Would Darwin Nunez be in your Liverpool 11 if everyone was available? And why do you think he's in and out of the team with Klopp?

Darwin Nunez is a funny one for me. I see some attributes that he's got and think, wow, you know, you just can't teach that. I think he's really direct, he's quick, he's really athletic and strong and brave, and I love his attitude. You know, he works hard. I think there's a lot to like about him, I must admit. I'm surprised how raw, that might be the word to use, how raw he is. How many gaps he's got in his game. And of course behind the scenes when you're doing the TV, when you're talking to people, everybody debates every player. And, you know, I think he splits opinion more than most. I'd be very, very nervous to criticise him personally because I think he's one that if you're out on the telly saying I don't rate this or that or the other, I think he could bite you on the backside.

I've used the analogy of Didier Drogba actually, when he first came to the country and everybody laughed at him and thought his touch was not good enough and all the rest of it, but he soon made a few people eat their words. And I just think he could be a coach's dream. I think he'll benefit from coaching, and benefit from repetition of finishing. And I think in a few years, listen, he might never learn. He might never improve, but I think in a few years he could be something very special. And it might just take a little patience with him.

You had the tag of being only a goal scorer at a point in your career and maybe didn't contribute as much to teamplay. Do you think people view Darwin Nunez in the same way?

Well, I certainly was more of a goal scorer later on in my career because I didn't have the legs to get wide and beat players. I don't think anybody that watched me for the first half of my career would say I was only a goal scorer. But Darwin Nunez is certainly not only a goal scorer. No, not at all. I think he contributes loads to his team’s play. Just his physical presence alone is important to the team, his pace and his direct way of playing. So no, he would be one of the last people that I would say is just a goal scorer. He's certainly not just a poacher. In fact, he's quite the opposite.

If anything, he needs to improve that side of his game in terms of his finish, and he's very good at certain finishes. I mean, I've noticed he's a really sweet striker of the ball when the ball's off the ground, that’s unbelievable. He catches everything sweet, but a lot of the time when the ball's on the ground, I've noticed he miskicks and scuffs a little bit and things like that as well. So, I mean, there's certainly things that I would love to see him improve with his finishing. And I certainly don't look at him and say he's only a finisher. In fact, quite the opposite. I think it's probably one area of his game that he needs to improve the most.

Speaking personally, I saw him against Union Sangyo last night, and my God, that chance that he missed. Anyway, have Liverpool exceeded expectations so far and how far can they go on this journey this season?

Idon't think Liverpool have necessarily exceeded expectations. I think they've answered a few questions. Let's not forget that literally the guts of their mid midfield have been ripped out this season. I think Liverpool probably expected to lose one or two. Certainly Navi Cater, certainly Oxley Chamberlain, certainly James Milner. I think it came as a bit of a surprise that big money came in for the likes of, you know, Finio and Jordan Henderson. I don't think they were banking on those two players leaving. So I think the likes of McAllister, Szoboszlai and their players that they had planned to bring in to replace them. But then I think there was a bit of a mad dash to sign one or two more when the unexpected happened, like I've just explained.

[inaudible] is probably one that they didn't expect to sign until that happened. So I think there were a lot of eyes on Liverpool thinking, what are they going to do now? They've got a totally new midfield and didn't have the greatest of seasons last season, can they get back to it? They finished the season particularly well and have started the season in, in really good form as well. So I think people are questioning maybe and I think they've answered it and they're still the Liverpool of old type of thing.

All good. A week on from the Luis Diaz offside goal against Tottenham what are your thoughts on the whole debacle?

Well, I think it's possibly the lowest ebb that VAR have gone through, they're at their lowest ab at the moment. It's probably the worst decision or the worst process that's occurred since VAR has been introduced. If you're a positive thinking person and you're not a Liverpool fan, then I'm sure, you know, you'll think, well, good, better processes will be made from this. And Cricket and Rugby and lots of other sports were, you know, struggling for the first year, two years, three years when they introduced their video technology. And football is only, you know, in its second season, I think, in this country. So it's going to get better. It's not going to go away. The decision was obviously a huge blunder, but anybody that starts crying and foul and thinking that, you know, there's anything sinister in it only has to listen to the whole transcript. And you can quite clearly see that it's just a huge error.

