The Liverpool boss believes a selection of players have been brought into the international fold prematurely, adding that many have been unfairly “discarded too early”

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has warned against integrating youngsters into the England squad too quickly, namely Raheem Sterling.

The winger received his maiden Three Lions call-up last season aged just 17 but, after appearing in a friendly against Sweden, has failed to feature for the senior side since.

And Rodgers has now called for more care and attention in the development of England’s young talents, believing in some cases that players are thrust into the limelight prematurely.

“At that point in time he was one of the best young players in the country and he went into that game and actually did well,” he told the Daily Express.

“But it is about managing expectations – that is the biggest thing with a young player. You have to be so careful because there are so many young players in the country who get a cap and then are forgotten about.

“It can cause issues. It hasn’t as such, but I’m talking about young players here and not just Raheem.

“If they get projected into the international teams too early there can be a misplaced belief that they are considered ‘international players’ when sometimes the circumstances dictate that.”

Rodgers believes Sterling – who he had his professional debut – has demonstrated the potential to succeed at the highest level, but must be looked after in order to not become a victim of an increased level of expectation.

He continued: “He showed over the first six months of last season that he has a future in the Premier League and at Liverpool.

“It was going to be very difficult to maintain the level that he set himself, but he is only 18 years of age and as much as we want to play young players and give them the opportunity, there is a nurturing phase as well.

“We have to be careful and avoid what has probably happened too often over the years in football and discard young players too early. I don’t need them ready at 17. If they are, great, but certainly at 20 or 21, we would love them to be ready.

“For Raheem, football has to be very much at the forefront of his mind. If it is, he is a talent.”

A Ugandan Arsenal fan and his family have paid a heavy price for a misguided wager after Manchester United ran out 1-0 winners over the Gunners at the weekend

Betting on football matches has long been an integral part of the game for supporters but Henry Dhabasani’s attempts to ‘make things a little more interesting’ have had dire consequences.

Dhabasani, of the Iganga district of Eastern Uganda, has lost his home as a result of Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal on Sunday after a high-stakes wager with a neighbour.

Fellow local and United fan Rashid Yiga put up his car and wife as collateral in the deal, emerging the victor on the back of Robin van Persie’s 27th-minute header at Old Trafford.

Community members and leaders were present as the two men signed a written agreement in the build-up to the encounter between the Premier League leaders and stuttering title-holders.

Dhabasani, who has three wives and five children, was so distraught at full-time that he reportedly fainted.

And on Monday the misguided Gunner was forcibly removed from his home by United supporters along with his family, leaving him homeless.

If he needed another reason to despise Van Persie after the Dutchman’s defection to Old Trafford in the summer of 2012, he surely now has one.

The Belgian goalkeeper is happy with the Reds’ early-season form and hopes that his new club can keep it up for the Merseyside derby

Simon Mignolet is determined to help Liverpool keep up their impressive start to the season.

Brendan Rodgers’s side are second in the Premier League after 11 games and split up for the international break on a high note following a 4-0 hammering of Fulham.

The Belgian is keen for the Reds to avoid any distraction as a result of the international action, however.

Mignolet told Sky Sports News: “Things are going well with Liverpool – we won 4-0 last week.

“We have to build on that start and make sure that, after the international break, we keep doing the things we are doing.
 
“It’s a still a long way after November until February. There is a long run of games to be played and hopefully we can do well in them.”

Liverpool’s first match after the break will be the Merseyside derby against Everton at Goodison Park on November 23 and Mignolet thinks that it will be a huge test.

“It’s a big team to be played, they have a lot of good players,” he remarked. “It’s more important how we are going to play the game than our opponents.”