Tevez was seen as the driving force behind City’s successful quest for Champions League football while Berbatov became something of a maligned figure, especially in the shadow of the sprightly figure of Javier Hernandez, the new darling of the Stretford End. True their contrasting styles make the Bulgraian harder to like – English audiences are notorious for liking players who ‘put the effort in’ rather than those who are more selective about when they break into a sweat – but they still ended the campaign neck-and-neck in the scoring charts.

Berbatov’s omission from the squad for the Champions League final showed how much his stock had fallen. He would deliver the goods when he played, but in the games that mattered Fergie didn’t seem to trust him. That is always a bad sign. Those who bet on Premier League will know that Berbatov sometimes seems like a flat-track bully.

So the news that the United boss could sell the Bulgarian to Paris St-Germain is hardly a surprise, and once again demonstrates the Scot’s ruthlessness when it comes to discarding players. He won’t let nostalgia or emotion get in the way of the club’s progress – as plenty of players have found to their cost.

He seems to know exactly when a player has reached his peak and pocketing £18million for a 30-year-old in the final year of his contract would be a great bit of business, regardless of his goals last season. Those looking at the Premier League betting predictions should bear this in mind.

True it may pile the pressure on Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez but what odds on Ashley Young chipping in with a few? Or Danny Welbeck? Hell even Michael Owen may score.

The thought of Young and Nani rampaging down either wing is an enticing one for Red Devils supporters, and with the presence of plenty of young, attacking players to choose from it appears Berbatov’s days at Old Trafford are indeed numbered. And once again Fergie seems to have timed it exactly right.

The Red Devils have an abundance of goalscoring talent at their disposal for the upcoming Premier League season with six players all battling for a place in the starting XI at Old Trafford.

Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen, Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck are the men competing for a regular place in the plans of manager Sir Alex Ferguson. Fans of Betfair football online betting will know what a quality strike force this is.

As the Premier League’s joint top goalscorer last season, Berbatov publicly admitted his disappointment on missing out on playing in the Champions League final against Barcelona back in May.

The Bulgarian has been linked with a move away from United this summer, with a return to the continent on the cards as Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain are all reportedly interested in the 30-year-old. Those looking at the title odds for Premier League 2011-12 will be wondering if he is set to stick around.

Ferguson has insisted all six strikers will have to get used to the fact it will be a squad effort next season that will bring success to the club, but has admitted he understands Berbatov’s frustration.

He said: “I’d understand [if he wanted to leave] but you could say that about them all.

“I don’t pick the same team every week do I? I’ve only done that once in the last three years.

“So they all understand it’s the squad that wins the games, wins the cups and I’ve got a good squad that will be used in exactly the same way.”

With Macheda scoring goals in pre-season, Welbeck enjoying a decent loan spell with Sunderland last season, Owen looking for more game time, and the Rooney-Hernandez combination working well last term; Ferguson really does have some tough decisions ahead of him.

Phil Jones was their first signing for £16 million from Blackburn and he joined on a five-year deal.

Many fans have doubts as to whether Phil Jones is up to the high-standards that The Red Devils have adopted over the years. Then again, he’s only 19 and is playing under the wing of proven defenders, including England international, Rio Ferdinand and Man United’s captain, Nemanja Vidic. However, it may take him a while to settle in and anyone looking at the football betting should remember this.

The Red Devil’s second signing was Aston Villa’s talented winger, Ashley Young. The 26-year-old England international that plays best as a winger, but can also embrace the striker-role, left Aston Villa for a transfer fee of around £17 million. Last term, Ashley Young was a shining star in a team that was suffering an all-round poor season and anyone following the Premier League betting will know he helped Villa stay up.

He’s a pacey winger with many positive attributes, including his ability to score goals, and his precise crossing. He should be a danger-man for all types of foe come the 2011/12 Premier League season.

The third signing that manager Sir Alex Ferguson made was the stopper from Spain, David de Gea. De Gea, along with his Spanish Under-21 teammates, managed to cap an excellent victory over Switzerland in the final of the UEFA Under-21 Championship final.

He has been highly tipped to be a huge success with Manchester United, following in the footsteps of United legend, Edwin van der Sar. He looks to be a solid keeper with plenty of potential and should fill Van Der Sar’s gloves very well indeed.

After 466 appearances and over 100 goals for the club he had been at since the age of 14, Paul Scholes ended a glittering career with a list of honours even the best of players dream about. It is not easy to replace one of the greatest and most accurate passers the game has ever seen but it appears that Internazionale’s Sneijder is willing to fill the void after expressing his willingness to join the Red Devils. Malaga has also expressed interest in the Dutch midfielder, however it is apparent that Sneijder is pushing for United. Those keeping track of the Premier League odds will no doubt be following the saga.

Sneijder is one of a couple of targets Sir Alex has been on the prowl for as a replacement for Scholes having already placed a bid for Arsenal‘s Samir Nasri. Nasri has attracted attention from both colours of Manchester as City have also been chasing him which could be moving United towards Sneijder as a more practicable option.

The former Ajax and Real Madrid midfielder has earned praise from all over for club and country, being named the best Midfielder in Europe by UEFA as well as making the FIFA and UEFA Teams of the Year in 2010. He has also proved instrumental in his international career with 21 goals in 76 appearances and helped guide the Netherlands to the 2010 World Cup final. When Sneijder has scored for the Netherlands, they have never lost and only drawn a single game.

With the likes of Edwin van der Sar sure to retire at the end of the current season, and players like Paul Scholes predicted to be coming to the end of their playing days at the top level of the game despite calls from Gary Neville to stick around at the club for just a year or two longer, the timing of a new influx of talent isn’t entirely unexpected. This is particularly the case since the long-term futures of a couple of returning loan players, such as Danny Welbeck, are not yet known.

It hasn’t yet been revealed who the new faces that will be unveiled at Old Trafford over the summer are, but Ashley Young is a name that is refusing to go away when it comes to United transfer rumours, and fans are still holding out faint hopes that Wesley Sneijder will change his mind as to the next destination in his career. Those following the football betting odds will be keeping a close eye on United’s transfer dealings.

With Manchester City revealing this week that the Sky Blues are not planning on investing heavily in their squad over the summer, since the owners are keen to focus more on one or two quality additions rather than a vast number of star names, and with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s intentions not yet known despite an expected purge of talent at the club this summer, it could well be that United start next season as the favourites to finish the season at the top of the table once more.

Adler has done everything he can to try and engineer a move to Old Trafford, making a “come and get me” plea during an interview with the Mirror. The 25-year-old has a £15million clause in his contract at Leverkusen, allowing a move and Adler is desperate for United to trigger it.

“I have told the board of Leverkusen that I am not willing to discuss any kind of new contract until April. The board of the club are aware of the special clause in my contract. I have higher ambitions and everyone knows that Manchester United is my dream club,” he said.

The football predictions hint the German international Adler would be the strongest candidate to take over from Van der Sar if he signed. Lindegaard is inexperienced at senior level and Tomasz Kuzczak looks set to leave Old Trafford after five years of sitting on the bench.

