Martin Caceres may be about to pocket £850,000 from his time at Southampton, but boss Claude Puel insists he is under no pressure to start the former Barcelona defender.

The 29-year-old has joined the Saints for the rest of the season after leaving Italian champions Juventus at the end of last year, in order to bolster their backline in the wake of Virgil van Dijk’s injury.

Southampton sit 13^th in the Premier League table following six defeats from their last eight matches – and the defence has come under fire after three clean sheets from ten games.

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Caceres has plenty of quality and experience, but Puel has warned he is not guaranteed to start.

“For me it’s important just to see good things for the team,” said the Saints boss.

“It’s not pressure for me, no obligation with any player.

“It’s important to see always the good possibilities, the good balance in the team, the work of any player in training, and to do the good solution for the team.

“For me a young player, an experienced player, all the players are important. I try to put in the pitch the best players in the team.”

Michael Carrick has urged Manchester United to quickly forget their EFL Cup triumph and solely focus on their top-four ambitions as they finally get back to Premier League action.

The Red Devils lifted the first trophy of the Jose Mourinho era with a 3-2 victory against Southampton last week, but their main aim this season has always been securing Champions League football.

United sit sixth in the Premier League prior to Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth, but with Liverpool and Arsenal faltering, United have a real chance to take advantage.

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And veteran midfielder Carrick wants them to move on from last week’s victory quickly to ensure they do not get distracted.

“We came back to training on Wednesday and we started looking forward to Saturday’s game,” Carrick said.

“In the back of your mind, going into this run of games now, knowing that we’ve won a trophy gives you an extra boost, but it’s not something that we’ve been enjoying all week.

“You move on quickly, take what you can from it, take the positives, take that belief and confidence that it brings, but at the same time all the focus has to be on the next game.

“That’s the nature of being successful, I think – you have to move on quite quickly.”

Pablo Zabaleta has lavished praise on the recent form of Manchester City’s wing wizards Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane.

Both impressed in Wednesday’s 5-1 victory over Championship side Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup fifth-round replay at the Etihad Stadium.

Sterling, 22, became the most expensive English player in history from Liverpool in a high-profile £49 million switch in 2015.

German international Sane, 21, sealed a £37 million move to Pep Guardiola’s side in the summer from Schalke, and both are terrorising defences on a more consistent basis with their pace and trickery.

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Argentine Zabaleta believes the form of the young duo is key for the chances of Manchester City’s level of success between now and the end of the season.

“Raheem and Leroy have been playing so well recently,” said Zabaleta, who has clocked up 326 appearances in all competitions for City since joining from Espanyol in 2008.

“They provide width to the team and they’ve got pace. It’s incredible how one is crossing and the other one is arriving to the back post.

“They are really good players and they are so important for the team especially in the way we play, so I hope they can continue until the end of the season.”

Teenager Ademola Lookman is relishing the prospect of European football with Everton.

The 19-year-old signed from League One side Charlton Athletic in the January transfer window for a fee rising to £11 million.

He made an instant impact with Toffees’ fans by scoring minutes into his debut in their 4-0 demolition of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City on January 15.

And the ambitious striker’s meteoric rise shows no signs of stopping as he sets his sights firmly on playing European football with his new club.

“It would be amazing to get into Europe,” he said. “To play different teams, experience different teams and players, it would be a great opportunity for the club and my game.

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“I’ve had that experience with England Under-19s of coming up against other nations but to play in the Europa League would be up there.

“We haven’t lost in the league in 2017. How we’ve been playing will make it difficult for any team to come up against us.

“It’s been a good start but can be better which is something I hope happens. To be involved so quickly and for the fans to take to me so quickly has been excellent.

“With time, I’ll adapt even more and become a better player. If you have that belief from the manager then it gives you belief, too, and raises your confidence.”

Swansea City boss Paul Clement has heaped praise his players as he prepares his team for a crucial run of fixtures starting with their game against Burnley at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Clement’s squad then face trips to Bournemouth and Hull City as they seek vital wins over their rivals at the bottom of the Premier League.

The Swans sit just two points clear of the relegation zone and Clement admitted he has been impressed with the level of desire shown by his players at this pivotal point in the season.

And good results this month could go a long way towards retaining their Premier League status for a seventh successive season.

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“I am learning every day about my players,” said Clement.

“They are very focused – they have been right from the start. They have shown a very professional attitude and they are very, very hungry to stay and play at this level.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more from them in terms of the way they are preparing for games.

“We have the three games in March and then we begin April with a game against Middlesbrough. We are all very aware that it is a very crucial period of four games, but all we are focusing on for the moment is Burnley.

“We have just come through a tough run of games but we have picked up a good number of points, and we will try to do the same thing on Saturday.”

Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka admits his side are exactly where he expected them to be in the league table but trusts them to get out of relegation danger.

