game. I think he has missed less than 10 games in seven or eight years, which is unheard of. He’ll go down as one of the all-time greats in Liverpool, there’s no doubt about it.

How will Liverpool deal with Erling Haaland? He has scored 17 for City this season in just 13 games, and has only failed to score in two, which City both lost. Is keeping him quiet the ultimate key to success for Liverpool on Sunday?

He’s the biggest threat for City, and if you stop him from scoring, I think you’ve got a very good chance to come away with a result from the Etihad. I don’t think you can nullify him completely, because he’s just too good and he’s too powerful. Obviously you have to try to stop players giving him service, because once he’s got a chance to score, more often than not he does. I think the key to victory will be to stop him. I think Van Dijk’s done a pretty good job in recent years against him with Konate. I think that’s the key. But I think if Liverpool want to improve, and if they want to have a say in the Premier League or the Champions League, they just have to make sure they defend better as a team and start controlling games better. Against Arsenal and Manchester City, that will be the ultimate test, but if they step up, who knows what will happen this season?

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Man City

Are City too reliant on Haaland because they didn’t sign players in other positions who score enough goals? Doku, Savinho, Cherki are not the most prolific, while Reijnders hasn’t replicated his Milan form yet.

Obviously the main thing is that you need the right players to make the team function, so it’s not just a case of Erling Haaland playing well. When you’ve got a player who scores 30 or 35 goals every season, it’s a big plus. I remember when he left Dortmund, people said this would be the end of Dortmund — and they nearly won the league the next year, and they nearly won the Champions League two seasons after. I wouldn’t say City are too reliant (on Haaland). Every club, every team wants to have a centre-forward who guarantees goals. At some stage others have to chip in, but he’s very rarely injured. He doesn’t miss an awful lot of games. I don’t think he’s had a really bad, long-term injury since he joined City, and he’s been there a number of years now. I think the whole City side, they have to improve if they want to beat Arsenal to the Premier League, or go far in the Champions League. But I wouldn’t say the problem for City is to be over-reliant on Haaland.

Pep Guardiola was quite snooty about long throws and their popularity in the Premier League at the moment. Should he be so blasé? It seems crazy, but is he in danger of being the last idealist in the division and left behind by his rivals, who all seem to be embracing the tactic?

First of all, you need somebody who can throw the ball 40 yards. I’m not sure there’s a player in the City squad who can do that. I’m sure they’ve tried it and I think it’s a weapon clubs should use if they can. We see it with a lot of teams. Brentford uses it very effectively and obviously other teams. Sometimes a throw-in is harder to defend than a corner because when you throw the ball usually you’re more accurate than when you are hitting a free kick or a corner. But if Guardiola doesn’t believe in it then it’s his decision and he’s got to live with it. The fact is that already this season there have been plenty of goals scored with long throws.

Is this the first time in his career that Pep Guardiola is now playing catch-up?

We shouldn’t forget that at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City, he always managed teams who were probably top three in Europe. So obviously it’s in a way easier to play a certain way when you’ve got the players to do it. At Barcelona, for example, I watched the Champions League final against United at Wembley. Of the top 20 players in the world, he probably had seven or eight. And obviously that helps when you’ve got these players, and when you’ve got Messi on your side. A lot of the game is about passion, it’s about hunger, it’s about willpower. And after being in the job for so long and having won everything, I just wonder how much Guardiola has left in the tank. Because you’ve got to galvanise a whole club. You’ve got to galvanise a fan base and the team. You’ve got to let the team know that this is the year we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that. I just wonder after nine or ten years, a lot of these players would have had Guardiola for a long time as a manager. How long will his fire still be burning? They still play a decent role in the Premier League because the team is just too good. But will they win another big title with Guardiola? I think it could be tough.

Will City win the title again under Guardiola?

