Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[Mafan]

Nani tipped for the top

Former Juventus and Borussia Dortmund star Paulo Sousa says Portugal and United could have two players that "can become the best in the world".

Now assistant coach with the Portuguese national team, who he made 51 appearances for, Sousa says Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani can be a dominant force for club and country for years to come.

While Ronaldo is already ranked among the finest in the world alongside the two Brazilians, Barcelona's Ronaldinho and AC Milan's Kaka, Nani is full of potential, according to Sousa.

"Nani is very explosive and very strong. He's fast and is going to be a great signing for United," he told BBC Sport. "I think that in the next five or 10 years, he and Cristiano Ronaldo can become the best players in the world."

However, while Ronaldo can play on either flank or up front, Sousa thinks that Nani is a direct long-term replacement for Ryan Giggs on the left.

"Cristiano can play anywhere and is very strong on both feet whereas Nani is basically a left-sided player," he said.

And the competition and experience of playing alonsgide players like Giggs will help Nani develop. "He is still young but has progressed very quickly," added Sousa. "He will face strong competition at Manchester which should help him progress."

Nani, who last week passed a medical and was given a tour of Old Trafford, is waiting for the final formalities to be completed before he can officially claim to be a United player.

[Mafan]

Foster: Surgery is career-saving

United goalkeeper Ben Foster has revealed his impending knee surgery could save his career.

The 24-year-old, who's been widely touted as Edwin van der Sar's long-term successor, was always going to miss the start of the Premiership campaign after it became apparent he would require surgery this month on his troublesome right knee.

But now, after discovering the true extent of the injury, Foster says it's a price he's willing to pay.

"It could have been worse," Foster told The Mirror after doctors discovered bone impacting on the ligaments. "If they hadn't found that fragment of bone the surgeons told me I wouldn't have had much of a career left."

The newspaper speculates that the goalkeeper may not play again until the New Year, but Foster remains upbeat about his future.

"I read some of the headlines about my United and England dreams being shattered, but I'm not looking at it that way. Of course it's galling, but I'm looking at it as a massive blessing in disguise because it could have been much worse."

Foster joined the Reds from S+++e City in August 2005 but spent the last two seasons on loan at Watford. And while he's yet to make his United debut, his performances at Vicarage Road won him widespread praise, and an England cap.

Earlier this year, Sir Alex described Foster's capture as "a great bit of business" and tantamount to "guarding the future of the club".

[qbdp]

Mourinho piles the pressure on United

CHELSEA BOSS Jose Mourinho has cranked up the pressure on Premiership rivals Manchester United by suggesting they are expected to win the title next season after spending nearly £50m on new players this summer.

The Portuguese has also claimed he is the equal of United coach Alex Ferguson as they have both won the Champions League the same number of times.

Mourinho’s comments, made in Portuguese newspaper Record, are bound to stir up the animosity between the two clubs that developed as last season reached a tense climax.

And though United triumphed in the league while Chelsea lifted the FA Cup, next season Mourinho expects Chelsea to be tipped to fight off relegation because their summer budget is so far the lowest in the league. Chelsea have not yet spent a penny on a player, bringing in Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro on free transfers.

“When Chelsea was spending money, everybody said that Chelsea had the obligation to win: ‘Chelsea spent the money, Chelsea are buying their titles,’ they said,” said Mourinho.

“I don’t even want to mention the fact that Chelsea are now spending nothing while United are spending a lot. I don’t want to know: they do their jobs, we do ours. I don’t care about their signings.”

His last comment may appear disingenuous as he went on to tell the newspaper what effect United’s spending spree will have on their expectations. “Two years ago everybody said that all the pressure was on Chelsea because people measured each teams’ possibilities and capabilities of reaching their goals in how many pounds they spent,” Mourinho explained.

“Now I’m waiting to see if people put us in the last place of the title candidates because they have to put Manchester United first, Liverpool second — they haven’t spent much yet but they will — and then Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa, and Newcastle. I even want to see if the press will say that Chelsea are candidates for relegation!”

Mourinho is clearly trying to increase the pressure on United, who this month have tied up the transfers of Nani from Sporting Lisbon and Anderson from Porto for over £30m, with Owen Hargreaves set to follow in the next fortnight.

