Man Utd transfer news LIVE: Pochettino ‘tells friends he’s leaving PSG’, Declan Rice LATEST, Cristiano Ronaldo updates

Ferdinand on Lingard

Rio Ferdinand reckons Jesse Lingard's wasted a whole season of his career by staying at Man United.

Ferdinand said: “I wouldn’t be happy if I was a player. It’s almost like he has wasted a whole year of his career. A whole season of his career he has wasted.

“He has hardly played any games. He went to West Ham and did fantastically well. Everyone would have wanted to take him outside of the top four.

• “Then, he goes back to Man United and doesn’t play. I was just baffled that he went back to Man United in the first place after having that taste of success and that taste of playing every week.

  “Either, he was promised by Ole that he would get more game time. This window, you thought he would do everything to get out.

  "Maybe he took long to get to that point of wanting to leave.”

• Not Keane on Vieira

  West Ham star Declan Rice has revealed that he prefers Roy Keane over Patrick Vieira as a football player.

• Ex-Man United ace Keane and former Arsenal midfielder Vieira were sworn enemies on the pitch.

  But Rice admitted that Keane was the one that he watched more out of the pair when he was growing up.

  When asked by Gary Neville who his favourite was on the Overlap show, Rice said: “I just feel like I’ve probably watched him more as a player.

  “Even though I was a kid when he was playing or coming towards the end of his career in terms of clips, how he played and what he was like as a captain.”

• United's new blockchain sponsor

  Man United are reportedly set to unveil a new £20million-a-year training kit sponsorship deal.

  The Athletic claims blockchain platform Tezos will adorn United’s training gear after their old contract with Aon finished last season, leaving their kit blank so far this term.

  It’s reckoned all the promotional material has been shot.

• And United will announce their multi-year partnership with the New York-based crypto company shortly.

  Tezos describes itself on its website as ‘an open-source platform that addresses key barriers facing blockchain adoption for assets and applications backed by a global community of validators, researchers, and builders’.

  It adds: “By design, Tezos embraces long-term upgradability, open participation, collaboration, and smart contract safety.”

• No shirt-swaps

  Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder has warned his players not to be focused on shirt-swapping with Man United's superstars when the clubs meet in the FA Cup fourth round.

  Wilder wants his Boro troops to keep their eyes on the prize and to not get overawed in the presence of United's big names.

  He said: “They’ve got some fabulous individuals and they can hurt you – but hurt three-quarters of the Premier League, if not more, and in Europe as well. They have a huge array of talent to choose from.

  “But it’s not a sightseeing tour from our players, it’s not a shirt-swapping situation. I don’t want people to go into Old Trafford and enjoy the visit.

  “I want the players to play well, I want us to give a good account of ourselves and make it really competitive, make it a dangerous night for Manchester United – and if we play well, I believe we can do.

  “If we don’t, then it will be a comfortable night for Manchester United and nobody wants that, me included.”

• Gunning for the Ron spot

  Dusan Vlahovic has been handed Cristiano Ronaldo’s old No7 shirt at Juventus.

  That’s after moving into the Manchester United star’s stunning former Turin mansion.

  Vlahovic rejected interest from Arsenal to seal a £62million transfer to Juventus from Fiorentina last week.

  Serbia international Vlahovic has already been given the keys to Ronnie’s old pad, which is a luxury hilltop mansion complete with an indoor swimming and Spiderman wallpaper.

  But Juventus have gone a step further to indicate their trust in Vlahovic by giving him the iconic No7 jersey vacated by Ronaldo.

• Hammer blow for United

  Man United's hopes of signing West Ham ace Declan Rice have been dealt a huge blow.

  While speaking to Gary Neville during a stroll around Kingston-upon-Thames, Rice admitted that he always wants to remain close to the region in South-West London where he grew up and still owns a house.

  Neville said to the in-demand midfielder: "Do you still have a house round here?

  To which Rice responded: "Yeah, I'm here all the time, I've always wanted to stay close to this place, I feel like I don't want to lose my roots."