No constellation for Liverpool, of course. I don't agree that the game needs to be replayed or anything else like that. I just think it's a huge mistake. Ironically, the one thing is that if there was no VAR it would've been disallowed anyway and the linesman would've made a huge mistake. Because he gave off site when it was on. So the decision didn't change from that point of view, as I said, if VAR wasn't here, then Liverpool wouldn't have had that goal. And possibly it would've been the same outcome. We would've just been talking about a rubbish offside decision. So yeah, it's what more can be said than just an awful, awful blunder. And in my opinion, there should be no other actions taken. It's learning, it's disappointing. It's hard on Liverpool, but to open a can of worms and say there should be replays and things like that, where would that lead? Every time there's a bad decision in the future, people would be saying, well, let's replay it. I just can't see that as being a solution.

And you played with Steven Gerrard along with many other great midfielders for club and country. Now Dominik Szoboszlai is obviously earning rave reviews for his start in Liverpool. How do you think he compares to the likes of Steven Gerrard and do you think they have their next great number eight?

Oh, God, that's early. I've liked what I've seen so far. He's got great, you know, the great physical shape to be a midfielder. He is a good size. He strikes a cracking ball. He looks at home in a red shirt straight away, which, you know, some people, a famous shirt can weigh heavy on them, but I think he's taken to it absolutely brilliantly. So I think there's excitement because it's an area of the pitch that there's a bit of nervousness about certainly over the summer. But he looks like one that's come in and looks like a really solid, very good sign and looks like someone that can obviously hold down that position for seasons and years to come. But wait, before wE mentioned Steven Gerrard, let's see him do it for another five years before we can even start getting close to the achievements of him.

And you've got experience of breaking into a Liverpool team as a youngster. So what have your first impressions been of the next generation of Liverpool talents led by Ben Doak and Jarell Quansah.

Yeah, Jarell Quansah has come in and done well. He played, he kept a clean sheet, obviously in midweek in Europe. And he's done really well. I know he went out on loan for a little bit, I'm sure that benefited him. And he's been at Liverpool since about five years of age or something. So they're the types of players that you dream of as a football club. And obviously Trent Alexander Arnold being in the first team gives that identity. And hopefully Quansah is the next one off the production line. Ben Doak, he's obviously highly thought of. He's in and around the squad all the time, still a young boy. You know, and hopefully he gets a lot of chances this season to impress. Again, I know he's a very well thought of player, so I'm sure he will. But you're coming into a team at the moment that's quite well off for attacking players. And it might be that he has to be patient, but he is very young and I'm sure he is going to learn a lot from the Salas and the Jotters and the Diaz, and all these attacking players in this world. So yeah, interesting to see how his career develops. And he's obviously a club that knows how to do that.

And obviously you've mentioned VAR so do you think the Premier League seems to be having so many more issues compared to other top leagues? Is it a sign of refereeing standards in England, potentially not being as high as other countries? And do we need to attract better candidates for the top positions?

I don't think, I think our referees are amongst the best in the world. So I've got no problems with our referees. One question you could label the whole process is that we have a referee refereeing on a Saturday, and then the next day he might do VAR. And they are so different. I mean, I've never stood and refereed a proper game, don't get me wrong, but I've sat in the hot seat without the pressure and without everything else in the VAR studio. And I can't tell you how complicated and difficult everything is and to referee and have your head in one game on a Saturday, and then all the adrenaline, everything that comes down, and then you've got to sit in a seat and do something quite the opposite the next day is quite hard. I do think that it would be better if we had specialist VAR officials and specialists, referees. I think that would help. And I think that's what they have more of in certain other countries.