I think it will be tough. Because when there’s teams, obviously with Arteta, you see his team at Arsenal. It looks like they badly want this. I’m not saying Guardiola hasn’t got that fire in his belly anymore, but it’s a very taxing job. It’s a very stressful job being a manager in any league, especially in the Premier League. I think everything at some stage has run its course and I just don’t see them at the very top right now. I don’t see that. When I watched City years ago, they just blew teams away and they don’t do that anymore. Now you can say, well, the team is not as good as it used to be because they lost some big players. But they brought in good players as well. They still have a very good team.

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Newcastle

Nick Woltemade has been a revelation since he joined Newcastle. The transfer and the fee Newcastle paid were roundly criticised in Germany, with several German icons weighing in on the deal. Your old teammate Max Eberl’s comments were particularly catty — is this nothing but sour grapes from Bayern?

Yeah, it’s not the first time Bayern have done it. They’ve done it before and in Munich when players turn them down, they take it personally. And I think that’s probably the case here. Even though it wasn’t the player’s fault, because the player wanted to join Bayern Munich. Stuttgart wanted too much money and Bayern said no, we’re not going to pay this. I think the comments were needless. But I think Newcastle is big enough to handle these comments. They’ve got a very good player in their team who has done really well since he’s come to the Premier League. I think they should just leave it. They didn’t react which I think was the right thing to do. And yeah, they’ve got a very good player for the next few years now.

What do Newcastle need to do to beat Athletic Club this week?

I don’t think they’ve got to do too much differently. Obviously you’ve got to play better than they did at the weekend. I think they played very well against Barcelona. I think they showed that they merit their place in the top European competition. I think they belong in the Champions League. Obviously Athletic Club will be a very tough game against a very good team. I think they will get the points. They certainly get into the playoff places, Newcastle, and I don’t think they have to do too much differently because the form in the Champions League so far has been pretty good.

What have you made of Woltemade’s start to life at Newcastle? Are you surprised by how quickly he’s managed to adapt to the Premier League compared to Florian Wirtz?

You never know when you go to a different country how it’s going to go. It’s a different environment, a different league. It’s more physical. From my own experience I know that you need a few weeks to adapt, because you know free-kicks are not given as easily as they are in Germany. Some adapt quicker, some not so quickly. Am I surprised? Yes and no, because obviously I know he was a very talented player, but he’d only really had one season where he played regularly at Stuttgart, and he wasn’t even named in the Champions League squad. So he didn’t play any Champions League football last season. He’s a very talented player and very awkward to play against with his height. He flicks the ball on well. He’s not bad in the air. He’s got a brilliant first touch, and I think what also is in his favour and helped him settle is that Newcastle are a pretty physical side. If you look at the midfield with Joelinton, Guimaraes, and Tonali, they’ve got some very good players. Obviously with Gordon he’s got great service. So did I expect him to settle in as quickly and score these goals? Probably not. But I’m not surprised overall, because I knew he’s a very good player, and I think the way Newcastle play suits him.

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Aston Villa

It hasn’t really happened for Jadon Sancho at Aston Villa yet. He’s failed to settle at several English clubs — should he be looking to return to Dortmund when his loan expires and is he in danger of not realising his talent?

He’s such a good player. When he came to United, I said to everybody, what he’s done in the Bundesliga was second to none. I was really surprised he struggled at United. Obviously he didn’t get on with the manager, which didn’t help. I just thought he was too good not to make an impact at United. He came back, did well at Dortmund. I think he’s got to have the belief to do it somewhere outside of Dortmund, or outside of Germany, because I think he’s a player who can certainly play in the Premier League, who should be one of the better or best players in the Premier League. Then again he went back to Dortmund. Does he come back once more? I’m not sure. Dortmund probably has had a look at him. Usually when you do go back and do these things again, they’re not as good as they were the first or the second time. If Dortmund take him back, the wages might be a problem. At a reasonable price maybe it works, but I think even Dortmund might think, if you take him back a second time, for his third stint in Dortmund, we’re not sure whether it’s going to happen again as well as the first two times.

