Manchester United Transfer Rumours/Discussion 2006 :)

PHB

I suppose we have nothing else to go on but these rumours and nonsense but I think requesting "Sources" is a bit on the pointless side.

Actually it's not.

If somebody quotes the star or ABU365 I instantly dismiss it, just as I pretty much instantly dismiss the English Times.

Certain sources are more reliable than others.

Necronomicon

Sizzler wrote:

15m for Carrick....a tad steep?

You'll nearly always pay over the odds for an English player, and since Spurs don't have to sell, there's no reason for them to let one of their most important players go. United won't get Carrick on the cheap.

Pepe LeFrits

£15m for him is crazy money.

But he's English, which for some reason which nobody seems able to define, is so important.

Sizzler

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

£15m for him is crazy money.

But he's English, which for some reason which nobody seems able to define, is so important.

Wonder how much we could get Zakora for? If we put 8m down on the table Id say they would bite our hand off.

Anybody get a look at Tim Borowski, plays for werder bremen? Looks class.
Replaced Ballack in germany's opening wc game.

Sizzler

They have just said on the sports news on Newstalk that Utd have signed Fernando Torres and the deal will be completed after the WC.

First Ive heard of it ! Cant see it anywhere in the papers or on the web today?

dirkey_wynne

Sizzler wrote:

They have just said on the sports news on Newstalk that Utd have signed Fernando Torres and the deal will be completed after the WC.

First Ive heard of it ! Cant see it anywhere in the papers or on the web today?

Just heard this from my cousin, think he source was also radio however. Can't find it either...

jobonar

its been reported in The Star today too i'm told..... Pray its true!

gracehopper

I dont think Torres is the right option for United. He's clearly a good talent but i'd rather Ruud stayed and also give Rossi the chance to develop.

I hope they dont spend 20m or so on a new striker because at the minute i think we've the best front players in the league.

WE NEED MIDFIELDERS!!!

Mascherano, Diarra, Carrick, Cahill. Any two of these will do nicely.

eirebhoy

jobonar wrote:

its been reported in The Star today too i'm told..... Pray its true!

I assume that'd be newstalk's source then. Man Utd have "reportedly" signed...

BFassassin

i agree with gracehopper it would be a waste to buy another striker when it is midfield we badly need to strenghten

PHB

This is all from the Star, which claimed there was a 25 million bid for him.

I'll believe this when I see it, but it's the Star so...

kippy

Actually it's not.

If somebody quotes the star or ABU365 I instantly dismiss it, just as I pretty much instantly dismiss the English Times.

Certain sources are more reliable than others.

PHP,
You say some sources are more reliable than others then write off the Star as an unreliable source.
Yet, as you can see from here:
http://www.manutd.com/news/fullstory.sps?iNewsId=17749
The only player on that list that United actually bought that year was reported in the unrelaiable Star in May-Rio Ferdinand.
So that year they got it right-granted they also got about ten more wrong-but such is the crap that gets written in general about transfers.

I would be interested to know what you would call a reliable source?
I dont believe anything I hear regarding transfers until its announced that the player has signed on the manutd.com site
Granted, we are well able to speculate but when we cannot believe anything we read in the papers regarding any alleged player movements until they actually happen.
Kippy

Again in my opinion the only "reliable" source is the clubs website-when they anounce that the transfer has actually been completed.

CountryWise

Another striker? thats the last thing we need.
We have rooney, saha and Ruud for now as well as the Smith option and Rossi will be a class act, i dont believe this signing will happen

PHB

The only player on that list that United actually bought that year was reported in the unrelaiable Star in May-Rio Ferdinand.
So that year they got it right-granted they also got about ten more wrong-but such is the crap that gets written in general about transfers.

That's how they trick stupid people.
If you throw enough **** onto a wall, eventually it will stick.