Other countries might have had more exposure, might have had more, you know, they might have been doing it for longer. I don't know. I do think that VAR will will be absolutely slick and brilliant in years to come, but as I said earlier, you look at cricket, you look at rugby, they're all disasters for the first year or two, [inaudible] problems, changes need to be made, you know, so it's only following a normal pattern. It will get better. And you could argue as well, it's very hard to defend something when it's so raw and so fresh in the memory. But there's been, yes, a load of mistakes, but there's also been hundreds and hundreds of decisions that have been corrected that otherwise would've been, I mean, I was commentating on a game or working in the studio on a Brighton game when they got beat the other day by Athens. And honestly, if there wasn't VAR in that game, people would've been throwing things at their tally.

I mean, virtually every big decision was wrong. Brighton got given two penalties that were the most blatant penalties, even in real time. He didn't even need a replay. And the referee didn't give anything and then had to change his mind over and over and over again. I mean, it was farcical. And if we didn't have VAR, people would be screaming saying, we need this, we need VAR, we need VAR. And that was only a week or so ago. Now it's under pressure at the moment because of a huge, big decision that went wrong. And obviously it's had a few decisions in the past, but it's going to be, it's going to clean up the game in the future. I think people have just gotta try to give it patience. They are humans at the end of the day trying. It's not the technology that's wrong, it's a couple of decisions. So but I do think with patience it will get there.

Now, aside from VAR, let's talk about some actual football. So it was a valiant effort by Liverpool, despite the loss to Spurs. Do you genuinely think they're improving this season and do you think they've got any trophy prospects?

Yeah, I mean, Liverpool's record is actually unbelievably good when they go down to ten men. And I thought, you know, I thought against Tottenham, it was a very commendable effort under really tough circumstances, not just to go down to ten men, but to get to nine men. So I think they're well adept at playing with whether a man is down, they've had to get used to it as well recently. It's not like Liverpool, but you know, Van Dyke against Newcastle have had to play, you know, the majority of the game against 11 men when they've gone down to 10, and obviously won that game. And there's other examples. I do think Liverpool have had a really good start to the season. I'd be very encouraged by the way they're playing. And absolutely they have got chances of silverware this season.

I mean, the sad thing is obviously Liverpool aren't in the Champions League, but if they were in the Champions League, I'd be saying they're the second favorites to win it personally, you know, I can't see past Man City at the moment, but, you know, Liverpool would be the absolute danger team to Manchester City in that Champions League at the moment. I'd say, even though they're not in the competition, they're still a feared team around Europe. And they'll take some stopping if they want to go for it in the Europa League, they'll take some stopping. And again, in the league and in the cups, nobody wants to play against Liverpool still. It's not like their powers have lessened. I think they're in a good position at the moment.

So you've got the likes of Harry Kane and Fikayo Tomori all succeeding abroad. I think Jude Bellingham seems to be a bit of an outlier in the fact that he's actually gone to two different countries, obviously Germany and then Spain. You obviously had success at Real Madrid, but do you wish you'd almost gone aboard elsewhere to try another culture out on top of the one you'd already experienced?

No, I must admit I'm a bit of a home bird which is why I only went to Real Madrid. And to be honest, I was, you know, hesitant. Of course, I never wanted to leave Liverpool, so I was even hesitant about leaving the Premier League back then. I certainly was never going to go to another country from Madrid. The only possible chance I would've had of going abroad was there was a bit of an interest from the MLS. There was a bit of interest from Australia when I was coming to the end of my career in the UK and I decided just to hang on my boots early as opposed to go and pursue those. But so I could possibly have done that. But no, I was always a home bird and wanted to play in the Premier League. But don't get me wrong, it's a great experience for these players.

