Manchester United are still waiting to receive a formal
offer for unsettled striker Alan Smith. Although the wrangle over
Carlos Tevez's proposed move to Old Trafford is now heading for the
High Court, United are working on the assumption that the Argentina
striker will join them before the August 31 transfer
deadline.
Tevez's eventual arrival would cast a huge question mark over
Smith's future, especially as Sir Alex Ferguson admitting the
limited number of games he would be able to offer the £6million
former Leeds striker is likely to be a major problem. Middlesbrough
are among a number of clubs to make an informal inquiry for Smith.
In fact, contact with United by a number of parties has been
frequent, the latest arriving in the form of a text to chief
executive David Gill's phone on Thursday
However, brief discussions have led to nothing concrete as yet,
leaving Smith to return from United's four-match Far East tour
after Friday's concluding encounter with Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals
not knowing where he will start the new campaign. "As yet, we have
not had any firm offers for Alan Smith," said Gill. "A couple of
clubs have called to ask us about the situation and we received a
text from someone else about it this morning. "We will see what
happens but so far nothing has resulted from it."
While it seems certain Smith will eventually end his three-year
stay at United, the future of Giuseppe Rossi appears slightly more
concrete. After scoring nine goals in an impressive 17-game spell
with Parma, the Italy Under-21 star has been attracting interest
from a host of Serie A clubs.
Like Smith, Rossi's first-team chances would be affected by Tevez's
arrival. Ferguson admitted last week that he was in "a bit of a
situation" regarding Rossi. But it appears there is now a genuine
desire to keep the 20-year-old at United. "Giuseppe is a player who
has attracted interest, particularly from overseas but at the
moment he is part of the team and that is how it will stay," said
Gill.