Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes Michael Keane can become a huge star at Old Trafford should he follow in the footsteps of Paul Pogba and return to the club.

Keane left boyhood United for Burnley in 2015 and the 24-year-old has since flourished at Turf Moor.

He has developed into one of the Premier League s best central defenders, earning a call-up for World Cup qualifiers last year.

Keane has impressed Ferdinand, who said United should look to bring him back to Manchester.

He likes to ask questions, he likes constructive criticism and that s a great attribute to have, to be there, to look at your game in detail and try and improve, Ferdinand told BBC 5 Live.

He s always wanting to improve, whether it s nutrition, whether…

Former Tottenham captain Ledley King believes it is important Dele Alli keeps his edge , even if other teams target the England international.

Alli has enjoyed a meteoric rise since making his Spurs debut in August 2015, scoring 23 goals in all competitions and becoming an regular under Mauricio Pochettino.

However, he has also encountered a number of disciplinary problems with 15 bookings across his 80 appearances, while he also served a three-match ban for punching West Brom s Claudio Yacob last season.

While this record has made the 20-year-old midfielder an easy target for opposition players, King is pleased with the way Alli has dealt with the added pressure.

People will have looked at his record and will have targeted him in terms of trying to get …

Tottenham acting head coach Ryan Mason is refusing to look beyond Saturday’s visit of Brentford despite uncertainty over his own future.

Spurs remain without a permanent manager and doubts remain over where Mason will be around next season after spending the last 18 months as first-team coach at the club.

Mason, 31, has made clear of his desire to take the top job at Tottenham and signalled his intention that he is ready to be a manager, but that looks unlikely to be with the Premier League outfit after they produced another stuttering display in defeat at Aston Villa last weekend.

It means the former Spurs midfielder could move on in the summer with Feyenoord boss Arne Slot the new bookmakers’ favourite to replace Antonio Conte, but the current acting head c…

Armin Veh has confirmed that he will stand down as Frankfurt head coach at the end of the Bundesliga season.

The 53-year-old moved to the Commerzbank Arena in 2011 and led the team back to the top flight in his first season in charge.

Frankfurt followed that achievement by placing sixth in last season s Bundesliga table, a return that earned a subsequent spot in the UEFA Europa League.

However, Frankfurt have struggled to replicate that form this term and currently sit 12th, just six points above the relegation zone, while the club were knocked out of Europe last week by Porto.

Veh revealed on Monday that he intended to make the announcement sooner, but respected the club s decision to hold fire.

I wanted to make the decision public in the winter but accept…

Atletico eyeing Rui Patricio

Atletico Madrid are keeping close tabs on Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Rui Patricio, .

Los Colchoneros are on the lookout for a new number one as first choice keeper Thibaut Courtois looks set to return to Chelsea when his loan spell ends.

And Record has suggested that Sporting Lisbon star Rui Patricio is one of the first names on their hit-list.

Los Colchoneros have been closely monitoring the 26-year-old for a couple of years now, and they finally look ready to step up their interest.

Rui Patricio is unlikely to come on the cheap though considering that he is tied to the Lions until June 2018.

The highly rated goalkeeper has spent his entire career up to date at Estadio Jose Alvalade, and he has been Portugal …

Manuel Neuer has undergone a minor foot operation and will miss Bayern Munich s next two Bundesliga fixtures.

The Germany goalkeeper pulled out of the world champions squad for the recent internationals against England and Azerbaijan with a calf problem cited as the reason.

Bayern claim he has subsequently sustained a foot injury in training ahead of Saturday s game with Augsburg at the Allianz Arena.

A Bayern statement read: Manuel Neuer underwent a successful minor operation by Prof Dr Markus Walther on Wednesday evening after sustaining an injury to his left foot in training.

The 31-year-old Germany keeper will be sidelined for FC Bayern s Bundesliga matches against Augsburg on Saturday and Hoffenheim next Tuesday.

. has picked up a foot inj…

Western Sydney Wanderers head coach Tony Popovic is not paying attention to links with Chinese Super League giants Shanghai Shenhua as pressure mounts on Gus Poyet.

Despite only replacing Gregorio Manzano in November, Poyet s role is reportedly under threat after Shenhua failed to qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League, Carlos Tevez and Co. stunned by Brisbane Roar in a play-off last week.

Former Australia international Popovic, who led the Wanderers to Champions League glory in 2014, has been linked with Shenhua in the past but the 43-year-old is only focused on guiding Western Sydney to the A-League finals.

It s certainly something furthest from my mine at the moment, Popovic said after Sunday s 2-0 loss to Central Coast Mariners.

Th…

Raphael Varane is convinced Manchester United have a squad that is set up for success despite some alarming recent results. 

The last fortnight has seen United lose their Champions League opener to Young Boys and crash out of the EFL Cup against West Ham prior to Saturday s shock Premier League defeat at home to Aston Villa. 

Expectations are high for United in 2021-22 after World Cup winner Varane joined from Real Madrid, while long-term target Jadon Sancho came in from Borussia Dortmund and Cristiano Ronaldo made his sensational return from Juventus. 

The pressure is back on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer going into Wednesday s match with Villarreal, but Varane is not overly worried as he sees the ingredients required for success within the club.