Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri insists Jamie Vardy can star in the Premier League for at least another five years.

Last year was certainly one to remember for Vardy, as he scored his first-ever England goal, represented his country at Euro 2016 and won the Premier League with Leicester – his 24 goals seeing him pick up a whole host of individual awards.

But on Wednesday the former non-league star celebrates his 30^th birthday, with that the age of which many players begin to regress.

But Ranieri is adamant that fate won’t befall sharp-shooter Vardy.

“A long time ago maybe 30 was old for a player, but now he is a young, experienced player who can score again for another four or five years,” Ranieri said.

“I think the age of the players has changed.

“He is intelligent, you see how he tries to link with Islam Slimani and sometimes attack the space and sometimes go wide to make a cross.

“That is very important. He is still improving and will until the end of his career.

“The man who doesn’t improve is finished – not just the player, but the man.”

Eddie Howe lamented his Bournemouth team’s “disappointing” display as they were dumped out of the FA Cup by League One side Millwall.

Steve Morison gave the Lions the lead midway through the first period, before Shaun Cummins doubled the hosts’ advantage early in the second half with a close range finish.

Shane Ferguson fired home Millwall’s third in the third minute of stoppage time to seal a 3-0 victory for Neil Harris’ side.

Howe made 11 changes to the side that drew 3-3 with Arsenal on January 3, and the Cherries manager admitted the mood was “flat” after the loss.

“It’s a hugely disappointing result and performance,” Howe said. “We never really got going.

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“We felt we gave some players a really good opportunity today and it’s frustrating we haven’t turned in a better performance.

“The first goal in the game was really important. It was from a set play and a free header from our point of view. That was disappointing and from that moment the crowd really got into the game and it affected us.

“At the start of the second half we were still in the game, but we conceded early and from there it was an uphill battle.

“I felt it was a disappointing performance. It’s hard to stand here and look at the positives right now, but we’ll go away, review the game and look at the areas in which we can improve.

“It doesn’t matter where or what competition you’re playing in, it’s always disappointing to lose games. We wanted to progress in the competition, so today is a very flat feeling.”

Southampton must stop conceding so many goals according to defender Maya Yoshida as they prepare for their EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

The Saints haven’t kept a clean sheet for five games, conceding 12 goals in that time, a worrying statistic for Claude Puel’s side ahead of facing Liverpool.

Yoshida got himself on the scoresheet during the Saints 2-2 draw with Norwich City in the FA Cup on Saturday as a last minute Steven Naismith header earned the Championship side a replay.

“We shouldn’t concede the last minute goal, of course,” he said.

“To be honest, we’re very disappointed but we don’t have too much time to change anything so just focus on the next game against Liverpool and the semi-final.

“We are frustrated because we controlled the game, same as the one against West Brom, and we conceded two goals. Now we’ve conceded too many goals, and we need to stop that.”

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The late equaliser for Norwich also left Saints boss Claude Puel facing another fixture in the coming weeks meaning they still have six games to play before the end of the month.

“It’s a second round now and we play at home, but it’s another game on January in the cup to go alongside the Premier League and the EFL Cup,” he added.

“It’s another important game without the possibility to recover also.

“It’s without a week of recovery and work, but it’s our fault and it’s important to have a good answer in the next game against Norwich.”

Mauricio Pochettino admits he’s been impressed by the ease with which Victor Wanyama has settled into the Tottenham side.

The Kenyan midfielder joined in the summer from Southampton, where he had already played under Pochettino, and has been a regular for Spurs.

He was outstanding in Wednesday’s victory over Chelsea, and Pochettino feels the 25-year-old is hitting his best form.

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“He’s a player that we knew very well before,” said the Spurs boss. “We signed him from Southampton and I think now he is showing his real level. He is a really important player for us, but I think you can see that every week when he plays on the pitch.

“He’s strong, powerful, he provides a very good balance for the team and he is not only a holding midfield – he plays very well with the ball. He is always in a position where he is under pressure because so many players want to press him.

“But I think the fantastic thing about him is that he fitted into the team from day one. He had an unbelievable welcome from the players – they love him. He’s a very nice person and a very good player. You can see that, not only against Chelsea.”

Paul Scholes says his former club look like “the real Manchester United” again after an excellent run of recent results.

United swept aside Championship outfit Reading 4-0 in the third round of the FA Cup in Saturday’s early kick-off.

A Marcus Rashford brace and goals from Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial saw United ease into the fourth round at the expense of the Royals, managed by former United defender Jaap Stam.

The win was their eighth in a row in all competitions, and they have not lost since a 2-1 Europa League reverse at Fenerbahce.

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United are sixth in the Premier League, two points behind Arsenal in fifth and three behind  Manchester City, who occupy the fourth and final Champions League place.

The Red Devils’ next game is the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Hull City on Tuesday, before a crunch clash against second-placed Liverpool on January 15.

Despite a slow start, Jose Mourinho has returned United to winning ways, something that has reminded Scholes of the vintage winning mentality the team enjoyed under Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Manchester United over the last six weeks have looked the real Manchester United of old,” he said.

“They want to score goals, they’re playing with purpose, they’re creating chances all the time – and they’re difficult to play against.”

West Ham captain Winston Reid hopes the momentum built by three consecutive Premier League wins has not been eroded by another three losses on the spin.

After a rocky start to the season, Slaven Bilic’s side beat Burnley, Hull and Swansea, and also drew 2-2 with Liverpool, as they went four league games unbeaten in December.

But a narrow loss to Leicester and successive home defeats to Manchester sides following the turn of the year have once again raised questions over the wisdom of the move to the London Stadium.

