Louis Saha last night admitted that he fears his
Manchester United career is over. As United prepare for a Champions
League Final date with Chelsea next Wednesday, Saha knows that a
place among the substitutes is the best he can hope for. And the
injury-plagued France striker conceded that his time at Old
Trafford could well be coming to an end.
Saha said: "The future isn't in my hands, but I'll try to make
it happen for me. "I know this could be my last game, and I would
understand if the manager went for another striker. It would be
painful if he did because I love the club so much. "I can't speak
about my future too much really now, though. It's about the club.
The main thing is to win the Champions League and maybe that will
change things."
Sir Alex Ferguson paid Fulham £12million for Saha in 2004 and
believed he would be the natural successor to Ruud van Nistelrooy.
More recently he hoped the 29-year-old would offer him a different
option from Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. But a
succession of knee and hamstring injuries have sidelined Saha as
United have won back-to-back Premier League titles and progressed
to the Champions League Final.
Now Ferguson is ready to sell after growing tired of the
player's problems. As Saha prepares to leave Old Trafford, Tevez
announced that he is ready to sign a permanent contract with
United. He arrived on a two-year loan following the third-party
ownership issues that dogged his time at West Ham, but now United
officials are investigating the best way to formalise the deal.
Team-mate Patrice Evra also remains confident he will agree a
new deal, but Mikael Silvestre could be in line for a move to his
boyhood club Bordeaux. Silvestre, 30, has made just five
appearances this season due to injuries and Evra's impressive form,
and says he would welcome the chance to join up with his old United
team-mate Laurent Blanc.
"Bordeaux are the club of my heart," said Silvestre. "I know
Laurent well and I've spoken with him about joining since last
year. "A deal is not out of the question, and we need to give it
some serious thought."
The FA took the first steps towards charging Avram Grant with
improper conduct yesterday when they wrote to the Chelsea boss
asking him to explain his remarks about Premier League refereeing.
Grant called Steve Bennett's integrity into question after United
won 2-0 at Wigan to clinch the title, and also accused Mike Dean of
"changing the result" when Chelsea lost at Old Trafford earlier in
the season.
Roman Abramovich has bought 500 tickets for Chelsea's Russian
fans to watch the final in Moscow on Wednesday night. With black
market tickets costing up to 25 times the monthly salary of an
average Russian worker, Abramovich has paid out around £50,000 to
ensure they can see the match.
