Times journalist Duncan Castles has urged Manchester United to opt against a potential move for Leicester City defender Harry Maguire. The England international has been strongly linked with the Red Devils since the previous summer transfer window and reports have emerged that they could break their transfer record to pursue the central defender.

Speaking on The Transfer Window Podcast, Castles said that Maguire has been performing above expectations over the past few years but he does not possess the qualities for the price tag mentioned. He added that the centre-back may be good with the defending and set-piece threat but he is not gifted with much pace.

Dutch footballer Robin van Persie has said that the unity within the Manchester United squad during the 2012/2013 season contributed to the Premier League success. The Red Devils won the English top-flight title with a comfortable 11-point gap over Manchester City and Van Persie was the main architect upfront with 26 goals to his name.

Speaking to Manchester United’s official website, Van Persie indicated that the team during that campaign was united and the achievement was a great team effort. He added that every player within the squad played their part and gave the example of Chicharito Hernandez, who got a crucial winning goal at Chelsea.

Dutch footballer Robin van Persie has indicated the ambition of stepping into coaching, once he steps down from his playing career at the end of the season. The 35-year-old is currently in the ranks of boyhood club Feyenoord where he has impressed with 17 goals across all competitions for the club.

Speaking to Belgian outlet Sport/Foot, Van Persie indicated that he learned plenty during his initial years at Arsenal and he is hoping to share the same knowledge with upcoming talents in the future, he said: “Whether it was Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, I learned from them by asking questions, but also watching them. At first, it was just analysis: how does Pires make his decisions? What’s Ljungberg doing? How does Henry choose his position? I would watch Bergkamp move constantly between the lines and thought: Wow! That’s what I wanted to achieve. I learned so much in those first few years at Arsenal that I want to give all that back.”

Feyenoord manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst has said that the players made it tough for themselves against Heracles after they were down to 10 men for most of the second period. Feyenoord were the dominant side during the course of the first half, but they could only secure a slender 1-0 lead heading into the break.

Thereafter, Heracles made a quick comeback with the equaliser and this made it trickier for Feyenoord, who had Nicolas Jorgensen sent off shortly after the hour mark. Despite this, they managed to eventually come up triumphs with a 2-1 scoreline after Steven Berghuis’ second strike of the game but Van Bronckhorst was far from impressed with the proceedings.

Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has said that the team have a long way to go after they succumbed to a 3-2 European qualifier defeat to Germany. The Germans were the dominant side in the first period as they secured a 2-0 lead, but the advantage was nullified after the break with Matthijs de Ligt and Memphis Depay levelling the scores.

However, that was not sufficient to secure them a point on the night after Nico Schulz came up with a late 90th-minute winner for the Germans. Speaking after the game, Van Dijk acknowledged that the Dutch outfit still have work to do before they can compete efficiently with some of Europe’s elite nations.

PSV Eindhoven captain Luuk de Jong has been left frustrated after the team managed just a draw against Heerenveen on the road this weekend. The Dutch champions went two goals down in the first period for the second successive occasion but they managed to come from behind to secure another 2-2 draw.

Speaking after the game, De Jong was unimpressed with the defensive organisation of the team after Heerenveen managed to score twice from just three shots on target, he said: “We conceded another two goals and had to fight until the final minute to snatch a point.We won a point at the death, just like we did last week. It’s the same old story for us on the road.

Feyenoord striker Robin van Persie has backed Frenkie de Jong to succeed with Barcelona from the forthcoming season. The Netherlands international recently penned a pre-contract to join the Spanish champions in the summer and this ended the long-standing saga regarding his future beyond the current campaign.

Speaking to NOC, Van Persie said that the Ajax midfielder has taken a great step to move to the Camp Nou when he had been approached by Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain previously. He added that the youngster should become a better player with the Catalan giants where he should be sharing the same dressing room with the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergi Busquets.

Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben has urged Callum Hudson-Odoi to take up the option of joining the Bavarian giants during the ongoing transfer window. The young Englishman has struggled to make himself a regular with Chelsea this term and this has recently spread speculation regarding his future with Bayern hot on the trail of his services.

Speaking to reporters, Robben classified the teenager as one of the best young players in Europe and stated that he should take up the opportunity with the German champions, he said: “He is one of the best [young players] in Europe. You are better off getting your chance [at Bayern] and if you get that chance then you have to take it. For young players, it’s always the same. First, you have to take the big step to achieve it. Become a professional football player at the highest level, get into the first team, get your place. Don’t just be happy when you achieve something little or small.”

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has said that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is wild about the prospect of signing Frenkie de Jong. The Dutch midfielder has made immense progress with Ajax over the past 18 months and this has seemingly caught the eye of the Citizens among others including Barcelona.

Amidst this, Koeman has confirmed that Guardiola holds a strong interest in the 21-year-old after enquiring with him about the qualities of the uprising star, he told AlgemeenDagblad. “I spoke to Pep Guardiola about [Frenkie] De Jong and [Matthijs] De Ligt a while ago. He is totally wild about the type of midfielder that Frenkie is, he wanted to know everything about him.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has ruled out the prospect of signing Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong in January as he remains content with the current options at hand. The Ajax ace has been constantly tipped to pursue a fresh challenge and most recently, City were tipped as favourites to acquire his signature.

Speaking to reporters, Guardiola was asked about a possible purchase at the turn of the year to which he clarified the club’s stance saying: “We are not going to spend anything. I am so happy with the squad, and people are coming back, so no, no. When we created the squad at the beginning of the season, it was not to go to the January unless we have problems. But I have a deep squad, and a lot of players cannot play even though I trust them a lot. They believe I don’t like them but that is not true. I trust a lot in all the players, all of them. It’s a joy to be with them but it is what it is.”