The West Ham boss says that the teenager “needs time” to chose which country he will play for

Declan Rice needs more time to decide whether to switch allegiance from Republic of Ireland to England, according to West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini.

An international tug-of-war has developed for Rice’s services with reports claiming he is set to turn his back on Martin O’Neill’s team.

The versatile 19-year-old debuted for Republic of Ireland earlier this year, but each of his three caps have come in friendlies and a switch of allegiance remains possible.

Pellegrini insisted the London-born teenager was still mulling over his options and urged against pressuring him into a hasty choice.

“I am always talking with all the players and with Declan also,” the Hammers boss told a news conference.

“He’s a young player and maybe we need to give him time to make a difficult decision. It is not easy, especially when you have both sides so near for your family.
 
“So we must not pressure him about his contract or for which country he will play. He needs time.”

Neither nation has selected Rice for the upcoming round of Nations League fixtures.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, O’Neill said: “I’ve spoken to Declan and the family. They want a little bit more time to make his mind up.

“He hasn’t made a decision yet. I am hopeful.”

Rice has started four matches in the Premier League this season, including West Ham’s recent wins over Everton and Manchester United.

The Brazilian is in-form and led the way with three goals on Wednesday, earning praise from his side’s manager

Thomas Tuchel heaped praise on hat-trick hero Neymar and labelled him among the best in Europe, though the Paris Saint-Germain head coach was quick to hail the collective effort of his side after their Champions League rout of Red Star Belgrade.

There was a gulf in class in Paris, where Ligue 1 holders PSG dismantled Red Star 6-1 thanks to Neymar’s three-goal haul on Wednesday.

PSG made a losing start in the Champions League, beaten by Liverpool on matchday one, however the French giants opened their Group C account midweek.

Neymar scored twice in quick succession before completing his hat-trick with a stunning free-kick nine minutes from the end, while Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe were also on target.

Speaking to reporters afterwards, Tuchel said: “Neymar is one of the best players in Europe. We have several of the best in our team – not just Neymar.

“We’ve won lots of games because we have the best players, but also because we were the best team. That’s very important.

“When you’re in good spirits, it’s easier to stay relaxed. It’s the same with Neymar. He’s confident in his form and his game – and you can see that.

“He’s very good at the moment. He’s nearly at 100 per cent of his form and physically as well.”

Neymar has been on a great run of form, scoring or assisting in his last 12 matches for club and country , but Tuchel was quick to praise the rest of his side and their mentality following another impressive victory. 

“We’ve improved our intensity in every game and you saw that tonight. We scored lots of goals after winning the second ball or losing the ball. It’s nothing when you just have possession. We want to play with intensity as well and close down spaces.”

He continued: “We watched lots of videos of Crvena Zvezda and saw they can defend with a lot of aggression and organisation.

“It’s difficult for other teams to score. They hadn’t lost for 34 games. You might think it was easy, but it’s never easy.”

Red Star – back in the Champions League after 26 years – held Napoli in their opener but the Serbian champions were outclassed by PSG in the French capital.

“Congratulations to Paris,” said head coach Vladan Milojevic. “They are clearly on a greater level than we are right now. From a defeat like this, which is very unpleasant, we should take as much experience as possible because we saw football at the highest level. Let’s not judge us on this loss, my players still have much to show.”

The striker has been carrying a foot injury but could be passed fit to face Hoffenheim, says his manager

Pep Guardiola will make a late decision on whether Sergio Aguero is fit to face Hoffenheim in the Champions League.

Manchester City take on the Bundesliga side on Tuesday having lost their first Group F game at home to Lyon.

Aguero, City’s record goalscorer, has been carrying a foot problem but has travelled to Germany with the squad.

And Guardiola indicated he will give the Argentina attacker as much time as possible to prove his fitness.

“Tomorrow [Tuesday] is such a big game and Sergio is here because the doctors said he is able,” Guardiola told a news conference. 

“Tomorrow we will decide whether to play him or Gabriel Jesus.

“[Fabian] Delph, no. Benjamin Mendy maybe [available to play Liverpool on Sunday] – we have enough days until the game so hopefully.

“The problem is that they still didn’t train with us, so hopefully when we return they can train with us.”

City received a boost with Kevin De Bruyne returning to training earlier than expected on Monday.