Javier Portillo Forward Real Madrid 10 million Daily Star, 18 June
Lucio Defender Bayer Leverkusen Not stated Daily Star, 14 June
Rustu Recber Goalkeeper Fenerbahce 4 million Daily Star, 5 June
Rio Ferdinand Defender Leeds United 25 million Daily Star, 23 May
Roberto Ayala Defender Valencia 13 million Daily Star, 15 May
Patrick Kluivert Forward Barcelona 18 million Daily Star, 11 May
Lilian Thuram Defender Juventus 24 million Daily Star, 10 May

Basically, they linked United to any half decent defender who might be availible for purchase, that way, when one if signed, (as one was always going to be), they can say, hey look at us.


Which sources do I consider reliable? Very few, that's why I like to see a source, because you can see if there is any foundation to a story.

I dont believe anything I hear regarding transfers until its announced that the player has signed on the manutd.com site

A fine policy, but there are websites I'd trust more than others. e.g. www.redissue.co.uk

---

saha and Ruud for now as well

Well, the reason we are being linked to strikers is because, ya know, Ruud looks likely to leave, and Torres is a well known target of Fergie.

Necronomicon

I think between the two striker stories (ie, Ruud making up with Fergie and United signing Torres) one of them must be bull****.
Would Fergie realy sign Torres if Ruud was going to stay? Especially since the midfield is the priority.

Edit: (From the Times, posted on redissue.co.uk)

United expect to agree a fee of about £14 million to sign Michael Carrick from Tottenham Hotspur in the next 48 hours. No deal can be completed until the England midfield player returns from the World Cup finals. The club are hopeful of signing another midfield player, Mahamadou Diarra, from Lyons, for a similar fee.

PHB

Highly-rated Ghana youngster Sulley Muntari wants to quit Udinese and move to the Premiership next season.

Muntari is one of the stand-out players in the Ghana World Cup squad and has been touted as one of the best young midfielders in Europe.

The 21-year-old had trials with Manchester United as a teenager but a combination of work permit problems and a struggle in adapting to English life at such a young age meant a permanent deal was never concluded and Muntari eventually joined the Serie A club instead.

But, after four years in Italy, Muntari believes it is time for a change.

And following extensive chats with room-mate Michael Essien, he has set his heart on making the move to England once his World Cup commitments are over.

"I would love to play in the Premiership," he said. "It would make me very happy.

"I have been in Italy four years now and now I would like to try something else.

"When I was younger I had trials at Manchester United and if they came for me again it would be fantastic."

A player for the future I think

jobonar

is Sulley Muntari a DM or AM?

Necronomicon

Sky are reporting that Manchester City are ready to offer Quentin Fortune a two-year deal after he rejected Celtic's offer. It doesn't appear to be on their website though.

PHB

Got this from another forum, not sure where it's from:

"I received an offer of a contract from Manchester United," Petit said following a training session here.

"This is not the time to be thinking about that and I want to concentrate on the World Cup.

"Afterwards, we can talk about the offer," added Petit, who was substituted during Portugal's hard fought opening 1-0 win over Angola on Sunday.

Petit would be a pretty good signing I think, I'd be happy to see him in the jearsey.

Necronomicon

Who is he? I can't say I'm familiar with him, and I missed the Portugal match. I'll look out for him in the next one.

PHB

He plays for Benfica, he's a hardworking determined defensive midfielder, not technically amazing, but mentally strong. He's 28/29 I think.

Little-Devil

Again another over-rated player who isn't good enough for MANUTD. IF he is that good Jose would have spoted him and signed up for €15million. I saw him play against manu and for portugal and to be honest, he's not that good

MANU need to be setting there sights higher and on younger midfielders like,
Reo-Coker, Carrick, Zakora and prob Sulley Muntari be good for the future. I think we need to start buying good young players. We need to sign 2 Quality midfielders before the season. I'd like to see Carrick and Zakora and maybe Muntair..

I can bet as usual Sir Alex will buy another couple of duds and hope for the best.

