It would be no surprise to someone if they said Kevin De Bruyne is the best player in the world. The era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is slowly coming to an end, with a new set of players taking the shining light.

In an exclusive interview, Teddy Sheringham believes the praise for the Belgian is warranted and that he'd "loved to have played with him".

The retired striker, who scored 146 Premier League goals, played regularly for Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. He said that he believes Ronaldo should be sold in January, so that Erik Ten Hag can replace him with a player with fight and passion.

Meanwhile, he later added that Harry Kane will not be happy with Antonio Conte's defensive system, whilst also stating Spurs need to sign a new defender in January.

  • The wish to play with De Bruyne

Throughout his career, Teddy Sheringham played with some of the greatest footballers of all time, including the likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. He was part of one of the greatest Manchester United sides of all time, but he believes it would have been a joy to have played with De Bruyne.

He said: "David Beckham was a phenomenal player but when you look at De Bruyne, I’d have loved to have played with him more. His energy, his enthusiasm, when you think he’s tired and then he goes on another 40 yard run before delivering the perfect ball."

The 56-year-old later added: "He’s the best player in the Premier League and up there with the best in the world."

  • Strong Views on Spurs' defensive mishaps

The North London side have had a mixed start to the season so far. At first, they were earning superb results despite not playing particularly well. But, now they are struggling to win matches potentially due to their own defensive downfall.

Eric Dier and Ben Davies have struggled in recent weeks. When you combine the shaky duo with Clement Lenglet and Emerson Royal, then it does not leave Spurs with a strong defensive backline. Teddy Sheringham agrees with this, and believes they must sign a new centre-back to replace Dier or Davies.

He said: "I think they need a centre-half. I like the look of Bissouma - he’s done well. But I look at their defence and Ben Davies is there when he’s a full-back. Lenglet looks decent but he’s not really a big, strong or commanding centre-half that people fear. Dier is OK but is he really a centre-half? There’s question marks over the back line for me."

  • Criticising Conte's tactics

Antonio Conte has one of the most decorated trophy cabinets as a modern football manager. He was a huge success at Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan. Tottenham fans are hoping the Italian can bring some much-needed success to N17.

However, Teddy Sheringham agrees with Tim Sherwood, and believes that Conte's tactics must change slightly, otherwise they will continue to slip up in matches.

He said: "Sherwood is right to suggest Conte’s players are better than what he thinks. You’ve got to take games to the opposition - especially against sides you’re expecting to beat - and that’s probably what he’s getting at. You can’t counter attack against Wolves, Brighton or Crystal Palace. There’s a lot of talented players there and you have to take the game on yourself."

To add more salt to Spurs' wounds, the retired striker believe Conte's tactics will only anger Harry Kane, because no striker likes defending that much.

He said: "I look back at the Arsenal game earlier this season and I saw Harry Kane after five minutes 35 yards out from the goal. That’s the way Conte is setting up on the counter attack. I’m all for defending but when you see your centre-forward and your other centre-forward trying to stop defenders from scoring at set-pieces, it doesn’t bode well. I did my fair share of defending but it doesn’t help from so deep. I wouldn’t think he’d be happy at how that’s panning out."

  • Manchester United's leadership issues

In recent years, the Red Devils have struggled to find a powerful voice within the dressing room. Last season, Harry Maguire was captain, but his poor run of form has seen him left out of the starting eleven. Meanwhile, the likes of David De Gea and Ronaldo have both lacked the skills required at times.

Teddy Sheringham believes his former side need some new leadership, and wishes Roy Keane could come out of retirement!

He said: "If I had to pick one of my former teammates to play for United, it would have to be Roy Keane. Man United have a lot of very talented players but they’re only looking out for themselves at the moment. Proper leaders on a football pitch like Tony Adams, Keane or John Terry - they don’t care about if they’ve having a good game, they only care about everyone else having a good game. I don’t see anyone at United doing that at the moment."

This season, Ronaldo has shown he lacks the commitment to be club captain, especially after his antics against Spurs. Sheringham believes it is best for all parties if they part ways.

He stated: "Ronaldo made it clear he wasn’t happy in the summer and if you’ve got a superstar who’s unhappy then you have to let him go. It looks like he’s unhappy, he’s not firing on all cylinders and I know he got the captaincy the other day but that looked like an olive leaf from the manager. If you’ve got a superstar who’s unhappy, get rid of him and use the money to get players you know will die for you as a manager."

Newcastle have been the surprise package of the season so far. They currently lie third in the league, ahead of the likes of Spurs, Chelsea and Liverpool. Ever since a change of ownership last year, the Northern side have been in blistering form thanks to a boost in investment and the appointment of Eddie Howe.

The former Bournemouth manager has been key to the revival, and Teddy Sheringham believes that the club have every chance of getting into the Champions League.

He said: "I think Newcastle can get into the Champions League spots. Eddie Howe has been very impressive, he’s a centre-half by nature and has clearly instilled that in the team. The structure is great but they also have flair players who can go out and let the team play to their best of their ability. I’ve been very impressed and the signings have been great. They haven’t just gone for the best players which has worked well, rather for the players that Eddie thinks will work best for his team."

The retired striker later added that Newcastle should not think about signing Kylian Mbappe, because he does not fit into the structure of the team.

He said: "Newcastle fans would be happy if they signed Mbappe, but I don’t think he’s an Eddie Howe signing. It defeats any purpose of what he’s working towards and I can safely say that it will not happen."

In fact, Sheringham believes Newcastle can continue this form, so they will finish in fourth place. He finished with: "I think Newcastle will squeeze into the last top four space, along with City, Arsenal and Liverpool."