However, the Belgium star will not be available to play Hoffenheim and Guardiola is cautious over rushing his playmaker back to action.

“Today was his first training session back with the team so we will see when he’s ready to play.”

Speaking before Guardiola at Monday’s news conference, City captain Vincent Kompany hailed the returning De Bruyne.

“It’s difficult to quantify how much of a loss he has been,” Kompany said of his compatriot. “He is one of the best midfielders, we get more goals and assists with him.

“Luckily we have players to fill the gap. He has a huge presence and you don’t find it anywhere else in football.”

The Blues midfielder opened up about his future at both the club and international level after his side won in the Europa League

Cesc Fabregas is ready to have talks to extend his stay at Chelsea, but has also revealed his ambitions to play in a non-European league before he retires.

The 31-year-old has won almost everything there is to win in European club football and on the international stage, but believes he still has plenty to offer Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.

He started in Chelsea’s 1-0 win over MOL Vidi in the Europa League on Thursday, but has yet to feature in the Premier League under Sarri following a recent injury and his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

“I’m very open about it,” Fabregas said at Stamford Bridge following the MOL Vidi victory regarding his future. “To be the honest, the club has not said anything.

“At the end of the day, I have eight months left and at the moment I’m gone. But I’d love to stay at the club. I’ve been very happy for the last four years and a half, we’ve had great success, won many things.

“I think I have a good understanding with the fans and players. I feel I still have a lot of football left in me, but it is now up to the club.

When asked if he saw himself ending his career at Stamford Bridge though, Fabregas said he’d likely play away from Europe first before calling it quits.

“No, I don’t think so. Probably in a few years I’d like to go away from Europe and experience something different at the later stage of my career. But, for now, I still feel really good.”

Pedro has been the only one of Chelsea’s senior stars to renew their contract this season, with Fabregas joining David Luiz and Gary Cahill in having their deals run into their final year.

Goal revealed this week that Fabregas is looking at contingency plans should he not renew his Chelsea contract, but that he is hopeful of earning an extension by impressing Sarri.

Part of his efforts to earn a new deal include adapting to a new role that sees him deputise for Jorginho, who arrived over the summer with his manager from Napoli in a £57 million ($75m) deal.

Fabregas spoke of his joy at playing for Sarri, and wanted to send a message to his manager that he can also be used in a more attacking role.

“I just came back from a difficult injury, I’m still sometimes feeling it a little bit,” he said after suffering a setback against Manchester City in the Community Shield. “I felt I could have helped in the West Ham game and Liverpool in different types of things but the manager tried another option and I respect that.

“It is difficult to be sitting there and not helping the team when you know you could add something. This is part of the game, it’s still early for me. For me, this is pre-season, I’ve only been with the team for two weeks after seven or eight weeks out so it’s just there, it’s my second game in this position and I feel really good.

“I like it, everything goes through me. This is what I like. I feel sensations under Sarri that I never thought I would feel again. To be honest, touching the ball 100 times, all the play going through me or Jorginho is a very important role. I’m learning it, I’m very passionate about it as it’s very interesting.

“The way [Sarri] sees football is something that maybe in the future if I become a coach I think I’ll do something very similar to what he does. It’s what I like and how I see football. I’m learning a lot from him, it’s really interesting how he works and I’m really looking forward to working for a long time with him.”

Fabregas then echoed a sentiment about Sarri that was shared by Ross Barkley earlier in the week.

“I wish he came a bit earlier to be honest,” Fabregas said of Sarri. “It’s a little bit late now in my career. Definitely I’m very happy with him.”

Meanwhile, Fabregas has been left out of the Spain squad once again for the upcoming games against Wales and England, despite Luis Enrique taking over as coach after a disappointing 2018 World Cup.

Fabregas was pivotal to his country’s wins in the 2008 and 2012 European Championship, as well as the 2010 World Cup but he is now out of favour, having not been called up since Euro 2016.

Still, the former Barcelona midfielder refused to proclaim his retirement from international football and hopes to be one day recalled to La Roja.

“It’s difficult. First of all I need to play here more than what I do,” Fabregas concluded. “Then we will see what happens. New coach, new opportunity but definitely I need more game time.”

Sarri will likely recall Jorginho to his starting line-up for Fabregas, as the Blues face Southampton on Sunday ahead of the upcoming international break.