Villa fans haven’t really seen much from Harvey Elliott as yet. After being named the best player at the Euro U21s, you would have thought that this would have been the move that kickstarted his career. Did he pick the wrong club? Should he have joined Leipzig, who were very interested in him before he chose Villa?

Obviously the way it looks at the moment, the choice wasn’t the best. But then again, being a squad player at Liverpool doesn’t mean that you’re automatically a regular starter and a leader for another Premier League team. I think he’s found that out now. I think he’s been a decent player for Liverpool. When I heard Leipzig and Leverkusen might be interested, I saw the transfer fee (£35 million) as far too big, and now, if you read the reports in the back pages, Aston Villa are finding that future fee hard to justify now. So if he wants to kickstart his career, he probably has to move. But I’m not sure anybody is willing to pay the fee. I don’t think any German club will pay that. He’s gotta fight his way into the team at Villa or maybe try his luck somewhere else in the Premier League. I don’t think anybody will pay that fee in Germany.

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The Championship

Coventry are currently top of the table. They’re obviously managed by Frank Lampard, who is steadily rebuilding his managerial reputation after a couple of dodgy spells at Chelsea and Everton. Why do you think it has clicked for Frank at Coventry and do you expect to see him managing in the Premier League next season, with or without Coventry?

Chelsea’s not been a happy place for managers after Mourinho left. They’ve changed their managers a lot in the last 10, 15 years. Obviously sometimes when he’s so attached to a club, as he was at Chelsea, it makes things a little bit harder. Everton were a similar case with the owners — there was always a lot of uncertainty. I don’t want to make excuses, but I think there’s a reason why it didn’t work out. This year, we’re early in the season. Obviously he’s doing a wonderful job. He’s top, and they have a very good goal difference, which means he’s got an awful lot of goals with this side. Obviously he had a bit of a setback the other day against Wrexham. I think he was a very smart player, always a good reader of the game and obviously that helps him as a manager. I think he’s got a good way of communicating with the players. He comes across well and, as I said, it’s early doors, a lot can happen in the course of a season. It’s good to see him doing well.

We spoke to your old Liverpool teammate Emile Heskey recently about Leicester’s chances of getting promoted. He dismissed their chances and said that Marti Cifuentes hasn’t been given a squad that can compete with the best teams in the division. You had a brief spell coaching at Leicester — obviously a big club — what do you think they’ll be looking to achieve this season. After being relegated, is it a season of consolidation and slowly building with the aim at having a crack at promotion next season, or should they be aiming for the play-offs?

Obviously they lost a few players this summer. El Khannouss is doing really well at Stuttgart now. They’ve got these financial restrictions, and lost the manager in the summer as well. If you look at the teams in the Championship, I don’t think there’s many or any teams who’ve never been in the Premier League before, so there is experienced competition. With these financial restrictions they’ve got, it doesn’t make things any easier. It’s a tough league. As we know, it’s 24 teams. You’ve got 46 league games. You need a pretty big squad because the Championship is different and relentless. It’s even more physical than in the Premier League. Have they got a chance for promotion? Yeah, of course they have. But, when you look at the Championship now, you’ve probably got eight, nine, 10 teams who think they are in with a chance of promotion.

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German / Bundesliga angles

Fabian Hürzeler is in his second season with Brighton. He achieved an eighth-placed finish last season, narrowly missing out on the European places. What do you think will be his minimum objective this season and how highly do you rate him?

I think they want to finish in the top half. They’ve always sold players and always managed to bring good players in, and sell players for huge fees. He’s done really well in Germany. I think he’s done well last year for a very young manager. And I think the target will be to finish in the top half, and I think they’ll achieve it as well. Brighton are a steady club. They do well in the transfer market — they have their model, the best players are sold — and they come again. A top ten finish would be an achievement. Anything higher would be an excellent achievement.

Where do you think Bayern Munich would finish in the Premier League?

