At the centre of
the storm: Wesley Sneijder (left) has been caught up in the turmoil
at Inter Milan
Sir Alex Ferguson will
try to exploit growing turmoil at Inter Milan by making a concerted
attempt to sign Wesley Sneijder at the end of the
season.
Though a huge admirer of
Tottenham’s Luka Modric, the Manchester United manager has set his
sights on Sneijder as his principal summer target and is prepared
to meet a £25million asking price to prise him away from the San
Siro.
Recruiting a midfielder with
drive and energy is Ferguson’s priority, and the feedback on
Sneijder’s likely availability has encouraged the Old Trafford boss
to seek clearance to proceed with a bid.
Sportsmail
understands an offer will be lodged with Inter, and their president
Massimo Moratti is willing to sanction the Holland World Cup
midfielder’s departure, despite him signing a long-term deal
this season.
Champions League winner: Sneijder and Inter
overcame the might of Barcelona in the semi-finals to beat Bayern
Munich 2-0 at the Bernabeu
Sneijder, 26, accepted
improved terms until 2015 but has since seen Inter unravel under
coach Leonardo, with the one-time Brazil midfielder coming under
heavy fire for his tactical approach to their Champions League tie
against Schalke and Serie A clash against city rivals AC
Milan.
After axing Maicon and Thiago
Motta for not trying hard enough in training, and even relegating
Sneijder to the bench, Leonardo was at the mercy of a critical
Italian media after Inter crashed out 7-3 on aggregate against
Schalke and effectively surrendered their league title to Milan
with a 3-0 derby defeat.
World Cup expertise: Sneijder scored four goals in
South Africa - including this header in the quarter-finals against
Brazil - as Holland were beaten in the final by Spain
Sneijder, who spent
two seasons at Real Madrid before joining Inter in summer 2009, is
ready for a fresh start and evidently relishes the challenge of
replacing Paul Scholes as United’s new midfield
general.
United have also been alerted
to a hint that Porto are surprisingly ready to cash in on their
main assets to ease financial worries.
Despite being crowned
Portuguese champions with five games to go, Porto need to raise
funds and are resigned to losing centre back Rolando, who was
watched by an Old Trafford scout against Sporting Lisbon last
weekend, and forward Hulk, who is also being monitored by
United.
Powerhouse: Hulk skips the challenge of Spartak
Moscow's Marek Suchy as Porto reached the Europa League semi-finals
at the Russians' expense
However, with doubts
remaining over Carlos Tevez’s future, Manchester City have
repeatedly run the rule over powerful Brazil front-runner Hulk and
are prepared to match Porto’s £34m valuation.
United were offered Rolando
last summer and, although they dithered then, they are now ready to
make a move for the 25-year-old, who has been capped 10 times by
Portugal and is available at around £12m.
Though United have agreed a
£17.8m fee with Atletico Madrid for goalkeeper David de Gea, there
remain concerns within Old Trafford about the 20-year-old’s
readiness to leave his homeland.
Possible alternative: Manchester United are running
the rule over Ajax's Dutch international keeper Maarten
Stekelenburg
As they wait for word
from their prime choice to replace Edwin van der Sar, they continue
to consider alternatives, with Ajax’s Maarten Stekelenburg and
Sporting Lisbon’s Rui Patricio under review.
There will be players leaving
Old Trafford as well with Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov being
linked with Juventus.