You know, someone like Jude Bellingham, you'd never, when he was growing up, if you asked him to visualize his his career, I bet he never thought he'd play abroad, I bet he thought he'd be, you know, by this time it'd be at Liverpool or Manchester United or Chelsea or somebody. Having outgrown Birmingham and maybe gone somewhere in the meantime, like, you know, a lesser Premier League team, for example. So I think if you wrote down that path, then he would never have thought when he was 12 that he was going to play for a team called [inaudible] in Germany. But that's the way it's taken him. And now he's probably the biggest club, biggest team in the world in Real Madrid. And it's just brilliant to see him going so well. We'd love to see him in the Premier League. The Premier League is the best league in the world at the moment. And it's competitive and everything else. But as a one-off team, I couldn't resist the temptation. And he's been the same. I mean, if Real Madrid come knocking, it's very, very difficult to say no.

So on Real Madrid, obviously, like Harry Kane, you left your boyhood club at the height of your powers to go overseas. What was it like being almost a new kid at school suddenly? Like how, how tough was it to adapt in that sort of environment?

Well, it is quite tough, I suppose. It's like anybody going into a new school, anybody going into a new job. You are a little bit nervous. You want to learn everyone's names, you want everybody to like you, everyone to respect you, everyone to embrace you and, you know, have them as one of your own. You know, there's certain things that you can do to help that process, but in the initial stages, it's quite nerve wracking meeting a whole load of new people, especially when you don't speak the language which obviously compounds it and makes it even more difficult. So, but looking at Jude Bellingham's character, he looks like just such a good character. Everybody seems to like him. He's well thought of, well spoken about, and he seems to have embraced everything. He's learning the language and everything looks like it's all going really well for him. So that's great to see. It is difficult and especially when you're quite young you know, you're not as experienced about life. So I think he's doing an unbelievable job. And the most important thing is that he's doing it on the pitch as well. And he's winning a lot of friends by his performances.

And so what's it like playing overseas when it comes to your sort of England career? Like sometimes it almost feels a bit out of sight out of mind with English players going and playing abroad. Did you speak to Sven about the idea of leaving England and how much contact did you have with him in the FA while you were at Real Madrid?

Yeah, as you say, I would say out of mind it can maybe apply. I think when you're playing at Real Madrid, I don't think it does. I mean, you can see the games, you're playing in the highest of standard, again, with great players, you know, in the Champions League, I don't really think it applies to that. Maybe if you went to a lesser country, then it might apply. And I mean, it was always in the back of my mind about England, because that's why I only stayed a season at Madrid because I was a bit nervous about not playing so much next season, especially with the team having bought one or two attacking players. And there was a World Cup at the end of that season. So that definitely played a part in my thinking. You know, I wanted to be obviously part of the England setup, and if I was going to sit on the bench at Real Madrid, if that's what would've happened, then it wouldn't have done my chances any good. So that was one of the other reasons for only doing the season and actually moving back to the Premier League to play more regularly.

And Harry Kane said that Alan Shearer's Premier League goal scoring record isn't a concern of his, as a fellow striker who has once tipped to break those kinds of records. Do you think he's telling the truth there?

No. I really get the dilemma I guess, that Harry Kane had. I was probably one of the most outspoken people at the time. Made a few headlines, certainly in Germany. I thought it was the wrong move. I still do you know, he's probably looking back at the Topham team thinking, well, that's quite an exciting team. I've just left. But he's also playing in an exciting team in the Champions League. I get it because it's rammed down his throat by journalists and people all the time saying about, you know, you've not won anything, won a great player and all the rest of it. So he's probably been sickened by that for many years. And for starters I'm just going to guarantee myself a couple of trophies just to quiet people down and just so I can look back on my career, and have something to show for it.

But I don't, personally, it's easy from the outside, but I don't personally think he needed to do that. I think having the all-time Premier League goal scoring record, I think being an absolute legend for your club, being loyal to that club, there's a lot to be said for that. I just think there's loads of things and you know what? If he wanted to really look after himself, which he's fully entitled to do, he could have just done one year and then been on a [inaudible], been a free agent to go to whatever club he likes. And I think for that one season, it's hardly like he's playing in the relegation team for that one more season to have all the control in his hands and to continue on his march towards breaking the record. I think that was the sensible play personally.