Well, the way they’re going at the moment, I’d say they’re probably second or third, because at the moment they’re playing really well. They blow teams away. They pretty much outplayed Chelsea in the Champions League, which gave you an indication of where they are. Would they be ahead of Arsenal at the moment? Probably not. But the way they’re going at the moment, I think they would certainly be the closest pursuer to Arsenal in the Premier League.

Daniel Farke has had a decent return to life in the Premier League with Leeds. When you look at Farke and his Leeds United team, are you looking at a manager that has learned from his previous mistakes when managing in the Premier League?

I think with the signing of Calvert-Lewin, he obviously knows that physicality is a big thing in the Premier League. It obviously was in the Championship as well. He’s always been very pragmatic. But I think even now, I think he’s even a touch more pragmatic. He sees that you need to cover certain bases to get results. I really like what they do. I like that team. There’s Anton Stoch who came from Hoffenheim, who’s doing well. Obviously he didn’t play on the weekend. I think he’s a very smart manager. One of his biggest strengths is probably the way he adapts to situations. This is why I will give Leeds a very good chance to stay up this season. If they do that, Farke deserves enormous credit.

How big an achievement would it be if Farke keeps Leeds up?

Not many promoted teams stayed up in recent years. This year all three are doing well, you’ve got to say, because I thought they’re the most likely to go down before the season started. But Burnley is doing well and Sunderland is doing exceptionally well. It will be a big achievement for any of them, including Leeds, to stay up. I think they’ve got a good team. I think he’s got a great chance to keep them up. I think he will keep them up and I think it will be a great achievement to do so.

Oliver Glasner has achieved fantastic success with Crystal Palace since he joined the club. The Austrian’s contract expires in the summer — can Palace hold onto him or do you expect him to be on the radar of some of the biggest clubs in the division? Can Palace match his ambition?

Of course. He won the FA Cup, and he won the Community Shield. He beat Liverpool three times in a row and yeah, he’s doing wonderful things. In the last two summers, they lost Olise to Bayern and Eze to Arsenal. That’s two of their best players and he’s still winning games. I also think the way he handled the Guehi situation in the summer was exceptional. I thought this season it’ll be a long season for Palace. I thought they might be struggling, they’re going well again and if a manager does well over 18 months, I’m sure clubs will take a look. Because he’s done a brilliant job since he came to the Premier League, I’m sure the likes of Chelsea and United will have him on their radar at the moment. Having said that, things seem to have settled down a bit in Manchester, and also at Chelsea. But he’s certainly a manager who, when a big job does become available, he’s one of the first ones on the list.

Harry Kane continues to be linked with a return to the Premier League. His goal record has been phenomenal since he joined Bayern. He’ll be available for £57 million in the summer. He turns 33 in July — would you be tempted to cash in on Kane if you were Bayern?

I don’t think Bayern has got any desire to lose him, because he’s been scoring goals. I think he got his hundredth goal a few weeks ago. They are even talking about extending his contract. I think they want to have talks in February or March knowing that after the World Cup he can go on. He’s 33, still scoring goals. The question is, does he still or would he still score goals in the Premier League? And a lot might depend on what’s happening at the World Cup, because in the Euros he didn’t play too well. He found it hard to make an impact. Some of the games England won, they won after he came off. Is somebody willing to pay that fee? I’m not sure. Does he even want to go back? I don’t think he’s got any interest at the moment. I think he’s very settled, he’s very happy. I’d say it’s unlikely he’s gonna go back to England after the World Cup.

Is there a striker in the PL that Bayern could be eyeing up as a long-term replacement for Kane?

The question will be whether it’s affordable. If you look at the transfer fees they pay — obviously they paid £100 million for Kane, but that was a one-off, for the England captain — if you look at the Premier League, they might want Ekitike but he’s out of their reach now, financially. He’s at Liverpool. I don’t think Bayern could get him anymore. They probably think they can rely on Kane for a year or two. If there is someone they might be keeping an eye on, then I saw Thiago the other day for Brentford. I think he’s an excellent player. Whether he’s a Bayern player, that’s up for debate still. But there’s some very good players even at the teams a bit further down. I’m sure they’ve got an eye on quite a few of them.