In typical style, he added that if Chelsea can compete with United this coming season, it would represent a great success.

“It’s a nice and motivating challenge for my team to show that with the same group as last season, we can still keep winning.

“And hopefully that will be in normal conditions, and instead of having 20 injuries we will have only ten, which would make me happy.”

The fact that United’s two young signings, Nani and Anderson, have been signed from clubs in Mourinho’s homeland, Portugal, does not make any difference to the Chelsea boss’s opinion. “I’m not worried because they can only play with eleven players,” he said. “And if they played them all, it would mean Ryan Giggs would be out, which would make me very happy.”

Mourinho urged a bit more patience from his bosses in their desperation to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, and reminded his owner Roman Abramovich that his record in Europe is no worse than Ferguson’s. “Sir Alex Ferguson is the manager who has won the most titles in English football and he’s been in charge of Manchester United for over 20 years,’’ said Mourinho.

“How many Champions League titles has he won? One! I have spent five years as a manager, and I’ve won one as well, so let me get on with my thing.

“A second Champions League title will arrive soon. It won’t arrive when we want it, it will arrive when it has to arrive. I don’t put pressure on myself.”

[qbdp]

Ryan eyeing 10th title

IT'S 31 days since United lifted the 2007 Premiership title - 61 days until they begin the defence of their crown and two days before the fixtures come out. Yet already Ryan Giggs can't wait for the new campaign.

Giggs has entered eight seasons in his Old Trafford career wearing the tag of Champions.

But the Welshman has gone into the last three campaigns with the hollow feeling of being an also-ran.

Now the 33-year-old is anxious to enjoy the glow of winning another title.

"I'm already looking forward to playing in a season where everyone refers to us as champions," he says.

Ambition

"I want to go on and win it again. I don't want to dwell on achievements.

"I still feel like there's work to be done. Even after winning the league this season, I just want next year to come.

"The satisfaction of winning this one was really high because the standard required to win the league is so much higher now than in previous years.

"The bar has been raised, first by Arsenal and then by Chelsea, since we last won it in 2003.

"It was a big challenge for us, but also for every club in the league because Chelsea have got the financial capability to go out and buy any player they want. When they're all fit they could put two teams out, and two quality teams at that.

"We are lucky in the respect that they had a few injuries. Up until the last few weeks we were reasonably OK in terms of injuries. But I think we were due that bit of luck because weve had injuries in that past few seasons and that's really worked against us. But we certainly made the most of it."

Giggs won a record ninth title when the Reds finally saw off the Chelsea challenge in May.

But for more than a dozen of Old Trafford's seniors it was their first championship success.

The winger believes that breakthrough can be the platform for more Premiership titles.

"It's a relatively young squad that we have and there aren't too many players that have won it before," he says.

"It's always nice for the younger lads, like Wayne and Cristiano, but also for the other lads who've joined recently - Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ji-sung Park.

"The one thing the manager offers any player that comes here, is trophies.

"That was one of the first things I thought about when I knew we'd won the title seeing the look on their faces. I know how I felt when I won my first league, it was brilliant.

"I think people could see the promise this team had, but we had to prove how good we are. We've done that now, and hopefully it gives us the platform to go on and win more trophies.

Twists

"Hopefully, it gives the players who have not won the league before the confidence to go out next year knowing that they can do it again. The experience of having done it before will be a real asset for those players, because you know how to deal with certain games and the twists and turns of a title race."

Giggs has leapfrogged Liverpool's Phil Neal and Alan Hansen as the title-winning Kings.

He can extend his lead as the Champion of Champions this term as he also chips away at Sir Bobby Charlton's appearance record. Sir Bob is United's all-time record appearance holder with 759 matches.

Giggs now has 715 Reds appearances behind him.

But personal accolades come second for the Welshman.

"I'm proud of my nine titles but I'm not thinking of it as the ninth title I've won, I'm just glad to have won the league this season having gone three years without it," Ryan added.

"That means more to me, that we've got the title back, than any personal achievement.

"When you start out in your career as a player you set yourself goals and targets. When I was in the youth team all I wanted to do was get into the first team. Once you're there you really want to stay in the side and keep your place.

