Smith confirmed on United's tour of Asia
Alan Smith has been handed a place in Manchester United's Far East
tour squad as speculation over his Red Devils career rumbles
on.
The former Leeds star has supposedly been seeking assurances over
his future after failing to land a new contract offer from Sir Alex
Ferguson.
Reports of a £6million bid from Middlesbrough being accepted for
Smith have done little to quell the rumours surrounding his
long-term future and with United attempting to push through a deal
for Carlos Tevez this week, the England international's time at Old
Trafford does appear limited.
But, with Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured and Giuseppe
Rossi missing out due to his European Under-21 Championship
commitments with Italy this summer, Smith found himself alongside
Wayne Rooney as one of only two front-line strikers in Ferguson's
squad.
Also missing were skipper Gary Neville, Park Ji-sung and Ben Foster
through injury, Gerard Pique, whose season with Real Zaragoza in
Spain ran until the end of June, Dong Fangzhou, currently on Asia
Cup duty with China, plus Anderson and Gabriel Heinze, who were
hoping for Copa America glory with Brazil and Argentina
respectively.
Heinze is currently in demand by Liverpool but United have
steadfastly refused to entertain a deal with their north-west
rivals, even though Rafael Benitez has met the £6.8million asking
price.
Kieran Richardson was another absentee after also featuring in the
Under-21 Championships, although with a move to Sunderland pending,
he was not expected to be involved anyway.
The raft of losses allowed Ferguson to draft in some of his young
stars, namely Northern Ireland defender Jonny Evans, who made such
an impression in Sunderland's surge to promotion.
Darron Gibson, Danny Simpson and Chris Eagles were also involved,
as was Phil Bardsley, who spent last term at Rangers and Aston
Villa.
After playing through a minor earthquake on their last visit to
Tokyo two years ago and having a Vodafone Cup game against Urawa
Red Diamonds called off in 1994 due to a freak electrical storm
around Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson's men set off to news of a
typhoon 'Man-Yi' hitting the capital city.
Five people were killed and 40,000 evacuated as the storm hit, with
650 flights cancelled as well. Thankfully though, the worst of the
storm, which had been expected to hit Tokyo full on, passed by
without causing the damage many had feared.
The news would have come as a relief to Ferguson, who views the
four-match tour as a vital part of his side's build-up to the
defence of their Premier League title, with new arrivals Owen
Hargreaves and Nani offered their first taste of life with
United.
Not only will Red Devils supporters get their first glimpse of the
duo, most of their team-mates are looking forward to seeing them in
action as well.
'All the players here are the same, we want to see them play,' Rio
Ferdinand told MUTV.
'Obviously we know more about Owen than Nani but we are keen to see
what they can do.'