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Premier League headlines

Sean Dyche was recently appointed as Nottingham Forest manager. It’s the first time in his managerial career that he will have to manage the twin loads of European football and domestic football, while at the same time trying to steer Forest away from the relegation zone. What is the best way to handle the Thursday-Sunday grind? Does he prioritise the Premier League over Europe or does he play his best team in both and try to build confidence?

I don’t think he needs any advice. He’s done wonderful things at Burnley. People always tend to look down on him because he was fighting for every single point at teams lower down in the Premier League, and trying to avoid relegation. People think he can’t handle a better or bigger team. I think Allardyce was the first manager who showed that regardless of how you play, when you’ve got the players on your side, you can achieve anything. What he did with Bolton at the time was second to none. And I don’t see any reason why Dyche won’t be able to do a similar thing. He is managing better players. He was unfortunate not to win the game against United. When you play in Europe, the game is probably not as physical, but obviously Nottingham Forest will be one of the better teams in the competition. What Dyche has shown in his decades in management is that he finds a way of winning games. I think he’ll do the same at Forest.

If Mikel Arteta doesn’t get his hands on major silverware this year, do you think he’ll ever be considered an elite-level manager?

He’s been there for four or five years now. I think at some stage, because he did spend an awful lot of money, he will come under pressure. Other sides have spent big, but they had some near misses and I felt in the last two or three years, that the door was open for them to win the Premier League. They didn’t. They are favourites now, and they look in a very strong position. I think what sets them apart is their defence. That wins you titles. In the Champions League, I’ve got to say, even though they did okay, I was a bit disappointed. Last season I think they were a bit unfortunate to lose to PSG. But I think the year before, sometimes I feel they lacked belief to do well in the Champions League. If they stop that, if they change that, I think they could be a force or will be a force in the Champions League as well. Will it be a blow to his reputation if they miss out again? Well, I’m not sure it’s a blow to finish second, but obviously if you finish second too often, it’s no good either. So I think, I’d say in the next couple of seasons, he’s probably gonna win one of the two competitions.

How do you think Benjamin Sesko is adapting to life in the Premier League?

I think he found it hard at first. It’s a different game in England compared to Germany. But he’s a very talented player. He was always very confident and he’s got a lot of belief in his ability. But then when you come to a club where things are not great, it’s difficult for a striker. Confidence is a big thing, and poor morale at a club doesn’t help. I think he’s done okay so far, but we certainly haven’t seen the best yet because he’s an exceptional talent. People in Salzburg said at 16, 17, when he came to the club, he was better than Haaland. Obviously that’s not the case at the moment, but I think potentially he could be a player who scores 20, 25 goals every season.

Which new signing has impressed you so far — who has adapted to the Premier League the best?

Hugo Ekitike has done well, but I would probably go for Nick Woltemade. Obviously there was a lot of talk about the transfer fee. I thought it was a bit too high. But then again, a player is worth as much as somebody’s willing to pay for him. Bayern Munich have clearly decided it was too much to pay, and they let everyone know about it too. It’s a lot of responsibility because Newcastle have shown a lot of belief in him to pay up £80 million. But there’s no getting away from the fact that the price tag brings its own pressure because people expect good performances now, and especially as a centre forward, you’re there to score goals. I think the way he plays, it’s just a breath of fresh air because he’s still very young and just fits into the city and the Newcastle side perfectly. We all know how hard it is to score goals in the Premier League, and so far he’s doing it.

Between Gyokeres, Sesko and Woltemade — three big-money summer signings — who has adapted to life in the Premier League the best and which one will score the most goals at the end of the season?