The Polish stopper has been waiting patiently for Van der Sar to step down, only to see Sir Alex go out keeper shopping when his chance looked to have come. The former West Brom player has made it known he will be looking to find out his manager’s plans before deciding on his future.

“Of course I would like regular football. I need to see what the boss wants to do, whether he wants to play me or sell me. But definitely I want to play,” the player said.

United are most people’s football betting tips for the title this season, but they will need to ensure they find the right keeper if they are to carry their success on into future seasons.

If Fergie does decide to splash the cash on Adler, then Kuzczak could well be on his way out of Old Trafford. Whoever gets the nod to step into Van der Sar’s sizable boots will certainly have a big job on their hands.

The 15 year old made his debut for Norway’s under-15′s this Summer, playing in defeats to france, Spain and the Netherlands.

Despite being on the losing side in all three games, Mills was named player of the tournament.

Mills is expected to move to Manchester United in February 2011 where he will join the Manchester United academy, coached by Paul Mcguinness.

The Norwegian youngster joins a growing group of promising young stars that look set to light up Old Trafford in the future.

Buffon has not played with Juventus so far this season because his recovery from a Summer back operation is ongoing.

And his absence from a team photoshoot was the start of new speculation that the 32 year old goalkeeper is on his way out of Juve, with Manchester United the most likely target.

However, Buffon last month rejected the rumour that he was heading to Old Trafford and has again ridiculed speculation that he’s to leave Juventus.

“Manchester United? I am used to living with these rumours, people have been speaking about this for six years now, but nothing has happened,” he told Tuttosport.

The interview follows on from one he made in February where he remained complimentary about his life at Manchester United.

Could it be that Jose Mourinho takes over from Ferguson when he retires and brings Ronaldo with him? Only God knows.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_QdtWWxkU

The Chilean forward is regarded as one of football’s brightest talents and has been linked with a host of top clubs in the past.

“We have looked at Sanchez and he has impressed us, as have other players,”Ferguson said.

“He has had very good games and is an interesting project.

“We have gathered some background, as with other footballers at his level, but nothing more than this – for the moment.”

It was thought that Ferguson was scouting Valencia ahead of the next Champions League game, and assistant manager Mike Phelan backed up that view.

“Valencia have started their season very well and it was important after the draw with Rangers that we got a good view of them.

“The manager chose to go and watch the Valencia game. We need to go there knowing what we’re up against. He’s the manager and he had to make a decision.”

However, a picture in the spanish press shows that Ferguson travelled with United’s goalkeeping coah Eric Steele, which may be a clue as to his real intentions.

Reports in January linked united to Atletico goalkeeper David De Gea, and if I was a betting man, like those at Sky Vegas, I’d say that Ferguson attended last night’s La Liga game to scout the young goalkeeper.

With Edwin van Der Sar close to retirement and Tomaz Kuszczak threatening to look elsewhere if he doesn’t get first team football, Sir Alex could be looking for a new man between the sticks for the next few years.

The Manchester United defender has been the subject of speculation that he would be moving to Real Madrid this Summer. David Gill revealed last week that Vidic had verbally agreed terms on a new long term contract, and now the player himself has insisted he never wanted to leave Old Trafford.

“I don’t know why people think it was a difficult decision. I always said I am happy here, I never spoke about my future,” said Vidic.

“I know there was all this speculation but I never said I wanted to go. There was nothing new. I am very happy to be here.”

It just goes to show that the majority of rumours you read in newspapers are made up by lazy journalists and approved by unscrupulous editors to grab the headlines.

The rumours seemed to stem from one report that Vidic’s wife Ana was unhappy in Manchester and wanted him to move to a team in a warmer climate.

Vidic put that rumour to bed himself back in August last year by saying: “It’s not true that my wife is not happy. I don’t know how that rumour came out, she’s not what you’d call a famous wife. She’s never spoken to a newspaper.”

Still, the ruours continued and incompetent dishonest journalists continued to use Vidic’s wife to sell papers.

Vidic further outlined his commitment to United in May, at the peak of the transfer speulation.

“Tell me the club where I can go that is better than Manchester United?” Vidic said.

“There aren’t many clubs in the world where you can go to that are better.

“I’m happy here. United has been a big part in my development. Everything I have done here I respect. I will try and give my best on the pitch for as long as I can.

It seemed Vidic was becoming just as bored with the rumours as us fans were.

“I’m tired of speaking about my future,” he continued. “I give my best at United and always try to do that. I think that commitment shows how I think.

“I can’t stop people speaking about my future but I have two years left on my contract and I’m happy.

“I need to think about next season, prepare myself, be focused and make sure I prevent injuries.”

It’s great to see the big man commit his future to United, but I’m left wondering how many of our fans doubted his commitment. I try to read a few of our fan forums when I can find the time and it was a generally accepted opinion that Vidic to Real Madrid was a done deal.

I for one have never doubted his commitment because the only “evidence” of his so called impending departure was unsourced, unadulterated, tabloid crap.

Rule of thumb for transfers: Don’t believe a word until you hear it from the player or the manager.

However, Ferguson insists he has not made any bid for the player and is happy with his current squad at Old Trafford. “I don’t know where those reports about Sneijder came from,” Ferguson told the Mail on Sunday. “How can anybody turn me down when I haven’t even made a bid? I believe the squad is stronger than last season with the younger players having another year under their belts”

Ferguson also played down suggestions that he was lining up a move for Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil as an alternative to Sneijder.

This is very interesting as Sir Alex thinks we are actually stronger than last season simply because the younger playeys have a bit more experience. In my opinion, this underlines my fear this summer that we wouldn’t be buying anyone. However, the manner in which Fergie put it ie. ”We’ve a better squad since the young lads have a year’s more experience” gives me some comfort and leaves me optimistic for the coming season. And with the additions of Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling, I am quietly confident we can reclaim the title next season. I am also happy we are not interested in Ozil as I don’t think he’s what we need right now at all. The last thing our squad needs is another young attackinig midfielder, especially since we have Scholes, Carrick, Anderson, Gibson and possibly Cleverly next season.

As every football fan around the world knows by now, he has been the catalyst of Inter Milan dominance at home and abroad as they clinched a memorable treble and he is also the heartbeat of the Dutch team which has advanced to the World Cup final. He scored his 5th goal of the World Cup as he competes with David Villa for the Golden Boot. He has also contributed with a number of assists. But I’m not going into any further detail about his World Cup exploits or even bother analysing his incredible season with Inter. Why? Because I don’t even want him at United.

The last 10 months of his life as a footballer have been the greatest of his life. He has conquered everything before and after him. He has been central to all the beautiful football around him. Unfortunately when someone has a golden season like this, there price tag soars. And in this day and age it will have soared astronomically. If Arsenal are looking for £30m for Fabregas, then surely Inter Milan will be looking for a minimum of £35m. With our extremely tight budget and spiralling debt, that is just grossly out of the question. However, not only is it the price tag which is putting me off but it’s what I’ve already seen at the club. Anderson will be ready for next season. Cleverly is a truly gifted football also. Darron Gibson is another young lad whose come in for unfair criticism and he is a really talented player too. Scholes still has another year left in him at the top level. You may think I’m clutching at straws but £35m on an attacking midfield is way too much for me.

