The 35-year-old is calling time on his playing career after 17 seasons with Liverpool and the Manchester United manager has taken time to heap praise on the defender’s talents

Outgoing Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed his admiration for retiring Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

The 35-year-old is set to play his final game for his hometown side on Sunday against QPR following 17 seasons and 737 first-team outings for the Anfield club.

And Sir Alex, who is calling time on his managerial career after 26 years at Old Trafford, says Carragher is a model professional who he has great respect for.

“He’s absolutely a player I admire,” Sir Alex told the club’s official website. “He’s the epitome of a loyal, dedicated player who Liverpool have been lucky to have for more than a decade.

“He’s been a bedrock of their defensive qualities for years and years. I loved him. He’s a fantastic example for any young lad that wants to play the game. He’s been a really, really good professional.”

Carragher struggled for appearances in the first half of the campaign but has started 14 of Liverpool’s last 16 Premier League games, and Sir Alex compared the centre-back to former United captain Steve Bruce.

“He’s absolutely the type of player a manager wants,” Sir Alex continued. “I used to rave about Brucie [Steve Bruce] and the nine years he had with us, and I think Jamie Carragher is that exact same mould – can play with injuries, gets knocked about and gets back up, hardly misses a game.

“You’re lucky to have players like that. I was lucky to have Steve Bruce and he is the same type of player. A fantastic player.”

The young Wigan midfielder is in high demand following his side’s relegation and our tipster thinks that a move to White Hart Lane could be next for the FA Cup winner

The vultures are circling over relegated Wigan, looking to pick apart a squad that was celebrating FA Cup glory just days before dropping out of the Premier League.  

First on the menu could be James McCarthy, who has attracted interest from a number of big-name clubs for his elegant performances in the centre of The Latics’ midfield.

With a well-publicised appetite for bright young talent, Arsenal are currently favourites to land the 22-year-old, at odds of 2/1 (3.00).

However, Brendan Rodgers has also placed an emphasis on youth during his first season as Liverpool manager, and is rumoured to be monitoring the Irishman with a view to a move, an eventuality available at odds of 3/1 (4.00).

Chelsea took Victor Moses from the DW Stadium last summer and you can get odds of 5/1 (6.00) on the former Hamilton Academical man following in this former team-mate’s footsteps to West London.

New Manchester United boss David Moyes was supposedly keen to bring his fellow Glaswegian to Everton, and there are odds of 8/1 (9.00) available on him being brought in to solve the Red Devils’ perceived midfield issues.

However, after injury-ravaged seasons for Scott Parker and Sandro, Tottenham are being strongly linked with a move for McCarthy in order to bolster their own options in the middle of the park. Chairman Daniel Levy’s infamous powers of negotiation make odds of 8/1 (9.00) look particularly attractive on the player moving to Spurs.

Manuel Pellegrini is apparently lined up to take over at Manchester City and it is hard to see the Chilean moving for the Wigan man, making odds of 12/1 (13.00) probably best avoided.

The Republic of Ireland international is a boyhood Celtic fan, but even sentiment would surely not be enough to see him take the step down in quality by moving to the SPL, with odds of 16/1 (17.00) available on him joining Neil Lennon’s outfit.

Should he choose to move abroad, then Juventus 25/1 (26.00), Bayern Munich 33/1 (34.00), PSG 33/1 (34.00) or Spanish giants Real Madrid 40/1 (41.00) and Barcelona 40/1 (41.00) would surely offer more attractive propositions, albeit probably slightly unrealistic ones.

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Al Hain-Cole is a Liverpool fan, experienced tipster and avid follower of European football. He specialises in accumulators and if you would like to read more from Al you can follow him on Twitter here.

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The Danish centre-back would like to see his compatriot join the Reds from Ajax this summer, and says he would fit perfectly into Brendan Rodgers’ style of passing play

Daniel Agger has stated his desire for compatriot Christian Eriksen to join him at Liverpool in the summer from Dutch champions Ajax – and suggested the midfielder could star in the Premier League.

The 21-year old midfielder has hinted this week that his preference would be to join Borussia Dortmund if possible, but Agger believes his fellow Dane would fit in well to Liverpool’s passing philosophy.

The 28-year old says that Eriksen could star in the Premier League – depending on which team he chooses to join – and is exactly the type of player Liverpool need this summer.

“We want to play attacking football with the ball on the ground and that is exactly what Christian Eriksen is all about,” Agger told reporters.

“That is the kind of player we need. It all depends on which team he plays for.

“If he plays for a team who want to keep the ball on the ground, then the answer is yes – due to his passing, his runs and his hard work.”

Agger also had a piece of advice for the young midfielder, telling him to make the decision on the club he decides to join himself, rather than be influenced by others around him.

The 28 year-old continued: “He has to do what he believes is best and no-one else but him should decide his future.

“You must never listen to anyone else other than yourself.”