I think the club that will be creating the most chances will be Arsenal, and so that probably puts Gyokeres ahead of the other two, Woltemade and Sesko. Of the three players, I think that Sesko and Woltemade have impressed me more than Gyokeres. If Woltemade is the regular penalty taker for Newcastle from now until the end of the season, then I think I will put Woltemade down as the player to score the most out of those three this season.

Which new signing have you been unimpressed by?

There’s probably a few new signings that haven’t cut the mustard so far. Obviously a player we expected more from is Wirtz at Liverpool. But then again we are early in the season. You sign a five-year contract, we are only 10 games into the season. A lot can happen over the rest of the campaign, but I think Wirtz will admit that what’s happened so far is certainly not what his standards are. When you come to a club and a team like Liverpool — and there has been huge upheaval there, admittedly — this all changes and affects things. Certainly Wirtz will be disappointed with the way the first three or four months have gone. But I believe and I’m sure he’s a better player than what he’s showing and hopefully we will see that soon on the pitch.

Who should take over at Wolves?

I think the first time around Gary O’Neil had done ever so well at Wolves. As a result, I think Gary O’Neil will probably be one of the first ones on the list. You’ve got to make a decision but the club needs to be aware that when you go for a second time around with the same player or manager, it’s rarely as good as it was the first time. That would be the only thing that would make me a bit hesitant, otherwise I’d have to say that Gary would be the obvious candidate, and a very good choice.

What do you make of the situation at Wolves with Pereira’s recent new contract?

I don’t know how communication works in clubs these days. You’ve got foreign owners and before these owners came in, you had somebody who ran the club who was pretty close to the team, and always knew what was going on. It’s not the first time that this has happened. Obviously it costs the clubs quite a lot of money when they extend contracts and then sack the manager. My only explanation would be that it might be a lack of communication in certain areas, but it was certainly very strange.

Are Spurs fans wrong to be frustrated with Thomas Frank?

Yeah, I think it’s very strange to see Frank come under pressure so early at Tottenham. He did brilliantly at Brentford and has earned this opportunity. Spurs are still in a good position in the Premier League. I think they’ve done okay in the Champions League so far. I saw the pictures after the Chelsea game. I’m not sure whether people read too much into it. I think sometimes the fans are a bit too quick to jump on the bandwagon because, if you look at Spurs in the last 10 or 15 years, they can’t have expectations to be in the top two or three, or to win the league. There are better teams in the Premier League. I think they’ve got a very good squad. Spurs are a team that probably should finish in the top four. But they’ve been fortunate to be in the Champions League because obviously they had been terrible in the Premier League last season. They only got into the Champions League through winning the Europa League. What holds them back at times is their expectations, because I don’t think these expectations are justified. It was a disappointing game at the weekend, but I think Frank is doing a very good job at the moment.

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World Cup Qualification

Northern Ireland have given themselves a great opportunity to get to the World Cup next year. They’re in Germany’s group, their next game is against Slovakia away. If they come away with something, they’ll be on the brink and will need to beat Luxembourg in their final game and hope for a helping hand from Germany against Slovakia. What chance do you give Northern Ireland of doing it and how impressed have you been by their performances in qualifying?

I’ve been impressed by Northern Ireland. I watched them here in Germany. In the end, I think they lost the game 3-1, but there wasn’t too much in the game again. They ran Germany close in Belfast, where they lost 0-1. I think before the Germany game they hadn’t lost the game for two, three years at home in qualifying. So Michael O’Neill’s doing a wonderful job. He hasn’t got many resources in Northern Ireland, but he really gets the best out of the team. It’s a big game against Slovakia — they beat Germany at home. So, you know, Germany might slip up. They still have to play Slovakia at home, I think Northern Ireland will finish second. And then obviously you probably need a bit of luck with the draw because you’ve got to win two games to qualify for the World Cup. Regardless, I think what Michael does in Northern Ireland is exceptional.