I firmly believe we have enough attacking midfielders in our ranks to stay away from the ‘inflated market’ as our manager labelled it. What was the point in paying £18m on Anderson if he never got a run of games deployed in an attacking role in midfield?

All in all Sneidjer for me is a big no-no and we should save our cash instead of spending it frivolously.

The midfielder struggled to fit into Carlo Ancelotti’s formation at Chelsea after returning from a long term injury and has been forced to seek first team football elsewhere.

Manchester United were favourites to land Cole on https://www.bwin.com/football earlier in the Summer, but the Old Trafford outfit have apparently ruled out a swoop for the attacker.

With Champions League football high on his list of priorities, it looks like there are only two other clubs for him to choose from, Spurs or Arsenal.

It’s thought that Cole’s former manager at West Ham Harry Redknapp may be the key to securing his signature.

Le Havre reported Manchester United to FIFA last year for allegedly “tapping up” Pogba, saying: “The player [Pogba] and his parents refused to keep the arrangement because Manchester United offered very high sums of money to the parents of the [player] with the aim of obtaining the transfer of their son”.

United disputed the allegation and threatened to sue the club if the remarks were not withdrawn.

Now though, it appears that the clubs have managed to settle the matter amicably and Paul can get on with his promising career at Old Trafford.

A statement on the official Manchester United website said: “Le Havre AC and Manchester United FC are pleased to announce that following discussions between the two clubs, an agreement has been reached in relation to the registration of Paul Pogba with Manchester United in July 2009.”

‘The terms of the agreement will remain confidential.

“Paul is an exciting young talent who Manchester United hope can prove to be a great success at Old Trafford. Le Havre would like to wish the player well in his future career.”

The England midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United or Arsenal this Summer, but has remained quiet on his future.

Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins admitted that he would like Cole to stay at Chelsea, but it appears his decreasing role in Ancelotti’s side has made him seek first team football elsewhere.

“We’ve obviously been in dialogue with Joe for months now and it’s pretty evident that Carlo [Ancelotti] and myself would love Joe to stay, but it’s down now to the club to see what we can do,”

With the World Cup due to start this Friday, it’s thought that Cole will decide his future before the tournament starts.

Manchester United had been favourites to land the attacker, but Arsenal have seemingly moved into pole position.

We’ve heard it all before – our players aren’t good enough. Whoever our best player happens to be is carrying the side, and we’d be mid-table without him. Our kids aren’t good enough. Ferguson is too tactically naive. We need three or four players to improve our squad or we’ll do well to finish in the top four. Whoever our last best player was hasn’t been replaced.

We’ve been linked to a large number of players in the summer, the majority of them attacking midfielders or strikers. Rafael Van Der Vaart, Edin Dzeko, Mikel Arteta, Joe Cole, Karim Benzema, David Silva and others have all been mentioned, and a lot of fans (and it seems, the vast majority of pundits) seem to think that Ferguson’s assertion that ‘maybe we’ll get one player in’ is hopelessly inadequate.

What these people need to realise, is that our squad is undeniably at least a good size. And when you have a good-sized squad, this means that when you buy another player, somebody has to leave. We have a vast number of strikers, with three established players in Rooney, Berbatov, and Owen, and four youngsters vying for first-team football in Welbeck, Macheda, Hernandez, and Diouf. Hernandez and Diouf are also both 22, and thus aren’t exactly the most youthful of youngsters.

In central midfield, we have Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves, Anderson, Darron Gibson all in the first team. Out wide, Valencia, Nani, and Obertan, and of course Giggs and Park who can play in either role.

So if we do buy Benzema, then because we realistically have too many strikers anyway, this will cost one or two of our strikers the possibility of making it at the club. If we buy Van der Vaart, then the development of players like Gibson and Anderson will be compromised, and we can forget about bringing through some of our other exciting midfielders like Cleverley.

We have to ask – is this worth it? The list of established great players in their mid-to-late twenties that we’ve bought who have gone on to be Manchester United greats is as short as it is pretentious and French. The reason clubs place such importance on youth development is not to save money, but because if we do produce great players like Giggs and Scholes, then they are far more likely to stay at the club for as long as we like, and become more important figures in the dressing room, learning to gel over a long time, and becoming accustomed to our style of football.

If we sign Dzeko or Benzema, are we happy to sacrifice the careers of Manchester-born prospects like Danny Welbeck, or the obviously tremendous potential of Macheda? If we sign Van der Vaart, are fans happy with us losing one of Anderson or Gibson, players who are both unique within our squad? A lot of bad press has been written about these two players, but people appear to have a short memory, because Anderson has always consistently done it in the big games for us – he was arguably man of the match at Stamford Bridge this season – a quality that is rare in youngsters, and that bodes extremely well. As for Gibson, didn’t we all speak about the importance of goals from midfield in the wake of Ronaldo’s departure? He has proven his ability this season, and his all-round game goes far beyond his shooting.

Last season, we lost the title by a single point. I’d argue that there were two key reasons why we lost the league. The first was that we had a huge defensive crisis which caused us a lot of problems, but it would be ludicrous to suggest this is because we don’t have enough defenders – it was an insane injury crisis which is extremely unlikely to happen again. Wes Brown, John O’Shea, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Rafael, Fabio, Gary Neville, and even Edwin Van der Sar – none of whom are regarded as being particularly injury-prone, with the possible exception of Ferdinand’s recent problems – were all injured for the same period, but ask yourselves, which other team in the league boasts so many defensive options anyway?

If our first-choice back five is presumed to be  Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, then even if all were injured we could field Kuszczak, Rafael, Evans, Brown, O’Shea. Or a number of other combinations which are all superior to anything our rivals can put together. Chelsea‘s second-choice back four would presumably be Hilario, Ivanovic, Bruma, Alex, Zhirkov. Not bad, but which back line would you rather go into a tricky away game with? Arsenal have Sol Campbell as backup before they have to start playing midfielders in defence, and the laughably error-prone Fabianski as reserve keeper. Again, I think I know who’s winning there. And with the addition of Chris Smalling, we can be reasonably assured that nothing like this will happen next season.

The second reason that i’d argue we lost the league is because of Rooney’s injury. Now, one can argue that we became too dependent on Rooney very easily, but I have always been of the opinion that Berbatov, accompanied by a goalscorer, is a fine replacement for him against all but the toughest opposition – his partnership with Owen was arguably more effective than with Rooney, despite it’s rather obvious and outdated ‘creator-poacher’ blueprint. The problem was that we were unlucky in that Macheda and Owen were both injured at exactly the same time as Rooney, and that Berbatov is completely unsuited for playing the lone striker role. Once again, this is extremely unlikely to happen again, and once again, the problem will be alleviated by the addition of another player in Javier Hernandez, who has been nothing if not prolific. Add to this the fact that the team looked a lot more comfortable in Rooney’s absence after he had been missing for a few games, and I don’t see this as being anywhere near as much of a problem next year.