"As for winning trophies, I wanted to win as many as possible, but you can't set out to win a certain amount of e titles or so many cups. I didn't anyway.

"I've always just gone out looking to do well in each competition, trying to win every trophy available.

"And when I've won one, I focus on trying to win another one."

[imom]

Chelsea scout mocks Nani deal
Mon 11 Jun, 11:45 AM

Chelsea scout Piet de Visser has had a dig at Manchester United, claiming new signing Nani may not be good enough for the Premiership.De Visser has been asked by Blues owner Roman Abramovich to identify young talent to bring to Stamford Bridge, but has cast doubt on whether United's big-money signing can cut it in the English league.

Dutchman De Visser admits the 20-year-old midfielder has huge potential, but reckons his crossing lets him down and claims he holds onto the ball for too long.

De Visser, who recommended John Obi Mikel to Chelsea, told The Sun: "This boy is, as far as his skills are concerned, a super talent.

"He had his training with Sporting Lisbon and technically he is so good, he is almost perfect.

"But I also stress that despite all his talent he may not be right for the Premier League.

"His crosses are sometimes OK, sometimes bad.

"He dribbles too much with the ball because he wants to entertain, not because he wants to be effective.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had the same problem when he first played for United."

So? look at Ronaldo now. Who's having the last laugh? Mr de Visser probably didn't recommend Nani cos he wasn't Ukranian, wasn't above 28 y/o and didn't have a price tag above GBP30 million. Or perhaps he felt that someone wasn't 'special' enough to groom promising talent like what was done for Ronaldo?

[gaia]

Not to worry....Nani is someone even C Ronaldo recommends.....we are definitely not paying for a lemon.....even though we bought a black one in louis saha

[alex18122003]

Originally Posted by gaia

Not to worry....Nani is someone even C Ronaldo recommends.....we are definitely not paying for a lemon.....even though we bought a black one in louis saha

Louis Saha is a black lemon that we bought. That's a gd advantage for striker position coz he's can score goal look invisible on this Black lemon.

[Castrol]

Originally Posted by imom

So? look at Ronaldo now. Who's having the last laugh? Mr de Visser probably didn't recommend Nani cos he wasn't Ukranian, wasn't above 28 y/o and didn't have a price tag above GBP30 million.

you have to understand his frustration, chelsea got most of the new players on free transfers this time, de visser squats down with the agents but there isnt much $ to split. roman told him "read my vodka lips, no more spending..."

[tenggiri]

Originally Posted by Castrol

you have to understand his frustration, chelsea got most of the new players on free transfers this time, de visser squats down with the agents but there isnt much $ to split. roman told him "read my vodka lips, no more spending..."

With due respect bro Castrol, the actual reason is this burger talent scout ,
so he comment as such to cover his backside before Agarmovich come down and give him a taste of the russian salamie for not recomending Nani to chelski first!!

[yinyang]

Thurs rumour mill...

Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Liverpool have left West Ham fuming after launching an "insulting" £1m bid for midfielder Yossi Benayoun. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham are set to pay striker Darren Bent £75,000 a week when they sign him from Charlton for £16m to £17m. (Various)

West Ham and Tottenham will battle to land Darren Bent. (The Independent)

Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim will snub former Trotters boss Sam Allardyce at Newcastle and instead join Chelsea. (Daily Mirror/The Guardian)

Allardyce wants to steal Ben Haim from under the noses of Chelsea. (Daily Mail)

Portsmouth striker Kanu is ready to move to Ajax on a two-year deal. (Daily Mail)

Chelsea hope to sign Hertha Berlin striker Marko Pantelic for £2.5m. (The Sun)

Manchester United will intensify their bid for a new striker after Louis Saha was ruled out for up to six months following knee surgery. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester United are ready to bid £10m for Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella. (Daily Express)

Goalkeeper Ian Walker is ready to leave Bolton to revive his career. (The Sun)

West Brom are bidding to sign Celtic striker Craig Beattie for £750,000. (Various)

Rangers' bid to land Carlos Cuellar is back on after Osasuna caved in on the defender's demands to be allowed to leave the Spanish club. (Daily Record)

