Manchester United looking at Japan´s Nakata: report
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TOKYO ( AFP) - Manchester United are seeking to recruit Japanese football superstar Hidetoshi Nakata for their midfield depleted by David Beckham´s transfer to Real Madrid, a Tokyo sports daily said.
The 26-year-old Parma player is also reportedly wanted by another English
Premiership side Chelsea and Italian Serie-A club AC Milan. French club
Olympique Marseille joined the fray last week.
The Sports Nippon newspaper said that Manchester, under instructions from club mentor Bobby Charlton, had put Nakata under a microscope during Japan´s short-lived campaign at the Confederations Cup in France.
The Premiership champions have " already started preparations for talks" to acquire Nakata, the report said.
But Nakata´s agent, Sunny Side Up Inc. of Tokyo, brushed aside the report as speculative. " He is always at the centre of rumour at this season of the year. His name crops up almost every day," an official of the company said.
Parma are expected to want around 15 million euros ( 17.8 million dollars) for Nakata, who has also played for AS Roma and Perugia since moving to Italy´s Serie-A in 1998.
He is unhappy with the way he was used by Parma coach Cesare Prandelli last season. Prandelli has used Nakata, who built up his career as a midfield playmaker, on the right side and often close to the firing line.