Despite all this, I do think that – surprise surprise – Ferguson may be right and that making one well thought-out signing might be the best way of going forward. I would argue that Rafael Van der Vaart, David Silva, or Joe Cole would be the best prospects for the same reasons – they all naturally offer something that we arguably lack – creativity in midfield. Perhaps a criticism of our midfield is that whilst we have players who can play defence-splitting passes (Scholes, Giggs), make driving forward runs (Park, Anderson) and score goals (Gibson), we do not, until these younger players develop, have anyone capable of doing all three. The players mentioned above are all capable of doing all three of these. And importantly, they are all also capable of playing on the left (David Silva is left-footed and has played here regularly for Valencia, and Van der Vaart and Joe Cole both play on the left for their countries), where we have limited options. In addition, Giggs and Scholes will play fewer and fewer games and retire soon, so this is probably the best area of the squad to invest in.

One might argue that this doesn’t entirely alleviate the burden of goals on Rooney, but for reasons I have mentioned before, and the fact that these players should bring more goals from midfield, I don’t think this will be a problem. Benzema would help that, but it is doubtful whether he and Rooney would ever be able to play together effectively, he has had a much poorer season than any of the others, and I haven’t seen any evidence that he can play well on the left, so loses out here too. If I had to choose, I think the most sensible option is Joe Cole. The reasoning is simple – he has something to prove, he won’t need any time to adapt to the premier league, we have seen him work well with Rooney, he is the oldest of the lot and would represent a stop-gap in the transition from our current players to our youngsters, and because he is free, we wouldn’t need to worry about recouping the money.

But whether we do or don’t, don’t believe the knee-jerk hyperbole – there is nothing wrong with this squad, and remember that when Ferguson casts his opinion on the forthcoming season, he is rarely wrong. We have heard the same old ABU wishful thinking foretelling our impending decline trotted out time and time again whenever we fail, so do what we always do – remember it, and save it for later on, to have a good laugh when our lads inevitably prove them wrong.

Foster has struggled to nail down a first team spot at Manchester united after a series of high profile errors saw him relegated to the bench, even in the absence of injured Edwin Van der Sar. He is expected to complete a £6million move to St. Andrews today after undergoing a medical.

Ferguson has decided to allow the ‘keeper to move on to seek regular first team football. However, he insists FOster is still the best ‘keeper England has got.

“We accepted the bid from Birmingham City simply because we knew how concerned Ben was about his future and I can understand that,” said Ferguson.

“I think most of that comes from his disappointment of not having played enough games to get in the England squad this summer.

“I still feel very strongly about this, that Ben’s the best England goalkeeper and I can’t work out why he wasn’t even considered simply because he didn’t have enough football.

“Sometimes your conscience does come into it and you have to understand a player’s feelings about it. Ben’s been a terrific servant for us, he’s been very unlucky with a couple of injuries he’s had with us last season and I think he deserves the opportunity to do better for himself.”

The impressive Italian ‘keeper has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford, to replace Dutchman Edwin Van der Sar who is expected to retire next season. but Buffon’s agent Silvano Martina insists Buffon has no intention of leaving Juve.

“I don’t know what else to say with regards to Buffon as it seems that he is the only Juventus player who should leave.

“Considering the ongoing reports, I want to remind everyone that Buffon is under contract with Juve and that next season he will play at Juve.

“When he was asked hypothetically where he would want to play if he left Juve, he always said his first choice would be England, but there is nothing else.

“He never said he would leave.

The Brazilian international – who has scored 21 goals in 34 games for the Spanish club this season – recently expressed his honour at being linked with a move to Manchester United.

Fabiano’s contract at Sevilla expires next year and he believes the club will try to sell him this Summer rather than let him leave for free next year.

“My departure is very likely, my contract will expire next year and I’m not going to renew.”

“I think that Sevilla will try to sell me this summer,”

Villa has been strongly linked with Barcelona, while Silva has recently suggested he would consider a move to Manchester United.

Comments by Valencia coach Unai Emery suggest that he has already accepted that he will lose key players.

“We played a game to win and ended a season at home with win. Today we had to discard certain players and play with people who were better prepared mentally and physically to play,”

“Any coach wants to have his future team set as soon as possible, but it is certain that some issues take time.”

“We are resigned to the departure of important players, but while they’re here we will count on them. The summer will be long.”

Joe hart will return to Manchester City in the Summer after an impressive season on loan at St. Andrews, so the blues are in need of a new stopper.

Sky Sports reports that Birmingham have agreed a fee in the region of £5m and is now in talks with Birmingham.

“We are close to agreeing a deal,” his agent Lee Payne told skysports.com.

“The two clubs have agreed a fee and given us permission to talk to Birmingham.

“We fully expect the deal to be completed either this weekend or the start of next week.”

Reports in Spain claim the winger will leave the Spanish club this Summer, with several of Europe’s giants waiting in the wings.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson will face competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea to secure his signature, but recent comments from Silva have made them favourites to seal a deal.

“When you hear a club like Manchester United is interested in you it is an honour,” Silva said.

“I am very aware of the Premier League, and in recent years it has been the stand-out league in the world.

“If it came calling, especially if it was a club like Manchester United, it would be very hard to resist.

“I am happy at Valencia but every player has his price and if they get an offer they think is good business anything is possible.”

The PFA Player of the Year wants a return to the treble winning side of 1999 which featured four top strikers. Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer combined to make history by winning the treble that year, and Rooney believes United need similar firepower if they’re going to challenge next year.

The champions look set to lose their crown today, where a win for Chelsea against Wigan at Stamford Bridge would see them win the title by 1 point, if United beat Stoke at Old Trafford.

“If we can bring in two big-name players in it would give us a good chance of getting the league back if Chelsea do win it,” he told The People.

“If you look at the team in 1999 that won the treble we had four forwards, all capable of scoring goals.

“Now there is me, Berbatov and Michael Owen. There is Federico Macheda too, but if we can get one more top forward in it would give us the right balance.”

Rooney’s thoughts will be echoed by the Old Trafford faithful, who feel Dimitar Berbatov has not proven to be worthy of his price tag. While the Bulgarian forward hasn’t been as a big a flop as many claim, he certainly hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, particularly when asked to lead the line in the absence of Wayne Rooney.

Federico Macheda will undoubtedly get more game time next season as Sir Alex Ferguson continues to oversee his development. And Mame Biram Diouf should get plenty of games under his belt too. There’s also new signing Javier Hernandez to come into the fold, while Danny Welbeck may also be in contention after returning from his loan spell. And Michael Owen rounds off the list, however it’s unclear how big a role he can play next season after undergoing surgery.

United are not short of strikers by any means, but Sir Alex may feel he needs a clinical proven goalscorer who can ease the burden on Rooney to win games.

Valencia’s financial problems have fulled incessant speculation about Silva’s future for the last two seasons, and the star has added more fuel to the fire by declaring his admiration for United.

Silva admits it would be ‘an honour’ to play for a club like United, and added that it would be hard to turn them down if they came calling this Summer.

“When you hear a club like Manchester United is interested in you it is an honour,” he said in the Daily Express. “I am very aware of the Premier League, and in recent years it has been the stand-out league in the world.