The Republic of Ireland has the slimmest chance of making it. They’ll have to overcome an impressive Portugal — do they have a chance of beating them?

They played ever so well in Portugal. They lost to an injury-time goal and they showed what they’re capable of. A lot of the time, it’s easier to play against a superior team because to put it simply, in effect, all you have to do is stop them from playing and they did. So when Portugal comes to the Aviva, I think there’s a chance they’re already qualified. It might give them a better chance. I think they’ve got a chance. It will be a full house. The atmosphere is still very good, even though a lot of the performances have been disappointing. I still believe, and it should have given players belief the way they played in Portugal, running them very close, taking a point and in football you never know. So I haven’t given up hope. There’s a chance, even though it might be a slim one.

You spend a lot of time in Ireland working as a pundit. There’s a lot of frustration about the drift of the national team — if they don’t qualify for the World Cup, do they need to rip it up and start again and does that mean bringing in a new manager?

When you come to a nation like Ireland, because you see what Northern Ireland does with Michael O’Neill, and you see other smaller countries who do well and go to big competitions, the target has to be to go to Euros or the World Cup. They haven’t been for a while now. The manager, Heimir Hallgrímsson, was brought in to do that. There’s still a small chance they finish second, even though they probably need a result against Portugal at home and might have to win in Hungary. If he doesn’t do it, then I think there’s every chance that the FAI looks somewhere else. When I played, Ireland had a brilliant side. All the players played in the Premier League, played for good teams. That’s not the case anymore. But that’s not to say they shouldn’t do better than what they have done in the last two, three years. If he doesn’t finish in second place, I think there’s a small chance to qualify through the Nations League, even though it’s very slim. If they don’t get into the playoffs, I think it’s likely that we will see a new manager in Ireland.

Wales can also qualify, but they’ll need to win both of their remaining matches. Craig Bellamy worked under Vincent Kompany before going it alone as a manager. How much of an achievement would it be for him to take Wales to the World Cup and did you ever expect him to go into coaching? You must have had a few run-ins with him as a player.

He’s doing really well. And obviously I had a few months with Craig in Manchester City. I do like him as a manager. When you play with someone on the same team, obviously you spend a lot of time in the dressing room. You know how they tick and you know how much they think about the game. Funnily enough, a lot of the players you thought would end up as managers, they didn’t. And some of the ones where I thought ‘he certainly won’t stay in football after he retires, and he won’t be a manager,’ they ended up being managers. It’s very hard to tell who’s going to go down that path in your playing days. He’s a lot calmer now, because he was a hot head and he got himself in bother quite a few times as a player. But obviously he’s a bit older. We all get a bit calmer as we mature. But what he’s doing with Wales, Wales always meant a lot to him even in his playing days. It’s good to see, but he certainly had to adjust a little bit because as a manager you’ve got a lead by example and I think calming down a bit helped him.

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Champions League

Arsenal are among the favourites to win the tournament. From what you’ve seen of the Gunners, do you expect them to go one further than last season and reach the final or possibly even lift the title?

Yeah, they seem to be a bit more stable. They were good last year and again, the two games against Paris Saint-Germain, I think there was a chance. Obviously, Villa took Paris very close, but Arsenal did as well and they played really well in Paris. If they keep everybody fit, obviously you’ve got the players, especially two centre backs and probably Declan Rice. If their best two players are still fit in March, April, when you play against the big boys, they have a good chance. I think at the moment Arsenal’s got as good a chance as anyone in the Champions League to win the competition.

In your opinion, who is the best central midfielder in Europe right now?

Declan Rice at Arsenal is probably the best midfielder in the league right now. He’s just got a physicality to his game. He nicks a goal now. He’s just an all-round player, and I think what he does is make others better. I think your job in the middle is also to make other players better. He performs, makes others better. And you know, I think this is why he stands out at the moment. Declan Rice, I’ve given him some criticism in the past, but at this moment, he deserves our praise because he is looking like the complete midfielder.