And I think Tottenham fans would've understood that, you know, he's going to do another season and then try to win something. But as that happened, I think he jumped a year, I think he jumped a year too early, and he's gone to a team that is an absolutely exceptional club, but they win the league every single year. There's no challenge there for Harry Kane. They'll win the league with Harry Kane or without Harry Kane in my opinion. So unless they go and win the Champions League, to me, it's a decision that I wouldn't have made.

So on Liverpool's new look midfield, do you buy into the whole Liverpool 2.0 talk? Like, do you think there are genuinely challenges now with that much change?

Well, outside of Man City, they've got as big a chance as anybody else. Arsenal are obviously an exceptional team, and are getting better and better. Manchester City are the team to beat at the moment. I think it's fair to say that Liverpool did take a little dip. Man City have been pretty relentless in how good they've been and Liverpool were up there matching strides with them for years and years. But I do think it's fair to say in the last year or so, they've taken a step back and Man City have stolen the mark on them, but they haven't, it's not like they're now back into the [inaudible] rounds. They had a bit of a wobble, but I think they are back now playing good stuff. Whether it's good enough to be as good as Man City is probably doubtful just at the moment.

But they're in a far better position than a lot of other teams. At the moment, a lot of other big teams are struggling away, and Liverpool are still, you know, in a relatively good place. As I say, whether it's good enough to be able to collect any trophies, time will tell, Man City are setting the bar high, but they are, you know, up there still. And I think if I was, well, if you were saying a message to Liverpool fans, it would be, you know, stay patient, keep the faith, all those types of things because they're still, you know, they're still competitive.

Man City obviously had an incredible season last year, sweeping all three major trophies. How do you think Guardiola’s side compared to the likes of Arsenal's Invincibles or United's Treble winners in terms of like modern greats?

I think they compare favorably. I mean, to win the Treble like they did, you have to compare favorably. You know, the goals that they've scored, the quality of play, the manager tactics, just everything about them just screams quality. You could argue they are the best team in recent times and they've done it for some time now, and they've chopped and changed and tweaked things and stayed ahead. So I think you have to put them up there with some of the great teams. I think the only thing that will, well, I don't think anything will prevent people talking about them in those circles. You know, they could go on and win another Champions League or two in the next three or four years, five years, then all of a sudden you'll be talking about, you know, a great era of football. At the moment they've only won one Champions league, but they have been dominant in the league for five out the last six seasons.

And to me, I can't see how they're not going to win, you know, everything again this season in terms of, I mean, the FA Cup is the FA cup, it is difficult to win one-off games, but I can't see anybody that close to them in the league. And I can't see anybody that close to them in the Champions League to be honest. And I just think it was knockout football, like one legged stuff, then you might be able to beat them one leg. I think they could be vulnerable in a final because anyone can win one game, but over two legs. Can't see any team in Europe at the moment. As I say, if Liverpool were in the Champion's League, I think that would be one team that they'd want to avoid. No one likes going to Anfield. I think that that could be a team that they want to avoid, but they're not even in the tournament. And I think, you know, who can get anyone near them over two legs.

Let alone Real Madrid, arguably not as good as they were last season, arguably. They've certainly not got a striker. Who can be like Arsenal? Probably the nearest challenger Bayern Munich maybe, but I'm not convinced. I just don't see how anyone can beat a man sitting in the Champions League personally. They're looking like a team for the ages, I must admit.

Now Manchester United got off to a shaky start under Erik Ten Hag after the promising first season. Do you think this is second season syndrome or something deeper, and do you genuinely think he'll be there by the end of the season?