Hearts have insisted they have no plans to sell injury-hit winger Mirsad Beslija. (Daily Record)

Tottenham want Jermain Defoe to sign a new three-year contract but will sell the striker this summer if he does not commit himself to the club. (Various)

Bolton are heading the chase for Rangers winger Thomas Buffel. (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth want to lure back striker Yakubu by offering Middlesbrough a cash-plus-plus players exchange, with midfielder Sean Davis one of the fringe players who may be offered. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham are willing to sell striker Marlon Harewood to Fulham if they raise their bid from £3m by £750,000. (The Times)

Portsmouth have joined Sunderland and Everton in the battle to land Preston striker David Nugent. (The Times)

OTHER GOSSIP
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood and managing director Keith Edelman have held secret peace talks with American tycoon Stan Kroenke, whose acquisition of a 12% stake in the club sparked takeover talk. (The Sun)

Barcelona midfielder Deco will be glad to see the back of Real Madrid rival David Beckham, who is set to join Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy, because he believes the England star "has shown he is still among the best in the world". (Daily Mirror)

Real Madrid midfielder Beckham is confident he will be fit to face Real Mallorca as his side aim to win the title on Sunday, despite an ankle injury. (Daily Star)

Beckham has taken a pay cut in his basic salary to move to the United States. (The Independent)

Blackburn hope a takeover with American bidders can be agreed by August so manager Mark Hughes can splash out on players. (Daily Mirror)

Manchester City's managerial target Juande Ramos has said he is likely to stay at Sevilla. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City's managerial shortlist consists of Ramos and Dutchman Co Adriaanse, who has managed Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Porto and who left Ukrainian side FC Metalurgh Donetsk in May. (The Independent)

Oasis star and Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher is ready to rescue the Premiership club with a cheeky cut-price bid with M People founder Mike Pickering. (Daily Star)

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed he is unmoved by the £50m spending spree by rivals Manchester United. (Various)

Leicester want to sign midfielder Trevor Sinclair on a free transfer following his release from Manchester City. (Daily Star)

Boston United, who have been relegated to the Conference North from the Football League, are in danger of folding after a proposed takeover collapsed. (Daily Telegraph)

AND FINALLY
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich hopes to bring some unity to the club by attending captain John Terry's wedding on Friday but manager Jose Mourinho will not be there. (The Sun) Big angpow will do. What about his own fling with new gf?
Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson came on as a substitute to help Boro old boys' five-a-side beat German opposition, containing two of their Euro 96 team, to win a tournament in Singapore. (Daily Mail)

Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov has been named transfer of the season after Professor Tom Cannon and researchers from Buckingham University calculated the value to their clubs of last season's signings based on certain criteria. Chelsea forward Andriy Shevchenko was labelled a flop. (Daily Express)

[qbdp]

United: 2007/2008 fixtures

MANCHESTER United kick off next season with a home clash against last season's surprise package Reading.

The first Manchester derby is the third game of the season, at Eastlands on August 18, with the return match on February 9.

The Reds travel to Liverpool on December 15, with the return game at Old Trafford on March 22, while the home and away clashes with Chelsea fall on September 22 and April 26 respectively.

The initial fixtures are all, however, subject to change because of a new £1.7billion television deal, which this season will see some 46 matches shown live on Setanta Sports as well as satellite broadcaster Sky.

United's Barclays Premiership fixtures:

11/08/2007 - Manchester United v Reading
14/08/2007 - Portsmouth v Manchester United
18/08/2007 - Manchester City v Manchester United
25/08/2007 - Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
01/09/2007 - Manchester United v Sunderland
15/09/2007 - Everton v Manchester United
22/09/2007 - Manchester United v Chelsea
29/09/2007 - Birmingham City v Manchester United
06/10/2007 - Manchester United v Wigan Athletic
20/10/2007 - Aston Villa v Manchester United
27/10/2007 - Manchester United v Middlesbrough
03/11/2007 - Arsenal v Manchester United
10/11/2007 - Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers
24/11/2007 - Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United
01/12/2007 - Manchester United v Fulham
08/12/2007 - Manchester United v Derby County
15/12/2007 - Liverpool v Manchester United
22/12/2007 - Manchester United v Everton
26/12/2007 - Sunderland v Manchester United
29/12/2007 - West Ham United v Manchester United
01/01/2008 - Manchester United v Birmingham City
12/01/2008 - Manchester United v Newcastle United
19/01/2008 - Reading v Manchester United
30/01/2008 - Manchester United v Portsmouth
02/02/2008 - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United
09/02/2008 - Manchester United v Manchester City
23/02/2008 - Newcastle United v Manchester United
01/03/2008 - Fulham v Manchester United
08/03/2008 - Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers
15/03/2008 - Derby County v Manchester United
22/03/2008 - Manchester United v Liverpool
29/03/2008 - Manchester United v Aston Villa
05/04/2008 - Middlesbrough v Manchester United
12/04/2008 - Manchester United v Arsenal
19/04/2008 - Blackburn Rovers v Manchester United
26/04/2008 - Chelsea v Manchester United
03/05/2008 - Manchester United v West Ham United
11/05/2008 - Wigan Athletic v Manchester United

[mr_missile]

Italian Striker for United?

MANYOO WANT A STRIKER
One touted destination for Defoe is none other than Old Trafford.

But the Daily Express think Sir Fergie will instead splash the cash on 23-year-old Italian Fabio Quagliarella.

He scored 13 goals for Sampdoria in Serie A this season, and burst onto the international scene with two debut goals for Italy against Lithuania last week.

[yinyang]

Fixtures (to Dec 2007) at BST incl Asian matches July

Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Friendly Match
Urawa Red Diamonds v Man Utd, 12:00
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Friday, 20 July 2007
Friendly Match
FC Seoul v Man Utd, 12:00
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Monday, 23 July 2007
Friendly Match
Shenzhen Jianlibao v Man Utd, 12:00
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Wednesday, 01 August 2007
Friendly Match
Man Utd v Inter Milan
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Friday, 03 August 2007
Friendly Match
Doncaster v Man Utd, 19:45
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Saturday, 11 August 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Reading, 15:00
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Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Barclays Premier League
Portsmouth v Man Utd, 19:45
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Saturday, 18 August 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man City v Man Utd, 15:00
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Saturday, 25 August 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Tottenham, 15:00
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Saturday, 01 September 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Sunderland, 15:00
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Saturday, 15 September 2007
Barclays Premier League
Everton v Man Utd, 15:00
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Saturday, 22 September 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Chelsea, 15:00

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Saturday, 29 September 2007
Barclays Premier League
Birmingham v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 06 October 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Wigan, 15:00

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Saturday, 20 October 2007
Barclays Premier League
Aston Villa v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 27 October 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Middlesbro', 15:00

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Saturday, 03 November 2007
Barclays Premier League
Arsenal v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 10 November 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Blackburn, 15:00

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Saturday, 24 November 2007
Barclays Premier League
Bolton v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 01 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Fulham, 15:00

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Saturday, 08 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Derby, 15:00

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Saturday, 15 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 22 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
Man Utd v Everton, 15:00

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Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
Sunderland v Man Utd, 15:00

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Saturday, 29 December 2007
Barclays Premier League
West Ham v Man Utd, 15:00

[qbdp]

Reds confirm Saha comeback

UNITED have moved to clarify the fitness of striker Louis Saha by confirming he will be ready to start the new season.

The France international has recently undergone knee surgery, and there have been conflicting reports of how long he will be out of action.

Now the club have said in a statement: "Louis underwent surgery in the USA earlier this month to treat a knee problem that developed at the end of last season.

"Louis is currently continuing his rehabilitation in France under guidance from the specialist and the club's medical team.

"He is making good progress and is expected to be fit for full training by the start of the new season."

Problems

Saha had hamstring and knee problems in the second half of last season, limiting him to just four starts in 2007.

Saha's former agent Ranko Stojic, who arranged the player's £12.8million move from Fulham in January 2004, initially said that the player could take six more months to return to action.

This was then countered by the players new advisors, the Stellar Group, who insisted that although the player would miss United's tour to the Far East next month, he would be available for the start of the Barclays Premier League season in August.

That, however, will not deter manager Sir Alex Ferguson from continuing his search for a new striker.