Both Bellingham brothers are back in England this week with their clubs in the Champions League. Their father has made headlines for allegedly interfering, particularly in Jobe’s case. Does he need to step back and let Dortmund get on with it? Is there a danger he could derail Jobe’s Dortmund career?

Obviously there was the encounter where he tried to get into the Dortmund dressing room, but he got stopped. I’m not sure whether his behaviour affects his son that much. This is something the player himself has to decide, how much influence he wants his dad to have. But his performances in the last two, three games have been better than before. I think we saw in the game on Friday, he came on, made a really good clearance in his own box. Hopefully he’s settled in now and we see the best of him, and we see why Dortmund paid such a big fee for him. The danger or the problem with him is that he will always get compared in Dortmund to his brother who’s done exceptionally well. That’s the only thing I would say which makes it probably a little bit harder for him. But his performances haven’t been good enough so far. The last two or three times when he did play, he played better. And I think when that happens, the team is winning, the team is doing really well. I think when he’s in the team, when he performs, obviously there won’t be an issue with his dad either.

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Rangers

Were you surprised that Steven Gerrard turned down the opportunity to return to Rangers and get back into management?

I think he’s pretty settled in Bahrain where he lives. He said he’s been in talks and he had good talks, and he just decided that it wasn’t the right time. It’s a decision he has to make. Only he can decide, obviously, with his family. He said he wants to come back. I hope we see him back, in a perfect scenario, back in the Premier League. But it’s pretty uncertain at Rangers right now, and with the loss to Celtic on Sunday, maybe it wasn’t the worst decision to give it a miss and maybe wait for a bit longer to see what’s coming up.

Danny Rohl was appointed Rangers manager recently. The German has great pedigree as an assistant and did well at Sheffield Wednesday — how do you think he will get on at Rangers and would you expect him to lean on his relationship with Barca boss Hansi Flick and borrow a few players?

He was adored in Sheffield by the Wednesday fans. He left the club because there was, again, a lot of uncertainty. I think what the difference is now is that there are traditionally two big clubs in Scotland, even though there’s a third one doing really well in the league now in the form of Hearts. Sometimes people forget how big these two clubs are, Celtic and Rangers. Wednesday, though, are a big club too. Wednesday have got a lot of history, a huge fan base, and while I can’t compare the two sides, Rohl will have lessons he has learned in the Championship that he can apply at Ibrox. He will have to learn really quickly because the rivalry is huge with Celtic, and second is no good in Glasgow. I wish him all the best. It wouldn’t be the worst experience for Barca players to go on loan at Rangers, or the worst for the learning curve for these youngsters, because it’s a tough league. It’s a very physical game. I don’t think it’s out of the question. He’s been his assistant and perhaps Barcelona will see the advantage in sending one or two players. Of course, football in Spain is very different from football in Scotland, but there will be some players there who could benefit from blooding in a physically tough environment.

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Celtic

Martin O’Neill made a shock return to Celtic last week after Brendan Rodgers resigned from the post. O’Neill has said that he’ll keep the seat warm until a permanent manager is appointed. But if O’Neill is successful, can you see him starting next season as Hoops boss?

When I saw the result yesterday, that’s the first thing that came to my mind. I don’t think it’s out of the question that Martin stays on. He always emphasises that it’s interim, and interim means that Celtic will look for somebody else younger and maybe a bit more modern. But in football, I think people sometimes underestimate the relationship between manager and player, which I think is key. The tactical side of things, well, I don’t think a tactic has ever won a game. It can lose you a game, and it might make the difference in one game out of 50 or 100. But if the players follow you, if you’re pulling in one direction, that is the most important thing. The players at Celtic are good players. And if you find a way to get the best out of players, if they will go through a brick wall for you, then I would prefer that manager over any other manager. And I think this is what he’s capable of doing. And I’m not sure whether he wants it, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s open to it if Celtic want him to stay on longer.