The Teesside club are just one place off the relegation zone after Leicester City’s win over Liverpool on Monday night – level on points with Crystal Palace who sit 18^th.

Boro travel to Stoke City on Saturday knowing a defeat and other results going against them could see them slip to 19^th in the Premier League table.

And while Karanka feels his side deserve more points than they’ve got, he’s confident they can comfortably avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

“I always said it would be tough, and for me, we are in the position I thought we would be,” he said.

“With the performances and games we have played, we could have 32 points, but we have 22.

“You have to trust in yourself, and the players trust in themselves – we have to keep working together.

“I think it starts from me as the coach, if I go to the pitch with my head looking at the floor they will be the same. I trust them, they have showed me what we can do.”

Ibrahim Afellay will add something extra to the Stoke City team, according to his boss Mark Hughes, after the Dutchman signed a contract extension.

The new deal will keep Afellay, who recently returned to the Stoke first team after a serious knee injury, at the bet365 Stadium until at least the summer of 2019.

And after eight months out Hughes was delighted to secure the Dutch international’s services for the foreseeable future and expects him to be back to his best very soon.

“It’s important to tie up good players and he is another one that we have done so I’m pleased with that,” said Hughes.

“There’s always a little bit of a doubt when players get a significant injury, which clearly Ibi had, but he’s worked exceptionally hard to get back and he’s returned to good effect.

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“We’re really pleased that he is starting to get back to his match sharpness and level again, he gives us that little bit of calmness in possession when he gets on the ball and he can take the sting out of the game.

“People forget that prior to his injury he was arguably one of our better players last year and he has a lot of intelligence as a footballer which we need.

“We’re all really pleased that we’ve been able to retain his services and that he can move forward with us.”

For Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker it has been a long seven months out of the game after sustaining a knee injury against Lens in July.

The German world cup winner has not featured in a competitive match for the Gunners this season but has proved his fitness enough to feature as an unused substitute in FA Cup victories over Southampton and Sutton United.

And now the big defender is relishing the opportunity to return to the starting XI as he pushes for a place in Arsene Wenger’s side to play Liverpool on Saturday evening.

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“I want to just let the moment sink in to myself and feel proud again to be a footballer,” he said.

“Because all you do is train a lot, you want to feel those emotions come out of you and [appreciate] the reception from the fans.

“You always have a certain expectation of yourself, but at the same time you want to play. You want to play in front of 60,000. That’s the aim, that’s what you work for so I’m going to let myself be surprised a little bit.”

Mertesacker admits he may need more time to get back to full fitness but is relieved to be back training and injury-free.

“Obviously the manager makes the selection and I would say I need more training sessions under my belt and maybe a couple of games but still, it’s a blessing to be at this club plus to be painless as well, that’s really important for me,” he said.

The Liverpool squad must stick together to get out of their recent difficult patch, according to midfielder Adam Lallana.

The Merseyside club fell to a shock 3-1 defeat to managerless Leicester City on Monday – their fifth league defeat of the season, all against teams currently in the bottom half.

But Lallana and his teammates have the chance to bounce back from their disappointing performance at King Power Stadium when they face Arsenal on Saturday.

And the England midfielder has called for greater consistency from Jurgen Klopp’s men if they’re to challenge for the highest places in the Premier League.

“I trust the boss, all the players trust the boss, and we’re all in it together,” he said.

“You’re in it together when you’re succeeding and you’re playing well, we’re all in it together when things aren’t going too well.

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“That’s the position that we’re in at the minute and we just need to stand up and be counted and take responsibility. And that’s starting this Saturday against Arsenal.

“I want to achieve something special here at Liverpool and to do that we can’t just perform against the big teams, we need to perform against every team and treat them the same.

“I think that shows that the ability and the belief is there in the squad but we’re just not performing as consistently as we should be. We need to keep working on that.”

West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic insists that the club have no intention of selling striker Andy Carroll one of the super-rich Chinese sides, or anywhere else.

Reports have suggested that clubs in the Far East have an interest in the former England international, who has scored six goals in 12 appearances so far this season.

But Bilic is confident that the striker, who is expected to be fit to face Chelsea on Monday, will not be affected by the increased transfer speculation.

“Andy knows how much we and I rate him. He is one of our best players and we want to keep him,” Bilic explained.

“As far as I know, the Chinese clubs sent representatives to watch our game. Apparently they were watching other players but fell in love with Andy.

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“It’s certainly not the Club that has asked an agent to try and sell him. That’s not the case. We haven’t been bombed with offers from China, so it hasn’t affected me or Andy.

“I suppose Andy would have been flattered as it’s nice that people have a good opinion of you, but me and him didn’t talk about it at all.

“It wasn’t like we had three or four offers for our players from China. I heard the rumours and saw it in the papers but it didn’t affect any relationships with the players or with Andy.”