“If it came calling, especially if it was a club like Manchester United, it would be very hard to resist. I am happy at Valencia but every player has his price and if they get an offer they think is good business anything is possible.”

The talented left back has impressed during his few outings for United but is unlikely to get ahead of regular left back Patrice Eva in the pecking order.

The young Brazilian admits that the chance of a loan move to Sporting would interest him, even though manager Sir Alex Ferguson would prefer he stayed.

“Here in England and in Brazil, Sporting are very well known and respected and they play regularly in Europe.

“Who would not like to play at Sporting? If I can have more chances to play there is no problem.

“The coach would like me to continue in the United squad.

“But my agent thinks that I will not have that many opportunities and so he has advised me to play elsewhere.

“Therefore I will meet with Ferguson at the end of the season and decide what the best option is.”

Berbatov has divided opinion among United fans, with many questioning whether he has made a big enough impact on the squad following his 30.75 move from TOttenham Hotspur, but his agent believes the speculation comes from the media, not anybody close to the club.

“There is no objective reason for his transfer other than these media attacks,” said Emil Danchev. “I neither know of any interest from any other club, nor has Manchester United said anything in that sense.

“Sir Alex has already made his opinion known on this issue. I do not think that he has to re-affirm his confidence in Mitko [Berbatov] every other day. I prefer to trust Ferguson.”

Javier passed a medical in Manchester this week and has agreed personal terms with the club.

He will join the club on July 1st 2010 subject to a work permit being granted.

“I am delighted to reach agreement with Chivas to bring such an exciting young striker, who has been in such prolific form for both his club and his country. He will be a great addition to our squad and we look forward to welcoming our first Mexican player in the summer,” Sir Alex told manutd.com.

“We are equally excited to play our first game in Mexico, opening the magnificent new Chivas Stadium in July.”

The 18 year old, from Belgium, was reportedly scouted several times by United this season, and the final decision was made by Sir Alex Ferguson and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after being impressed watching DVD’s of him.

Vermijl was allegedly banned from training with Standard Liege after they became aware of his discussions with Manchester United.

The English Champions will apparently pay 220,000 Euro’s to Standard Liege to secure his services.

More details as and when they arrive.

The 20-year-old centre back’s form for Fulham has apparently caught the eye of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who has swooped in to sign the youngster for next season.

Chris will stay with Fulham to finish the current campaign, and join United at the start of next season.

A statement on the official website said:

“Manchester United has agreed terms for the transfer of Chris Smalling from Fulham.

“Chris has agreed personal terms with the club and will join for the beginning of the 2010/2011 campaign. He will remain at Fulham until the end of the current season.”

New Preston boss Darren Ferguson looked to father Sir Alex to make 19 year old Welbeck his first signing since taking the reins at Deepdale on January 6th.

Welbeck has made 11 appearances for United this term and has got himself onto the score sheet against both Wolves and Barnsley to help the reds progress in the Carling Cup.

Fergie Jr will be hoping Welbeck can kick start a run of good results for Preston to propel them into a play off place.

Rooney has repeatedly been tipped for a £60 million move to the Bernabeu stadium recently to follow his old team mate Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Sun says Madrid have brought in super agent Pini Zahavi to get the deal done, and have quoted an unnamed source close to him.

“Zahavi has been told to do all he can to try to bring Rooney to the Bernabeu. The club are confident a deal can be done.”

So is there any truth to this? It would appear not. I would guess it’s just a typical tabloid picking up on United’s financial woes and letting their imaginations run wild.

The 23 year old had a promising start to his United career. His Premier League debut against Wigan United resulted in him creating the 4th and final goal for Wayne Rooney with a well delivered cross.

However with Neville, Rafael, Brown and O’Shea to compete with, he was never likely to cement his place in the first team and has instead chosen to move to Championship leaders Newcastle.

“We’re delighted to complete a deal for Danny,” boss Chris Hughton told the club’s official website.

“He’s a player who has been with us since the summer and has played a key role during the first half of the season.

“Danny is a very popular lad in the dressing room and he took no time at all to settle in.

The impressive striker has been linked with a host of top European clubs, including Manchester United.

His agent Silvano Martina has revealed the huge fee, caused by a clause in his contract with his current club.

“He [Dzeko] costs so much, he has a clause of €40 million,” Martina told ESPN.

He’s skeptical whether a transfer will actually take place, but still follows the speculation.

“I follow it [the rumours] myself, but only in our country. I can say that for him it is premature to speak of the certainty of a transfer.”

United are unlikely to be his next club, as their spending will be severely limited due to the financial trouble the club is in.

The English ‘keeper made a number of high profile mistakes early in the season when first choice Edwin Van Der Sar was injured. his failure to take his chance, despite an extended run between the posts.

Since then, Foster has slipped down to the bench and Pole Tomasz Kuszczac has been impressive in his place.

This has prompted speculation that Foster would leave United this summer in a bid to secure a place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad, but it appears United have rejected the advances of Spurs.

United pulled out of the deal in early December, citing his lack of development as a reason for not wanting to pay the pre-agreed transfer fee.

Ljajic refuted the claims, saying that the reason he couldn’t move to United was because he had trouble obtaining a work permit.

It was thought that United had missed out on a great young talent, but after Ljajic agreed terms with Fiorentina it seems Sir Alex Ferguson may have been right not to pursue the deal.

If Ljajic had such huge potential then all of Europe’s top clubs would have been clamouring to get his signature, but as it happens, the only clubs competing with Fiorentina to sign the 18 year old were Russian clubs, suggesting his future isn’t as bright as first thought.

Whether Ferguson was right to pull out of the move, only time will tell, but for the moment it looks like his judgement may have been spot on as usual.

The young Italian hasn’t made a single league appearance for United this season and Bologna – currently struggling in Serie A – believe a loan move would benefit all parties.

But Manchester United are expected to reject such a move.

“Bologna have asked for him but we have to evaluate thing with Manchester United,” Giovanni Bia told Tuttomercatoweb.

“This afternoon I have a telephone appointment with them, but it will be difficult for them to let him go.

“If they will do it would be on loan.”

He does however admit that if an offer came in from from either club he’d definitely think about it.

‘If that ever came about I’d have to think about it. But I’m just happy to be playing for Cardiff at the moment,’ he told BBC Sport.

‘I don’t think the speculation is distracting, I’m quite a level-headed boy and obviously I’m very happy to get noticed.’

‘But I’m happy to be with Cardiff and play the rest of the season and I’ve heard nothing. It’s just rumours.’

The situation closely resembles the tug of war for Aaron Ramsay and if the rumoured interest is true, Sir Alex Ferguson won’t want to be beaten to the punch twice by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

It’s rumoured that Real Madrid are preparing a £30million bid to bring the Serbian defender to the Bernabeu as early as the January transfer window, but his agent insists he’s heard nothing of the sort.

“I don’t think he will move [in January],” Paolo Fabbri told ESPN Soccernet. “Except for a big surprise, at the moment I don’t see any solution to leave the team. I don’t think so.

