Check on United spending plans
--------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Check on United spending plans
By Oliver Kay
SIR ALEX FERGUSON’S concerns about being left behind by Chelsea’s formidable power will be increased tomorrow when he is told that he must raise funds by selling members of his Manchester United squad if he wishes to sign a replacement for Roy Keane this summer.
While Chelsea expect to make Steven Gerrard one of three high-profile signings this summer, Ferguson will have to sell before he can think of buying Michael Essien, the Lyons and Ghana midfield player. David Gill, the chief executive, will spell out, when announcing a slight drop in the club’s profits over the past six-month period, that the transfer kitty is empty after a £40 million outlay last summer on Alan Smith, Gabriel Heinze and Wayne Rooney.
United are expected to find the money to sign at least one new goalkeeper, with Roy Carroll and Ricardo set to leave on free transfers when their contracts expire in June, but Essien, who would cost at least £10 million, will not be going to Old Trafford unless Ferguson can raise funds by selling fringe players such as Kléberson and David Bellion and possibly a more established player such as Phil Neville or John O’Shea.
The United plc board has a strict policy that the club should never put itself into debt to buy players. It was faced with such a dilemma over Rooney last summer, with extensive commitments having already been made to the expansion of Old Trafford, but it avoided doing so by careful weighting of the projected £27 million deal for Rooney, for whom the second £10 million instalment is payable in August.
Ferguson and his staff have looked at dozens of goalkeepers in recent months, ranging from the established, such as Antti Niemi, of Southampton, and Paul Robinson, of Tottenham Hotspur, to the relatively obscure, such as Carlos Kameni, of Espanyol, and Jan Lastuvka, of Shakhtar Donetsk. He had identified Niemi, valued at around £5 million, as his top target, but financial considerations may force him to consider less expensive targets. If Ferguson is forced to sell to finance his plans he will hope to revive interest from Corinthians in Kléberson, the Brazil midfield player, but may have to take a loss on a player signed for £5.93 million in August 2003.
A controversial option would be to sell a player such as Smith, who is reported to be attracting interest from Newcastle United, or Louis Saha, who has started just 20 games since joining United from Fulham for £12.82 million in January 2004. Ferguson maintains that all these players are in his plans, even issuing Kléberson with a hollow vote of confidence on Friday, but he will be left in no doubt by Gill that some tough decisions lie ahead.
One player who will not be made available is Rio Ferdinand. The England defender has stated that he is happy at Old Trafford, despite the attentions of clubs with more spending power than United. “There has been talk in the media about ( going to) Real Madrid and Chelsea but there have been no offers for me while I have been at United and if there were I would dismiss them straight away,” he said.
“I can’t see myself wanting to go anywhere while we are winning with United and doing well. As a kid, I always said I would like to go abroad, not just for the football but for the lifestyle. In the future you never know but I don’t have a burning desire to go abroad just yet.”
On en parlait il n´y a pas longtemps, grâce çà l´argent du transfert de Becks on a assez pour un gardien, aprés faudra un joli montage financier pour avoir un milieu ^^
