Here, Sports Mole rounds up the latest news snippets from across the footballing world, including Arsene Wenger's comments on Paul Pogba, Matthijs de Ligt's weight denial and Sir Alex Ferguson's rumoured transfer advice for United. Scroll down for more!
Wenger: 'Pogba not fit enough'
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Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suggested that Paul Pogba is not fit enough and his performances have also suffered after his plans to leave Manchester United over the summer were unsuccessful.
"First of all, I think Paul Pogba since the start of the season has never been completely fit injury wise," Wenger told beIN Sport. "He doesn't look completely confident physically and he's the type of player who has a huge physical power. He needs to be perfectly fit physically.
"After that, when a player wants to leave and you stop him from leaving, you know you go through a process of rebuilding the relationship that the first thing that suffers is the performances. I personally think he behaves as well like he knows that Man United at the moment is not the team to compete for the championship. And, plus the fact that he was stopped from going away, it looks like the two together a bit tarnish his performances."
Boro keen on Kilmarnock defender?
Middlesbrough are lining up a move for Kilmarnock right-back Stephen O'Donnell, according to the Daily Mail. The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and has previously been linked with Scottish champions Celtic.
Jimenez: 'We laughed after City win'
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Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raul Jimenez has admitted that the whole squad was "laughing" after their shock win over champions Manchester City last weekend. Pep Guardiola's side were left stunned after Adama Traore's late double helped Wolves to all three points and left the current champions eight point adrift of league leaders Liverpool.
"We knew that City's a game that when they have the ball they leave some spaces when they are attacking," Jimenez told reporters. "We didn't have too much time to plan the game because last Thursday we were playing in Turkey and we had two days for rest. So it was just the things that we know, the things that we are good doing and we made it.
"We are very proud of ourselves at the end of the match. Everyone was laughing - just enjoy it, enjoy the win, have some good days off and then we will see."
De Ligt denies being overweight
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Matthijs de Ligt has laughed off claims that he has been put on a low-carb diet and ordered to undergo extra training sessions by Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri. The defender has had an indifferent start to life in Turin since his summer move from Ajax and reports earlier this week suggested that his weight is partly to blame.
"[The article] really is a wild story," De Ligt is quoted as saying by Nu.nl. "It doesn't surprise me any more. Sometimes I think I had a decent game, but apparently there's something wrong after all. But those are only opinions. It's important to know what I do well and what went wrong - and I know that well.
"Every new player should get the time to adapt to the team. Juventus had two great defenders already with Chiellini and Bonucci. The plan was to let me enter the team slowly, but it worked out differently. Obviously it's great that I get to play already, but you get thrown in at the deep end right away. That's a great challenge for me."
Fergie 'still pushing for McGinn'
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Sir Alex Ferguson is still pushing Manchester United to sign Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn, according to Scottish scout Bobby Jenks. The legendary manager is said to have advised United to snap up the 24-year-old last summer and is confused why his recommendation was not enacted.
"He's up there with the best-performing midfielders in the division. Wait until he's had a year at that level and then we can say more," Jenks told The Athletic. "What I do know is that Sir Alex Ferguson is wondering why Manchester United let a talented Scottish boy slip through. He'll be keeping a close eye on him that's for sure and if he continues the way he is, you can bet he'll be telling his pals at United, too."
Madrid 'reject loan offers for Rodrygo'
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Real Madrid are rejecting all loan offers for talented teen Rodrygo, according to reports in Spain. The 18-year-old arrived at the Bernabeu over the summer and scored for the club on his league debut last month, leading to loan enquiries from Leganes and Real Valladolid. Los Blancos president Florentino Perez is said to be adamant that he will not be allowed to depart in January as the player continues his development in the capital.
Eriksen opens up on "hardest time"
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Christian Eriksen has admitted that he is enduring the "hardest time" of his Tottenham Hotspur career amid the club's terrible run of form. Mauricio Pochettino's side were embarrassed in a home 7-2 defeat to Bayern Munich last week, then days later lost 3-0 at Brighton to leave them ninth in the Premier League table.
"It's definitely my hardest time right now at Tottenham," Eriksen told Ekstra Bladet. "The first year when I came was probably a bit up and down, but since Pochettino came in 2014 it has been a success story. Expectations for us are at a completely different level now. We have to win every time and it's the same feeling we have as players as well. We as players must try to keep all the negative things completely out. But the reason for our results is actually hard to answer. We can't close the matches, even though we are ahead. But we have also been unlucky."
Hodgson wants new striker in January
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Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has said that the club need to sign a new striker and two new full-backs in January if they are to maintain their surprise push for the top six. The Eagles currently find themselves sixth in the table - and two points off second - after an impressive haul of 14 points from their opening eight Premier League games.
"Most people will tell you that they are expecting the clubs with the vast amounts to spend on quality players to assert themselves over 38 games," Hodgson is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard. "If we are going to get close, we are going to have to make certain that we are not reliant on so few forwards and full-backs. That is something we will have to address in the January transfer window."
Neil Wilkes