Having watched Napoli come undone at the hands of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, the coach was impressed with his former Real Madrid pupil

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo remains the same brilliant attacking force he was at Real Madrid, according to former coach and current Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Ronaldo set up two and had a hand in the third as the champions came from behind to beat Napoli 3-1 on Saturday and move six points clear at the summit.

His influential performance continued a fine start to life with Juve that has been marred only be a red card on his Champions League debut for the club.

Three goals in seven Serie A appearances have otherwise demonstrated his enduring quality and Ancelotti, who oversaw the 33-year-old for two seasons in Madrid, believes his standards are as high as ever.

“I’ve seen the usual Ronaldo, a player very important for his side,” Ancelotti said.

“He is constantly in the game and always a danger for opponents. He is always present in attack and, as I said before, he adds extra value to Serie A.

“It’s a pleasure to watch him playing in Italy.”

Defeat at Allianz Stadium was Napoli’s second in eight competitive matches under Ancelotti.

The ex-Bianconeri boss received a frosty reception from the home fans that he insisted came as no concern.

“The chants were normal. I’ll console myself with the 2003 Champions League trophy,” the 59-year-old said, referencing his AC Milan side’s triumph over Juve.

The Juventus player is reported to have denied the “fake news” accusations on Instagram following claims from Der Spiegel on a 2009 incident

Police in Las Vegas have reopened an investigation at the request of a woman who alleges she was raped by Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

German media outlet Der Spiegel reported on Friday that American woman Kathryn Mayorga had claimed Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas police said in a statement reported by the BBC : “At the time the report was taken, the victim did not provide detectives with the location of the incident or suspect description.

“As of September 2018, the case has been reopened and our detectives are following up on information being provided.”

The Portugal international, 33, appeared to deny the accusations as “fake news” in a live stream, which is no longer available, on his Instagram account over the weekend.

He is seen to say in the video: “No, no, no, no, no. What they said today [was] fake news.

“They want to promote my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous to say my name. Yeah, but it is part of the job. I’m a happy man, I’m all good.”

Ronaldo’s legal team, per BBC , say they will sue Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine. His lawyer, Christian Schertz, said: “The reporting in Spiegel is blatantly illegal.”

He reportedly added that he had been instructed to seek compensation for “moral damages” over “probably one of the most serious violations of personal rights in recent years”.

Ms Mayorga, 34, is reported to have filed a rape report with Las Vegas police after the alleged incident.

She claims to have reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo in 2010 involving a $375,000 (£288,000) payment for agreeing never to go public with the accusations. Her lawyers are now reportedly seeking to declare the non-disclosure agreement void.

Save The Children, a charity that Ronaldo has represented since 2016, expressed its concern at Der Spiegel’s contested claims on Tuesday.

“We are disheartened by the news report we’ve seen in the last 24 hours and are working to get more information,” the charity told The Independent .

Ronaldo watched Juventus’ 3-0 victory over Swiss side Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday from the stands due to a one-game suspension. He was sent off in the Bianconeri’s win over Valencia in a controversial clash with Jeison Murillo.

One of the most decorated players in modern football, Ronaldo won four Champions League titles with Real Madrid, in addition to multiple league and cup wins in Spain.

He had been a Manchester United player for six years, winning Champions League and Premier League titles, before becoming the world’s most expensive player in 2009 in his move to Madrid.

This summer Ronaldo departed the Santiago Bernabeu in a €100 million (£88/$117m) transfer to Juventus, champions of Serie A.

Juventus are currently top of the Italian table having defeated last season’s runners-up, Napoli, 3-1 on Saturday .

Ronaldo was a key player in that top-of-the-table clash and, after the match, criticised Mohamed Salah’s Puskas Award win for best goal of last season .

The Portuguese did not attend FIFA’s The Best ceremony last Monday, at which the best goal of the year award was given to Liverpool’s Salah, with the top gong for player of the year going to Ronaldo’s team-mate at Real Madrid, Luka Modric.

Lionel Messi, perceived as Ronaldo’s arch-rival for the last decade, also snubbed the FIFA gala. Modric said after winning his award that he’d hoped the pair would have attended following a backlash of heavy criticism from legends of the game .

Cruising through Ligue 1 fails to adequately prepare Paris Saint-Germain for the Champions League, according to the World Cup-winning coach

Didier Deschamps has warned Thomas Tuchel’s commendable qualities as a coach may not be enough to deliver Paris Saint-Germain the Champions League.