The club posted the official dimensions of the pitch, the same width as Upton Park but 4.5 metres longer, to quieten talk of the new ground being too different to their old home.

But Reid insists it is the player performances that make the difference, and hopes they can re-find the momentum lost in early 2017 by their 5-0 FA Cup drubbing by City.

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“We’ve got eight days until the next game and we’ve been picking up points in the league,” he said.

“We won three games on the trot and then were a bit unlucky against Leicester and then had that decision against Man United. Those last two games were tough.

“When you’ve momentum, you’ve got to keep it going. We had a full house and were playing against a big team, but when you make mistakes, at the end of the day you get punished, especially against these.

“That’s the underlying fact – we made too many individual mistakes which cost us football matches. We weren’t making them recently like we were at the start of the season, and that makes it difficult for a team to recover.

“One-hundred per cent we need to bounce back like we did after the Arsenal game.

“We can be honest and say the season hasn’t panned out like we wanted it to so far, but we still have half-a-season to go and our focus is on getting up the league – we need to do that.”

George Friend and Fabio are firm friends off the pitch but when it comes to the starting left back position at Middlesbrough, there is no love lost between the two.

Friend’s injury back in November allowed the Brazilian – formerly of Manchester United – to get into the first team and impress boss Aitor Karanka.

But Friend is now back firing fit and started Boro’s New Year’s Eve clash at Old Trafford.

The competition between the duo therefore is now intense but Friend welcomes the challenge.

“I’ve had competition for places in all five seasons I’ve been here and I enjoy that,” said Friend. “Fabio is a fantastic player and a really great lad.

“Our relationship off the pitch is well-documented, we get on really well. The key is us staying up this year so whether I’m playing, he’s playing or Roberto Carlos is playing – let’s stay up, that’s the key.”

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

On Sunday Boro kick off their FA Cup campaign by welcoming Sheffield Wednesday to the Riverside and Friend insists they are anticipating a full-blooded clash with their Championship opponents.

“It’s a tough game, they’re doing well in the Championship and have always been a big threat,” he added.

“They’re a strong side. It’s important we aren’t too ahead of ourselves thinking that we’re the Premier League club now because we’re only just out of it [the Championship] so we need to remember where we are.”

Kurt Zouma returns to the Chelsea starting line-up for the first time this season on Sunday, but while Antonio Conte will change his side around for first taste of FA Cup action, the Italian insists he will not risk an early exit.

The Blues take on Peterborough at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, their first match after their 13-game winning streak in the Premier League was ended by Tottenham on Wednesday.

Conte is set to give the likes of defender Zouma – who is back from a horror knee injury sustained last term – and out-of-favour striker Michy Batshuayi a chance to start the game.

But he is adamant he is not taking Posh lightly, with the League One outfit undefeated in any competition since November.

“This is my first experience of the FA Cup,” he said. “I know this competition because I watched a lot of games when I was in Italy.

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“This competition is an important competition in England, and the oldest in the world, and for this reason I have great respect for the FA Cup.

“Also it is a good opportunity to give a chance to some players who in this moment are not playing a lot. I have tried to find the right mix because I want to go forward in this competition.

“Zouma will start; he is ready to start, he deserves to start. It’s a good opportunity to show me he is in good form and to give me another opportunity when I go to choose the starting XI.

“His injury was very bad. I knew this. I talked with my club about this injury, and for this reason we knew Kurt needed more time to recover.

“Now he is in good shape and he is ready to play and to restart his career.”

Pep Guardiola is a little short of midfield options at Manchester City, but the manager says he may have found a gem in Pablo Zabaleta.

The 31-year-old has spent his entire career as a right-back or centre-back, but slotted into the centre of midfield in City’s 5-0 FA Cup third round win away at West Ham United.

Zabaleta joined City from Espanyol in 2008 and helped the club win the Premier League title in 2012 and 2014, as well as the 2011 FA Cup and two League Cups.

Guardiola has a headache in the centre of midfield with Fernandinho suspended after his third red card in six games, and Ilkay Gundogan out for the rest of the season with a serious knee injury.

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Yaya Toure, Fernando and Fabian Delph are the only recognised centre midfielders available – opening the door for Zabaleta, who looked comfortable at the London Stadium.

“To give us a little bit more consistency, he can play there in the middle perfectly,” Guardiola said.

“He’s a fighter, he helps us a lot in the middle, he’s a guy who arrives in the right tempo. And like against Celtic he made a good performance, really good.”

Stoke City are at a cross-roads, according to club legend Mike Pejic, with the Potters failing to find a settled system so far this season.

Stoke sit 11th in the Premier League table but have suffered heavy defeats to Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham this season.

A poor start to the campaign left them in the bottom three until late October, before a positive run of results against the likes of Hull, Swansea and Watford pulled them clear.

Boss Mark Hughes has reverted back to the likes of Peter Crouch and Jonathan Walters in recent weeks, preferring to overlook the talents of Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri.

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This has left many Potters fans frustrated, and Pejic believes Hughes needs to get more bang for his buck from his foreign recruits and find a consistent system going forward.

“When it comes to selection with whatever system, there has been a constant changing of personnel which hasn’t always been triggered by injuries,” said Pejic, who played 274 times for the Potters.

“Chopping and changing, almost from game to game, means no continuity, no developing of an understanding in partnerships and therefore a drop in confidence.

“I’m not excusing the players themselves here either. They cannot bellyache about being criticised when they are losing matches and committing costly individual errors, the kind we have seen in recent weeks.

“Let’s hear less talk about this from the players and more positive action out in the middle. Then, and this is important, we might see Stoke gaining more points against the higher ranked teams.”