I mean I'm sure it's absolute agony for Manchester United fans over the last decade or whatever it's been. The one thing that I've got a problem with, with Manchester United is I think that if you put, you know, Manchester City in a different colored kit and with different, you know, faces on their players, and I was just watching 11 players play in there, I'd be able to say, this is Man City in disguises. That's Man City, that's the way they play. I'd be able to pick it up after two minutes. If you asked me to do the same with Liverpool, I'd be able to do it. I'd say the same for Arsenal. I'd say the same for Topham. I've got, you know, the teams that I've just mentioned, they've got an identity of play and you know exactly what the plan is, how they do it. If you said to me, right, explain, if you put Man United players in a different kit away, I wouldn't have a clue whether that's, you know, any team under the sun in the family.

I just don't see what identity they've got. I don't know whether they're a Counter Attacking team, I don't know whether they're possession based teams. I don't know whether they press high or [inaudible]. I just think they do a little bit of everything and I just don't see an identity with them. And I think that's the worrying thing. If they were getting beaten all the time, but then you could actually see something and you were seeing like, okay, but you know, they're making this mistake, but at least they're trying to play through the battle. They're trying to do this or trying to do that. They're just not getting the results. I would be fine with that if I was a Man United fan, but at the moment I just don't know where they're, what they're attempting to do. I don't know what their end game is, whether they're trying to be a, you know, dominant possession or as I say, well, I don't know. And that's the worry I have with Manchester United and I think Ten Hag has got to create more of an identity for them to progress.

And obviously another of your former teams in Newcastle United find themselves back in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. How do you think Eddie Howe's team is coping with the busier schedule and the jump in quality?

Well, I think Eddie Howe knew that this season was going to be a test. You know, extra games, bigger games, you know, more pressure against better outfits. So I think he knew it was a test. I think he tried to bolster his squad numerically, obviously with quality as well, but numerically, and I think he did that, and I think there's going to be a bit more rotation from them this season. They had a really difficult start to the season, so I wouldn't really look at their points total and crib them just yet. I mean, they're one nill up against Liverpool for virtually 90 minutes. And they'll still be somehow looking at themselves in the mirror thinking, how did we not get anything from that game? But they've had some tough games already. To have four points in the Champions League already out of those two fixes is brilliant.

And more importantly, the feel good factor around St. James's Park. I mean, the atmosphere, [inaudible] what that will do for that club that result, that was a day that people will remember for all their lives, that game. That's what they've been dreaming of for ages, a big glamor tie. And to put in that performance, I just think that the club is so happy and so content at the moment that it's going to be quite hard to stop the momentum for a good time. And I think they're going to continue to progress as a club.

With El Clasico looming at the end of the month, do you have any tips for Jude Bellingham going into his first one?

He's doing all right without my advice! No, El Clasico is the biggest club game in the world. It's just huge. Huge rivalry, huge attention, it's just a massive game. And as I say, the biggest club game in the world, in my opinion, he'll love it. He looks to be a big game player. The bigger the game, the better he plays. And this has got to be his stage. I mean, if he wants to be great, then he's going to have to put on performances in these big types of games. So I think these types of games are set up for Jude, he's already proven himself to be a huge talent, a high standard of player, and how far he can go in the game will be determined by his performances in games like this. So it'll be fascinating to watch it. And great that we've got a representative in the fixture from our country.

Erling Haaland obviously had a brilliant year last year, breaking the single season goal scoring record with ease. How many goals do you think you've scored if you were slotted into this Man City team in your prime?

God knows, it's impossible to compare generations and things like that. It's fair to say that the stars aligned for Erling Haaland. But that’s taking nothing away from him. He's just a phenomenon. He's got so many great attributes, but he also came into this country at the perfect time. He'd earned his stripes elsewhere. He had developed into an experienced international, he wasn't coming in cold, wasn't learning on the job. He was ready made as a player. Added to that, he was coming at the perfect time where Manchester City had assembled the best players in the world and got the best manager in the world. It's just the purple patch everybody dreams of. And so when you come into the league, you announce yourself to the world, you are that good, in the perfect time and perfect moment of your life, and that coincides with somebody wanting you that's also at that exact same moment.