“I don’t know anything about [suggestions Vidic is unhappy at Old Trafford]. The last time I spoke with him he was happy. Since the defeat of a few days ago [against Leeds] I haven’t spoken with him.

“Frankly speaking I haven’t spoken with him recently so I cannot answer to this question. According to Silvano [Martina, Vidic's other agent], the last time he spoke to him – I don’t know if it was one week, ten days, 15 days ago – there was no problem.”

According to their “unnamed source”, Real Madrid are preparing a 60Million bid to bring Wayne Rooney to the Bernabeu next Summer. The “source” says they will pursue Rooney with the same relentless approach that saw them eventually land Cristiano Ronaldo for a record 80Million last Summer.

“Rooney is the top name on the list for next summer. Madrid will pursue him in the same way they did with David Beckham and Ronaldo. They are always successful and will do what it takes to get Rooney.’’

Funny how these “sources” are always anonymous isn”t it?

Sir Alex has apparently lost patience in inconsistent winger Nani, who has hardly featured this season despite expecting more opportunities since Ronaldo’s departure.

The United boss watched Di Maria in action at Goodison Park last month, when Everton lost 2-0 to Benfica and he is said to have been impressed with what he saw, prompting the bid for his services.

Benfica however, will be reluctant to sell mid season, and will want substantially more than £9million plus Nani if they are to accept the offer.

The United boss would be forgiven for dipping into his transfer budget as the injury crisis at Old Trafford includes no less than eight senior defenders and first choice goalkeeper, but Sir Alex believes the problems for some players are coming to an end.

“That is not come on to the agenda,” he told Key 103.

“We hope that Wes Brown will be back in a week or 10 days’ time, Rio Ferdinand is improving, Gary Neville is getting there and Rafael da Silva has now started training.

“We are not so bad and we are not looking at signing players,” he added.

United have struggled through a defensive injury crisis of late, with no less than eight senior players injured. This has fuelled rumours linking them to several defenders in the January transfer window, including such unlikely candidates as Sol Campbell.

Hughton was unequivocal in his response to the latest rumours, insisting that none of his players will be leaving when the transfer window opens.

“Steven Taylor will not be going to Manchester United – the story is absolute nonsense,” Hughton revealed. “I can’t imagine where that has come from, or who dreamed that one up. The truth is I don’t anticipate anybody leaving in January.

“Nobody will be going from my point of view, and we’re working to bring people in more than anything else at this club. We certainly don’t want to sell Andy Carroll or Steven Taylor.”

The 18 year old midfielder has become a regular at Goodison Park in the absence of Mikel Arteta and it’s thought that his impressive displays have attracted attention from the likes of Manchester united and Chelsea.

Rodwell, however, is only focusing on playing well for Everton.

“I don’t read anything into the speculation,” he told The Times. “All I’m focusing on is the next game. I’ve got to be ready to start the next game and be in the manager’s thoughts.”

He admitted that the attention was flattering, but reiterated his happiness at Everton and thanked manager David Moyes for the faith he has shown in him.

“Obviously anyone would be flattered by interest from other clubs, but I really am happy playing for Everton. I enjoy it there. It’s where I’ve always been and I love it.

“The gaffer has been brilliant for me. He has put his trust in me, playing me at such a young age, and he has always tried to look after me. I’ve got a lot to thank him for.”

As Everton’s youngest ever player to represent the club in European competition, Rodwell admits it was strange playing alongside seasoned professionals when he first burst onto the scene, but he’s now enjoying battling it out with the best the Premier League has to offer.

“At first it was a bit surreal playing in the Premier League at 16, coming up against world-class players, because it had always been my dream.

“But quickly it becomes second nature to you. It has happened with me a lot. I played in the Under 18s when I was 14, then the reserves at 15 and then the first team.

“At first it’s daunting, but then you get used to it.”

The turning point in his career, he believes, was last season’s FA Cup replay against Liverpool at Goodison Park where he came on as a second half substitute. His form, together with the long term injury of Mikel Arteta, have allowed him to become first choice midfielder ever since.

“That’s when I thought: ‘This is the biggest stage and I feel like I can do it’,” he said

“That was against big players and it was a massive occasion, the derby, and I came on and felt in control.

“That was probably the turning point.”

The injury crisis at United fulled rumours that Campbell would be brought in to provide emergency cover for United’s ailing defence and the defender himself claimed he’d jump at the chance to play for United.

“I have heard nothing officially from Manchester United, but there have been suggestions and of course, it would be a great move for me, if it happens. I shall just have to wait and see if a call comes through the right channels.

“Of course I would love to play for Manchester United, but I am not counting any chickens, just waiting to see what happens. I am training as usual at Arsenal, and would go to train at Manchester United if I was asked.”

Sir Alex, speaking in his Friday press conference revealed that he has no idea where the rumour has come from and has no intention of bringing Campbell to United.

“I don’t know where this came from but it is all wrong,” he said. “Sol Campbell was a great player but he is not a player we are thinking about getting to come to United.”

The youngster was set to join fellow Serb Zoran Tosic at Old Trafford in January, but the deal was suddenly called off last week.

The following statement was released on the official website the same day the deal fell through:

“We had an option to buy the player but, having closely monitored his development over the past 12 months, and taken into consideration the young players emerging through the ranks at the club, we have chosen not to pursue the transfer.”

There was much confusion over the real reason for the collapse. The President of Ljajic’s club Partizan belgrade said Dragan Djuric said, “Maybe the real problem is that they are in financial crisis.” While Mike Phelan claimed it was due to the inability to obtain a work permit in time for his arrival.

Ljajic has backed up the claim made by Phelan and responded to the earlier claims about his lack of progression over the course of the season.

“Stories about stagnation in my football development are nonsense,” he told Serbian newspaper Danas

“If Manchester United were really not satisfied with how much I’ve progressed in this year, I would not have been with Ferguson two months ago at the end of my last cycle of mandatory training at the club before moving to England.”

“The reason for the transfer not happening is that I couldn’t get a business licence (work permit).

There is speculation that United’s mounting injury list will force the Champions to move for Campbell in the January transfer window, and Campbell says he would jump at the chance should an offer be forthcoming.

Campbell told ESPN Soccernet: “I have heard nothing officially from Manchester United, but there have been suggestions and of course, it would be a great move for me, if it happens. I shall just have to wait and see if a call comes through the right channels.

“Of course I would love to play for Manchester United, but I am not counting any chickens, just waiting to see what happens. I am training as usual at Arsenal, and would go to train at Manchester United if I was asked.”

The Manchester United manager was reportedly very interested in securing the services of the Wolfsburg striker, but insists the media are making something out of nothing.

“Every time someone does well against Manchester United we are going to buy him the next day,” he told Sky Sports.

“There is nothing from Manchester United at this moment concerning Edin Dzeko.”

United’s assistant manager was speaking ahead of their Champions League tie with Wolfsburg on Tuesday, and reckons most of Europe’s top clubs will be looking at Dzeko as a possible signing.

The striker is “ideal for the English league” according to Phelan, and has many qualities that would make him a good signing for the English Champions.