With the future of Alan Smith now in doubt, far too much pressure will rest on Wayne Rooney's shoulders. And Saha's reputation for being injury prone will ensure Ferguson maintains his hunt for another forward.

Barca offer Eidur as Pique bait

EIDUR Gudjohnsen will be offered as bait to Manchester United by Barcelona as they seek to sign young defender Gerard Pique.

The former Chelsea star may fit the bill for the Reds next season as they look for a new striker, despite the fact that they have received assurances that Louis Saha will be fit for the start of the season on August 11.

Barca are tracking 20-year-old Pique, who was snatched from under their noses as a 17-year-old in the youth ranks at the Nou Camp three years ago.

The Spaniard has been on loan at Real Zaragoza all season, and his stay has been successful enough for the club to want to make the move permanent - and Barca have joined the hunt.

Zaragoza are ready to offer cash for Pique, who has made 10 first-team appearances for the Reds, and they will have ready money as they prepare to sell Gaby Milito to Juventus for £16m.

Barca will offer Gudjohnsen, but will expect cash on top for the 6ft 1n Icelander, who scored five goals in 25 league appearances and three in eight Champions League games last season.

Admirer

Sir Alex Ferguson has been a long-time admirer of Gudjohnsen, who began his English career with Bolton in 1998 but is only 29 years old, and he could be landed for £5m plus Pique.

The Reds are casting their net far and wide for a new striker this summer, with 23-year-old Italian starlet Fabio Quagliarella also coming in for some attention.

Ferguson's brother and chief European scout Martin watched the Sampdoria star playing against Palermo towards the end of the season, but United face stiff competition as Juventus are also in for a player who has broken into the Italian national squad this season.

Known as a ruthless finisher, Quagliarella has three caps and he scored his first international goals earlier this month, netting both as Italy beat Lithuania 2-0. Those goals added to a season in which he has scored 13 times in 35 games for Sampdoria.

[yinyang]

Tgif rumour mill...

Friday's gossip column

TRANSFER RUMOURS
Barcelona are ready to offer Eidur Gudjohnsen in a swap deal for Manchester United defender Gerard Pique. (Various)

Ex-Nou Camp youngster Pique spent last season on loan at Real Zaragoza who are expected to table a improved offer after a £7m bid was rejected. (Daily Mail)

United spending spree this summer has seen them make a £10m bid for Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella, according to the player's agent. (Various)

Chelsea have rejected a bid for striker Didier Drogba from AC Milan. (Times)

Keeper Jerzy Dudek did not have his contract at Liverpool extended and will now move to Real Madrid. (Daily Mail)

The investigation into irregularities in the transfer system have cited managers involved in deals which have not been signed off by Lord Stevens, but whether the Premier League will divulge the names is in doubt. (Daily Express)

Arsenal have begun talks over the £20m transfer of striker Thierry Henry to Barcelona. (Various) Not surprising....

Fulham have stepped up their attempts to get West Brom duo Diomansy Kamara and Jason Koumas by offering players-plus-cash. (Various)

The third-party who has a stake in Manuel Fernandes has scuppered a possible move for the winger to the Premiership. (Daily Express)

Former French World Cup-winning skipper and ex-Juventus boss Didier Deschamps is another in the frame for the Manchester City job. (The Sun)

Charlton striker Darren Bent is a target for Liverpool and Tottenham after turning down West Ham. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham being spurned will see them now target Shaun Wright-Phillips. (Daily Mirror)

Wolves and Norwich are battling it out for Southend striker Freddy Eastwood. (Daily Mirror)

Celtic will splash out £5m to bring Gennaro Delvecchio and Massimo Donati to Scotland from Serie A. (Daily Record)

Celtic are preparing a £350,000 bid for NAC Breda striker Maceo Rigters. (The Sun)

OTHER GOSSIP
Sheffield United want £20m from the Premier League if they are not reinstated back into the top flight. (The Sun)

Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen has turned down the chance of a switch to Valencia, who offered him more money. (Daily Mirror)

AND FINALLY
David Beckham is set to miss out on a knighthood but can console himself in the fact that England boss Steve McClaren has told him he will keep his international place while at LA Galaxy if his form does not drop. (Daily Mail)