Then the result is what we've seen. You know, there's other great players, other immense players that would score hundreds of goals themselves, but they're playing in a lesser club or they're playing at a good club, but it's just not the right time at the moment. The stars have all aligned at the right time for Erling, and that's why you're seeing numbers that we've never seen before. So he's just incredible. And, you know, there's no fluke about it. And you can only imagine he's going to keep scoring this amount of goals in the near future for as long as he's fit and healthy and as long as Man City are dominating. I mean, we could see something that we've never seen before.

Do you think huge transfer fees for unproven talents like Rasmus Hojlund, who have had half a good season with the promise of going on to having a good season, is almost the new normal, based purely on the progress you could make?

Yeah. On potential. Listen, on centre forward play, there will always be people that say ‘if you can save loads of goals, you'll win the league’ or this, that or the other. It's all bollocks, the most simple one position on the pitch, and always will be. The hardest position to play, and the hardest thing to do in football is to score a goal and to score lots of them is obviously something that every team wants and every team needs. And the minute anybody's going to show any progress or any potential, then there's going to be such an inflated number on them because they can be the difference between mediocrity and a great team. So you can find defenders, you can mould defenders, you can coach them to do this, that and the other. When the ball's here, you've gotta do that.

But centre forward players, it’s pure instinct. It's knowing your job and being able to do it under the highest of pressure. There is such a dearth of top centre forwards that are guaranteeing goals around the world, then, you know, when one becomes available, somebody will pay over the odds for the player. And that's where we are. I'm sure there's lots of clubs around at the moment would die for a striker that can score loads of goals, but they're just not about, and all of a sudden somebody shows a little bit of promise and massive numbers are spent just in case that person is going to be able to carry them for the next 10 years. And Manchester United have obviously done their homework. He does appear to be somebody that could be a fantastic player in the future. But you normally associate spending that kind of money on somebody that's going to guarantee you 30 goals every season.

That's what they've done in the past with the likes of Rooney and Van Persie and players like that. But it's such an important position on the pitch that you're going to invest all you have to get it right. By the time some of these players are at their peak, they're worth so much, you can't get them. So lots of people will try to move early and buy one or two. And I suppose we've just been talking about Jude Bellingham, it's only what Dortmund have been doing for years and years. They're spending top money, but on potential, young kids like Jude and Sancho. Yes, they've got to pay through the nose for a kid, but they haven’t paid hundreds of millions. So it's only what happens in business all the time. If somebody's young and looks like they could be good, there's a premium to pay.

Ollie Watkins obviously can't really seem to get a sniff in the England team. What do you think he has to do and do you think his club team is stopping him from being selected?

Ollie Watkins is one of two players that I'd love to watch, just be on the training ground with them and talk to them a bit and things like that. Actually, I did have a good chat with Ollie Watkins in America on the pre-season tour. So Darwin Nunez and Ollie Watkins are probably two centre forwards that I just see so much more, so much more that could be forthcoming with them. I think Watkins has got so much talent and when he is on, when he is confident and when he is in the right frame of mind, he's absolutely brilliant. I do think he could be more consistent. I do think him and Nunez could be, you know, better finishers.

I don't think it's the team he plays for, not at all. I think Aston Villa are a great team that will have a brilliant season. In fact, they're my tip to overachieve this season. I rate Ollie Watkins. I work on the tele and I have my horse business you know, do all this, but if I was a striker coach and I was offered two players in the Premier League to go and say, here's a project, spend a year with two players in the Premier League and make them better, then I think the two people that you could get most out of would be Nunez and Ollie Watkins. I think there's so much more to give from them both.

Do you think there's a current striker who most reminds you of yourself as a player?