“I’m sure there are a number of teams looking at him,” Phelan told Sky Sports.

“Are we one on them? We are looking at talent all of the time and we are in there with the rest of them,” he said. “He showed his threat in the game at Old Trafford and he appeals because he is a tall, skilful boy and in some ways he is an ideal player for the English league.

“He has stature, his feet are good and he is producing some good performances. I am sure everybody has looked at him.”

The Serbian youngster was supposed to arrive at Manchester United in January, but United announced they were pulling out of the deal after reviewing his progress with current club Partizan Belgrade.

There were suggestions that the club were in a “financial crisis” and that this was the reason for backing out of the transfer, but Phelan has backed the official line of the club and added that there would have been problems securing a work permit.

“We made a tentative approach to getting a work permit and the word we got back from the Home Office was we couldn’t get that through in time to get Adem signed in January,” Phelan told a packed press conference.

“I don’t think money is an issue.

“The point is do you lay out money for Adem knowing there is a possibility that you might not be able to get him? As it stands Adem Ljajic won’t be coming to Old Trafford in January.”

United already have several youngsters who are trying to push their way in the first team.

“We have a platform that allows young players to develop and get into the first-team,” Phelan added.

“We looked at Adem and he has the potential to do that.

“But sometimes you cannot fight these things. Sometimes you can get work permits, other times you can’t. Adem fell into the latter category, which is why we made the decision.”

The newspapers are rife with reports that United have pulled the plug on the deal to bring the young Serbian to the club in January. And indeed the official Manchester united website issued the following statement.

“We had an option to buy the player but, having closely monitored his development over the past 12 months, and taken into consideration the young players emerging through the ranks at the club, we have chosen not to pursue the transfer.”

That would appear to be the end of the matter, but Djuric insists he knows nothing of United pulling out of the deal and that the only potential problem is getting a work permit for the player.

“I read the news in our media about the possibility that Adem Ljajic will not go to Manchester,” Djuric said.

“All this is in the field of speculation. The truth is that Manchester United has not yet arranged a work permit to our players, but so far none of them refused.

“Maybe the news came because Manchester United is in financial crisis but, believe me, we did not get anything official.”

He also expressed his belief that from January, Adem Ljajic will be a Manchester United player.

“As far as I know, the only problem is the work permit,” he said.

“Manchester can solve this quickly. Journalists called me, asking what was happening, but I am confident that everything will be OK at best and, that from January, Ljajic will be officially a Manchester United player.”

The Brazilian centre forward had huge praise for Sir Alex and the way Manchester united play, which fuels speculation that he might fancy a move to the club either in January or this Summer.

“I see Manchester United as a team with a very interesting style of play, of passing, of crossing,” he said in FourFourTwo magazine.

“I think Manchester are a team where it would be easy to fit in,” he added.

“I really admire Sir Alex Ferguson. He’s been around for so long, always winning titles.”

Age could be a deciding factor in whether Sir Alex moves for the Brazilian. At 29 years old he’s unlikely to be Fergie’s first choice target if he does decide to splash the cash.

The Serbian playmaker is highly rated and was expected to complete a move to United in the January transfer window, subject to a work permit being granted, but United have pulled the plug on the deal, stating that the player hasn’t developed to their satisfaction.

A United spokesman told manutd.com: “We had an option to buy the player but, having closely monitored his development over the past 12 months, and taken into consideration the young players emerging through the ranks at the club, we have chosen not to pursue the transfer.”

Partizan president Dragan Djuric has fuelled speculation on the reason for United’s withdrawal.

“Maybe the real problem is that they are in financial crisis.”

The Schalke ’04 stopper is very highly rated and has been linked with a move to Old Trafford several times in the past.

Sir Alex is reportedly on the market for a goalkeeper to be the long term replacement for van der Sar, after Foster failed to stake his claim for the number one spot.

“I have read the reports about Manuel and a possible transfer to Manchester. I can confirm that United are interested in securing his services,” said Thomas Kroth to Sport Bild.

Schalke’s financial troubles have led to intense speculation that they are ready to cash in on their star players as early as January.

The Portuguese winger has struggled to keep his place in the team this season due to the form of Antonio Valencia and the emergence of Gabriel Obertan, but Sir Alex says he may get a chance against Spurs in the Carling Cup.

“Some big clubs have been mentioned for Nani, like Milan and Benfica, but there has been no contact made with us – and we wouldn’t entertain selling him anyway,” Ferguson is quoted by the Sunday Mirror.

“He is only 23. If someone came in for Nani in January we would tell him that he is going absolutely nowhere.

“He’s a young boy and he wants to play – and he might get a chance against Spurs in the Carling Cup this week.

“He has suffered because Valencia’s form has been excellent and because Obertan has emerged as an interesting player.

“It is no criticism of Nani, but the way things have developed in the last few weeks have gone against him.

“I have spoken to him and told him that he must take his chance when it comes along.”

The Benfica winger is rumoured to be a transfer target of both United and City, but he has clearly indicated his preferred destination if he is to move from Benfica.

“Since I was 13 or 14 years old, I’ve been telling my mother and my father that my dream is to play some day for Manchester United,” Di Maria is quoted as saying in The Sun.

“And I won’t stop till I get it.”

“When I watch Rooney and all of them on TV, I can’t wait to play there at Old Trafford.”

“When I was a little boy I watched Arsenal games as well, but Manchester United always dazzled me most.”

The midfielder is said to be high on Sir Alex Ferguson‘s transfer wishlist, but Chelsea‘s reported interest would force the United manager to move in January.

Chelsea have succeeded in having their transfer ban suspended pending an appeal, so they’re expected to spend heavily in January before the ban comes into force at the end of the season, and Rodwell is rumoured to be one of their top targets.

Everton are in a strong position to keep hold of him after he signed a five year contract in February this year, but they’ll struggle to fight off bids around the £20million pound mark and could well lose their prized asset in January.

The Manchester United right back is enjoying his spell on loan at St. James’ Park and inists the locals are very similar to where he grew up in Salford, in that they all support the local team.

“I grew up in Salford and everyone’s a Man United fan – everyone at school and all my family,” Simpson said. “I support United – it’s my club – but I’ve come up to Newcastle, and there’s no difference. Everyone’s mad about Newcastle.”

Simpson recognizes how slim his chances are of breaking into the firs team at United ahead of Brown, O’ Shea, Neville and Rafael, and is hoping that Newcastle manager Chris Hughton will offer him a permanent contract.

“I’m enjoying my football here, and if I do well enough to get an offer, then I’ll consider it, as I’m enjoying my football at the moment,” he added. “I just want to get as many games under my belt as I can until January. It’s nice to be wanted, and it would be nice at the end of the loan spell for Chris and all the staff to say they want me to stay. Hopefully, my performances will warrant that. You want to play on a Saturday afternoon, and I’m no different. I’ve been in and around different clubs. I had a spell where I didn’t play and was on the bench, and I’ve had times when I was playing, and I know what I’d prefer. You want to train Monday to Friday, and play on a Saturday. That’s just me and the way I am.”

