Sir Alex Ferguson will finally get his man when he clinches the £12
million capture of England midfielder Owen Hargreaves within the
next fortnight as he celebrates Christmas with Manchester United
sitting proudly on top of the Premiership.
Hargreaves, who has been pursued by the United manager since before
the World Cup finals last summer, is approaching full fitness after
breaking the fibula in his left leg playing for Bayern Munich on
September 16.
He will arrive to stiffen Uniteds midfield at an opportune time,
with Michael Carrick facing a six week lay-off with an ankle
injury. The Hargreaves deal, allied to the short-term recruitment
of Sweden striker Henrik Larsson, will enable Ferguson to crank up
the pressure on his title rival, Chelsea manager Jose
Mourinho.
Ferguson has revealed that he instructed chief executive David Gill
to resume talks with Bayern, who last week claimed they would fight
to keep the player until next summer. But there has been a sudden
softening of Bayerns stance and Ferguson said: "We will wait and
see about that. But I can reveal that a deal will be completed in
the January transfer window, with Hargreaves having informed
Ferguson that he is on his way to Old Trafford.
The arrival of the combative Canadian-born player, set to be
welcomed to the club well before his 26th birthday on January 20,
will bring to an end a typically determined manhunt by Ferguson and
an equally stoic refusal by Bayern officials to let him go.
Ferguson tried to sign Hargreaves before the August transfer
deadline but the German club refused to talk, especially after an
attempt to do a deal involving Van Nistelrooy foundered when the
striker opted for Real Madrid instead.
Ferguson said then of the midfielder: "He is at a good age and
still maturing. He would fit our age profile very well and he would
be able to play the type of football that we like."
Don't know how true is this report...