I've always found this question quite difficult to answer, to be honest. I don't see many strikers that are 5ft 8 and lightning quick, that play up front with another striker. I just don't see anybody. And the other thing is, are you talking about Michael Owen at 18 or Michael Owen at 30? I mean, they're literally chalk and cheese, those two players that I'm talking about. So I don't see anybody really, that's not to say better, worse or anything else, just the style of play. I just don't see anybody that I watch and think we're similar. I don't, it's a shit answer. I'm sorry, but that's the truth. I've always thought that, I've been asked the same question for years. I've always thought the same. I mean, Jermaine Defoe was probably my build and a really good finisher. But we didn't play the same. Aguero was the same, similar, small, good finisher, but he wasn't necessarily lightning quick and didn't like beating players and things. I don't know. I've never seen anybody that reminds me. No.

In a five a side between Sky Sport and TNT Pundits, who do you think would win? For Sky, I've got Carragher, Neville, Keane, Redknapp and Sturridge. For TNT I've got you, Ferdinand, Crouch, McManaman and Scholes.

Of course we would win. Are we talking about now or in our prime?

Let's go with your prime.

Until you pulled Sturridge out of the bag there, I was thinking, and I've always thought the same thing. Sky have always employed defenders or sitting midfielders as their pundits. When I watch football and when I watch Sky, I’m desperate for somebody to talk about scoring goals. I don't need to listen to Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher who’ve scored three between them, to tell me about a goal. I've always thought, you know, that people watch football to watch goals and get excited about scoring goals. So before you said Sturridge, I was thinking, Sky have got no goal scorers, we would win. But obviously you've just thrown him in, so that'd make it close. It would be a good game though. Fair play.

Do you look at the Saudi League as an exciting prospect? And do you think it's a threat to European football?

Well, a threat, is that the right word? Yeah, I suppose so. I mean, I'm sure that everybody at the Premier League is looking over the fence with anticipation, at what's going to happen next, what players are going to do and what's the investment and all the rest of it. So I'm sure it's spiked the conscience of a lot of people. I mean, China exploded into life about 10 years ago, and that's sort of fizzled out a bit. I can't see this one fizzling out. The depth of the pockets is extraordinary. Obviously, it's not got history and what we've got in the Premier League, just the whole structure, the whole youth development, academies and men's football, women's football, it just feels like the Premier League is so well established.

Not only that, it's established around the world and we've got fans from four corners of the globe which takes decades and decades to ingrain into people's psyche. I've got no problem with the league. I've got no problem with competition and people trying to make things better or paying players or whatever it might be. I've got no issues with that. That's just business, that's just life. But to go past the Premier League in terms of viewership around the world, if it could ever happen, it would take decades and decades. So it can be exciting. I'm excited to see the next steps. I've got no problems with it at all. I think competition is good, but I think what the Premier League got, what football's got in this country is history as well the structure and everything else.

If the league had taken off a decade earlier, you'd argue you’d be the perfect profile player that they would want to take there. Do you think you'd have been tempted by the opportunity?

Listen, there's loads of different things that you contemplate when you move. I mean, if you'd asked me when I was 16, then I would've said, no, I'm going to play for Liverpool all my life. That was just what I thought. But then opportunities presented themselves and in my life it was to move to Real Madrid and experience a new country. I think it all depends on the family. I think it depends on your age, your ambitions, how you feel about everything. I'm certainly not going to sit here and criticise anybody that goes to Saudi and experiences something new. So yeah, depending on what time of my career and things like that, then it would've been something that any player will look at.

Personally, I still think as we stand I would want to be making my name in the Premier League. You know, I spoke earlier about going to Spain and even though I loved the experience, you know, I always felt like a Premier League player and I wanted to play in the Premier League. I wanted to come back at some point. I guess that's just me. I would think that I would be wanting to play at a top Premier League club at the moment. That's not to say that the Saudi league's not going to improve and maybe there are already top players out there, but who knows where it's going to go in the future.