The Manchester United manager has been linked to many players in the build up to the January transfer window, but insists he won’t be held to ransom and that inflated prices may mean me waits until the Summer to do his shopping.

“I would like to do business, but only if the prices are right – and that can be a problem in January,” Fergie told the Mail on Sunday.

Sir Alex is seemingly confident in the ability of his current squad as he looks to retain the Premier League crown for an unprecedented fourth time in a row.

The Manchester United defender has been linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent weeks.

“I am happy at Manchester United and I am looking forward to winning more trophies and I don’t think about leaving.” He told Sky Sports.

Vidic also spoke on the 5 point deficit that United have conceded to Chelsea, but thinks United will be able to overcome it.

“Our mentality does not change after a few games, we know what we need to do this year.

“Definitely it will be hard, but I think we have a good squad, a big squad to do well this season.”

Sir Alex Ferguson reportedly became interested in Chamakh after his impressive performances against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and could be swayed by the fact that the strikers contract with current club Bordeaux runs out in the Summer, meaning he could be signed on the cheap in January.

Defensive midfielder Cheyrou – brother of former Liverpool player Bruno – was reportedly watched by United scouts as Marseille drew 5-5 with Lyon in a thriller in Paris last week.United linked to

The potential signing of Cheyrou might not sit well with United fans due to his brothers ties to Liverpool.

Sir Alex still has much of the £80 million from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to spend, and is expected to reinforce his squad in January.

The Liverpool born striker is enjoying life at Old Trafford and aims to extend his contract in the coming months to prolong his stay with the Champions.

“I feel good,” he told the Daily Mail. “I’m playing for one of the biggest teams in the world, I’m here preparing to play for England against Brazil and I have just become a father. Things couldn’t get much better.”

“It’s nice to be noticed, but I’m really happy at United and, unless they tell me otherwise, I can’t see myself leaving. I’ve got two years left after this year on my contract so I’m sure we’ll be negotiating a new deal in the next few months. But I love the place. It’s 30 minutes from home and all my family and I’ve got a great chance of winning more trophies.”

The Austrian – who currently plays for German club Freiburg – is highly rated, but currently finds himself second choice for his club behind French ‘keeper Simon Pouplin.

Tomasz Kuszczak is reportedly keen on a move away from Old Trafford after Sir Alex Ferguson made it clear that Ben Foster was first choice after Edwin van der Sar.

And Foster’s future at United has also been put in doubt after a string of high profile howlers while van der Sar was out injured.

United have been linked with several goalkeepers recently, including Igor Akinfeev of CSKA Moscow, but they remain hopeful that van der Sar will extend his playing career by another year.

The Argentine winger – currently playing for Benfica – is a hot prospect and could be the long term replacement for Ryan Giggs.

United have been linked to the player in the past and recent comments by Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira suggests Di Maria may leave the club very soon.

“There are offers from several important teams,” Vieira said.

“Our goal is to win the championship and we can only achieve this if we keep our best players.

“But I admit maybe we should sell the player.”

Given the newspapers lack of accuracy with transfer stories, this move seems a very unlikely one.

Rooney has recently expressed his desire to emulate United legend Ryan Giggs by staying at United for the rest of his career, so it would appear that one of two possibilities are correct:

• The News of the World were experiencing a slow news day.

• The author – Chris Bascombe, former writer for Kop Magazine – is a bitter Kopite stirring shit ahead of today’s game at Stamford Bridge between United and Chelsea.

The 23 year old CSKA Moscow ‘keeper was in fine form yesterday as his side drew 3-3 with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Speculation had risen after his equally impressive performance against United in Moscow, and Sir Alex even praised Akinfeev in his programme notes, but he insists he’s happy with the goalkeeping situation at United and won’t be chasing Akinfeev this Summer.

“It is only rumour. We are not showing any interest in him,” he said.

“We are happy with our goalkeeping situation at the moment and wouldn’t be looking for another one.

“We wouldn’t be interested, but I have to say he is a fantastic goalkeeper.

“He is athletic, with a powerful build, and his distribution his good.

“He really saved CSKA from a big defeat against us. He made one very good save in the first half and four I think in the second half. He was outstanding.”

It will be his second stint at AC Milan, following a successful loan period last season, during the MLS off season.

The England midfielder is keen to prove himself to national coach Fabio Capello before he picks his final squad for the World Cup in South Africa next year.

“I need to give myself the best chance to make the World Cup squad – playing for Milan will help me,” said Beckham.

“I’m committed to LA Galaxy and MLS in the long term and remain as passionate as ever about growing the game of soccer in America.

“I’m completely focused on ending this season on a high note with my club by winning the MLS Cup.”

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani is delighted to welcome Beckham back to the club and made the following statement on the official AC Milan website.

“We are very happy to see again David Beckham with the Rossoneri jersey after the splendid experience of last season.”

“We are certain that this time in Europe will help the player take part in the next World Cup and to continue after his career in Los Angeles Galaxy, to whom we thank for their time.”

Reports suggest Chelsea may be in the running for Villa if they successfully appeal against their transfer ban, but The Mirror has published quotes from “a source close to Villa” that if true, suggest he’d prefer a move to United.

“David was approached about the Chelsea move in the summer but did not fancy it. He was not sure how often he would play or whether they played his style.

“Manchester United is his first choice in England, but there is a problem with that because of the price and his age. If it can be agreed with Valencia he would sooner go to Old Trafford.”

With The Mirror’s track record of (not so) accurate reporting on transfer deals, there doesn’t seem to be much weight to this story on the face of it. But other factors could push David Villa to Old Trafford that are out of his control.

He was a target for Real Madrid in the Summer, but after refusing to pay the fee Valencia wanted for him, they eventually settled on Benzema.

Barcelona were also reportedly interested in the Spanish striker, but they opted for a swap deal involving Samuel Eto’o to bring in Zlatan Ibrahimovich from Inter Milan.

The third and final reason why Villa may well be looking for a new club in the Summer is the dire financial position Valencia are currently in. Only last week Valencia director Fernando Gomez admitted that financial burdens may force them to sell the player.

Regular goalkeeper Joe Louis was sent off in the carling Cup defeat to Blackburn in midweek and manager Darren Ferguson has looked to his father Sir Alex to find an emergency replacement.

Darren could have used youngster James McKeown but has instead chosen Amos to start in goal for this weekend’s Championship match with Barnsley, who United knocked out of the Carling Cup last week.

Amos will most likely drop back to the bench for the following game after Louis has served his suspension, but the experience of being part of a first team setup should be a good experience for the England under-20 goalkeeper.

United reportedly made contact with Valencia this Summer regarding the pair, but were unwilling to meet the asking price. But comments made by Valencia director Fernando Gomez suggest the price may drop as the club are in desperate need of a cash injection.

‘The club made a great effort to keep our players this summer but our economic situation remains very serious,’ Gomez said on Spanish television.

‘It was a success to keep them, but there comes a point when you can’t stand it anymore. We may have to sell Villa.’

With most of the £80million received from Real Madrid for Ronaldo yet to be spent, Sir Alex could use some of it to land one or both of the Spanish stars to bolster his attack for next season.