MANCHESTER UNITED boss Sir
Alex Ferguson is poised for an unprecedented
£100million-plus summer transfer buying campaign.
The 69-year-old is determined to leave the club in robust health
once he decides to retire with a young talented squad capable of
winning more trophies.
Despite going to Liverpool today with a team that is the
bookies’ favourite to win him a record breaking 19th title, Sir
Alex know that surgery is needed in the summer if United are to
maintain their high standards of the past decades.
It’s why he is ready to use the chequebook once the next
transfer window opens.
United lead the chase for Tottenham ace Gareth Bale and will open
up with a £30m offer. Aston Villa’s Ashley Young is bound for Old
Trafford for £20m, after Ferguson narrowly missed out on snapping
him up in January.
Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson is another likely capture
for £15m, though Michael Carrick could be included in the deal
despite having recently signed a new contract. United are in for
Everton’s emerging star Jack Rodwell too.
Sir Alex Ferguson is poised
for an unprecedented £100million-plus summer transfer buying
campaign
The parlous state of the Goodison finances means the board would be
hard-pressed to reject a £20m offer for Rodwell, especially with
Arsenal also expressing an interest.
Ferguson has also told Southampton that he will beat any offer or
personal terms for exciting teenage winger Alex Chamberlain,
meaning the Saints flyer is likely to land at United for around
£10m.
And with United also intent on spending at least £10m on a top-line
keeper at the end of the season to replace the retiring Edwin van
der Sar, Ferguson is committed to a summer outlay of more than
£100m.
SOURCE: Express
Clearly some will wonder where the money for these moves is
coming from given the much talked about debt the Glazers have
accrued but that said the club’s owners have repeatedly assured Sir
Alex Ferguson that money would be available for additions and
indeed they also apparently promised Wayne Rooney that the club’s
ambitions would be matched by cold hard cash.
A number of the Old Trafford squad are nearing the end of their
successful careers. Gary Neville has quit, Edwin van der Sar will
hang up his gloves in the summer and the likes of Paul Scholes and
Ryan Giggs have a season or two left in the tank. Then add to that
list the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Michael Carrick, Park
Ji-Sung, John O’Shea, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen, Owen
Hargreaves and Nemanja Vidic who are all over 30 or approaching
that milestone this year and it is clear that a freshening up of
the squad is necessary.
Sir Alex Ferguson may struggle to land Gareth Bale as Tottenham
do not appear to have any intention of letting the Welsh youngster
go, but the other targets are all eminently plausible with the
pursuits of Ashley Young and Jack Rodwell being long running
affairs for the Man United boss.
The search for a new keeper may prove to be the most problematic
for the club and Ferguson knows well just how important finding a
reliable pair of hands to place behind his back-line will be. Sir
Alex’s big periods of success have coincided with the reigns of
Peter Schmeichel and van der Sar and the club has struggled
somewhat with other custodians at the helm.
At present the likes of Manuel Neuer and Pepe Reina are
seemingly top of the club’s wish-list and either capture would be
worthy ones.
Livescore @ letgetlive