PSG won five of the past six domestic titles and have already opened a sizeable gap after eight matches of the new season.

But the domestic dominance is yet to translate into European success, despite chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s heavy investment in a succession of marquee signings.

Tuchel has been tasked with improving on a series of premature exits and, while World Cup winner Deschamps admires the ex-Borussia Dortmund boss, he harbours concerns over the competitive preparation provided in Ligue 1.

“[Tuchel] has a high level of social skills, works meticulously, has authority and at the same time has a certain closeness to the players,” Deschamps told Bild.

“[But] there is a lot going on Paris. He’s not a magician.

“They play in a league where they win most of the games even with the handbrake on and then suddenly find themselves in the Champions League again, against an opponent where the quality and aggression is completely different.

“The squad is not used to that.”

Beaten 3-2 at Liverpool earlier this month, PSG will attempt to get their Champions League campaign back on track when Group C outsiders Red Star Belgrade visit on Wednesday.

They head into that match following a comfortable 3-0 victory at Nice that saw them become the second side in Ligue 1 history to win their opening eight games.

Tommy Docherty believes the club would be better off without a disruptive influence, with there a reason Sir Alex Ferguson let him leave in 2012

Paul Pogba “clearly doesn’t want to be at Manchester United”, says Tommy Docherty, with the Red Devils urged to part with a disruptive influence.

Speculation regarding a possible move for the World Cup-winning midfielder continues to build, with a breakdown in his working relationship with Jose Mourinho edging him ever closer to the exits.

Docherty believes a January deal is the best option for all concerned, with there no way back for a “high maintenance” £89 million asset.

The former United manager says there is a reason Sir Alex Ferguson parted with Pogba back in 2012, as he was allowed to depart for Juventus at the end of his contract, and Jose Mourinho is showing himself to be the wrong manager for a flamboyant figure and the Old Trafford outfit as a whole.

Docherty told The People: “I would just let Pogba go. He clearly doesn’t want to be at the club.

“Some players who are high maintenance but do perform for you can be tolerated. But he blows hot and cold. United should never have re-signed him in the first place.

“Sir Alex Ferguson let him go for a reason. I’m not a fan of Mourinho – if he was made of chocolate he would eat himself.

“And I have my doubts that he will still be at the club this time next season.

“United don’t like to sack their managers and like to give them a good run. But Mourinho must be on borrowed time as he has spent well over £300m.

“And these constant rows being played out in public with his players won’t have done him any good.

“But if he does stay then he needs to show he’s in charge – and that means getting rid of Pogba as soon as he can. It’s the only way to show he’s in control at the club.

“Player power has always been around. But the modern player has the wages they didn’t have before. There’s less to lose for a player to clash with a manager so publicly.”

Pogba refused to address the issue of his future following another disappointing display during United’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday.

He was taken off during that game and told reporters “you want me dead” when asked to stop and speak in the post-match mixed zone at the London Stadium.

The German international says the Premier League champions will not face a more difficult assignment than this weekend’s clash

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan admitted nerves are inevitable ahead of a Liverpool trip that he considers the toughest in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola’s men head to Merseyside on Sunday for a top-of-the-table clash which is being tipped as an early indicator for the potential direction of this season’s title.

While unbeaten in the first seven matches of their defence, reigning champions City have not won at Anfield in 15 years and have lost all three competitive meetings with Liverpool in 2018.

Gundogan, who is a doubt for the game with a hamstring injury, says there is no more difficult challenge than beating Jurgen Klopp’s side on their own turf.

“It’s very tough, probably the toughest away game of the season in the Premier League,” the 27-year-old told ESPN FC.

“So there’s nothing better than playing these type of games. Although you’re much more nervous before these type of games than in others maybe, even then after your first successful pass, first successful tackle or your first good dribble, you get more and more confidence.

Should he recover in time to feature, the Germany international will again cross paths with his former coach Klopp.

Gundogan played under the Reds boss for four successful seasons at Borussia Dortmund and the pair retain a close bond.

“It’s always special to meet him… it’s always very nice and I get a big hug from this big guy,” he said.

“We have a nice quick chat, unfortunately we don’t have that much time to speak about stuff but it’s always very good to see him because he’s such a great guy, such a humble guy, and as manager he can show he’ll be successful.”