Dimitar Berbatov: Dele and Donny can rebuild their careers at Everton

Lampard is going to be key for Alli. There’s a warm connection which is good for the player and that probably helped Alli make the decision to sign for Everton.

I hope Donny van de Beek is given more time to play at Everton than he was at Manchester United. He deserves the chance tp show what he can do and fingers crossed he can rediscover the form that made United sign him in the first place.

I’m a little surprised that Dele Alli moved to Everton. They are a good club but I was hoping that he would wait for someone bigger to come in for him given his style of play. When he is in form he is a quality player and was a big reason Spurs reached the Champions League final in 2019.

I can tell that Frank Lampard is going to be key for Alli. I saw how he greeted him at the training ground, obviously there’s a warm connection there which is good for the player to know and that probably helped Alli make the decision to sign.

Lingard must be professional in difficult situation

Most of the time, transfer problems come down to money. I was disappointed to see that Jesse Lingard didn’t get the move away, and he’s now probably going to just sit on the bench until his contract runs out in the summer.

That said, if the club blocked the move there could be a good reason for that. They be counting on him to step up and play. With Van de Beek no longer at United so there could be game time for him soon.

But based on the fact that he is free to go in the summer and there are no contract negotiations going on at the moment, and any club can approach him, I don’t see the logic in keeping him at the club.

If he gets the opportunity to play then he needs to impress any clubs that will be looking to offer him something in the summer. I don’t see him getting many opportunities and it’s going to be difficult for him, in my opinion.

Lingard has to stay professional till the end of his contract, United are still paying his salary so he has to train hard and be smart, if he gets an opportunity here and there to be a part of the team, then he has to make it count.

I read that my ex-teammate Phil Jones was offered a move to Bordeaux but it didn’t happen. It would have been big shift for Jones to play in another country. He’s been at United for so long, and has only really ever played in the Premier League, so it would be a big culture shock to suddenly switch clubs midseason and play in a different country.

He’s been unlucky with injuries, he’s got lots of quality and I watched him closely against Wolves the last time he played. He did very well and proved that he’s still a good player.

It’s difficult for him because he has Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, and Eric Bailly ahead of him. He’s a professional guy, so he’ll be working hard and will be prepared for any opportunity he gets.

I do think it would do him good to step out of his comfort zone at United and find another club. He has a lot of football left in him and he needs to get out and play.

Trust Conte and give the new guys time

Spurs brought in two solid players from Juventus in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski. But fans need to be patient and let them adjust to life in the Premier League.

It’s a totally different style of training and playing in England from Italy and we should give Kulusevski and Bentancur the time they need to properly settle in.

I’m sure it won’t take them long, Conte will know what they’re all about, so let’s trust his judgement.

Diaz must seize his chance at Liverpool

It’s going to be tough for the highly-rated Colombian Luis Diaz who Liverpool signed from Porto. Ahead of him are two incredible players in Mo Salah and Sadio Mane.

I hope he knows that those two are fundamental to the success of Liverpool and they are first choice, along with Firmino and Jota, I don’t see who he is going to be swapping places with.

Another attacking player is great for the competition in the squad, but I just hope that Diaz knows he’s probably not going to get as much football as he did in Porto.

He will get games here and there, but he will need to do something unbelievable to get ahead of move up the pecking order.

Cristiano is into his cars, I was into clothes

I’ve read a few stories recently about a new documentary that Cristiano Ronaldo’s car collection appears in. I never went crazy over cars. To be honest, looking back, I did go a little crazy on clothes, I liked to take care of myself and enjoyed being fashionable. I would have all different brands of clothes, jeans, t-shirts, belts, shoes, and I spent a lot trying to be a fashionable guy.

I would go to training sessions like I was going to the prom. Then I’d see the lads in flip flops and think, who the hell am I trying to impress?

Now I see pictures from back in the day and they’re funny. I thought it was a good look at the time but I looked ridiculous. That said, I was the most fashionable player at every club.

At United, the rest of the guys always tried to keep up looking good, but Anderson would wear some horrendous things, the lads would prank him and put his clothes in the shower, or burn them. Cristiano is into his cars, I was into my clothes! Each to their own.