AthAnRi

What about the goalie tonight for Poland. Looked very good. Fergie should defo get on the blower to strachan about that guy.

mchurl

I think Van Der Sar has another few years in him yet and is still better than Boruc.

The Muppet

There appears to be some truth in the Torres to United rumour . I believe he will be an excellent signing . Now if only we can get the midfield sorted.

PHB

When Torres is holding up a United shirt, I'll believe it, until then

VDS has another two years in him, after that, it's Howard or Foster who is going to be Uniteds next keeper.

besty

PHB wrote:

When Torres is holding up a United shirt, I'll believe it, until then
QUOTE]
Even that may not prove anything.*


*See case of Jon Obi Mikel.

In all honesty, Torres would be a great signing. We need to make incisive and quality signings in order not to stagnate and fall behind a rejuvenating Liverpool and Arsenal. I have faith in Fergie and think our Summer activity will be something like;

Out:
Silvestre

In;
Carrick
Torres (maybe this one's a bit hopeful)
A.N. Other midfielder (possibly a younger prospect á la Mikel)

BFassassin

petit would be a good stopgap but we need young midfielders who will be at the club for years to come. that Muntair story seems interesting he could be worth picking up cheap

jobonar

Petit would be a good signing! get 3/4 years out of him while a couple of the young lads(jones,gibson) mature. fee is rumoured to be €5m which wouldnt be too bad while these boys get 12-18 months to imporve and show that they have what it takes to do the job at the top level!

we still need a proven midfeilder ASAP and i'd welcome torres! torres and rvn up top and give rooney a free role from the left to do what he likes! he'd set up so many goals for a pairing like rvn and torres!

PHB

If Torres comes, he'll be a replacement for RVN.

jobonar

PHB wrote:

If Torres comes, he'll be a replacement for RVN.

probably! i'm in denial and i can hope!

Little-Devil

I was just wondering if any other Manutd fans were surprised that we sold Jonathan Spector to West Ham for £500,000? I heard the rumour but thought it was only on loan for the season. I actually thought he was one the better young players coming through and expected him to probably be in the first team in a couple of years

On the Rudd Story, i would like to see him stay as I think he has being one of are if not are best strikers of all time. I noticed last season though that he was scoring goals but didn’t look happy, so i wasn't that surprised that he had a fallen out with Sir Alex. I think if we signed Torres to replace him, then i would be happy as a lot of Manu fans would be. Ruud is a goal poacher and doesn't really do enough outside the box and can sometimes be very frustrating. We played Liverpool last season twice and he wasn’t in the game at all.

Again on petit from Benfica, i really hope we don’t sign, I honestly think he's rubbish and not good enough for Manutd, maybe for a team like Fulham or Charlton, but i think Ferguson should be looking for young midfielders coming through that can make a impact in the next couple of years.

evad_lhorg

I HOPE THIS IS TRUE! please please please!!


senna was excellent as well. very solid player. im also suprised riquelme hasnt moved from villareal. riquelme and torres would be a great double signing!

Garret

I'm disappointed by the news about Spector, thought he showed great potential

PHB

Spector never impressed enough to make it at United ahead of the talent of Pique, Evans, and Bardsely, (also Rincon) so I'm not suprised he was sold. Hope we have a sell on fee or a preformance related thingy, cause I think he can be a good player in the future, good signing for them.

Little-Devil

I'm watching the Holland V Ivory Coast game, if Sir Alex ferguson is watching he'll have being impressed with Zokora and Ya Ya Toure. I think they would be 2 great signings for manu and would fit in well at utd. I say you prob get the 2 of them as well for around £15million and to think Lyon want £25million for Diarra You can be sure Arsenal will be looking at the 2 of them and prob liverpool.

PHB

Zokora was not that good, flashes of brilliance but lots of ****e aswell, alternating hot and cold way too much to be a United player, not the player United need. Liverpool or Arsenal can have him, but they don't want him, Spurs will get him, probably to replace Carrick.

Toure looked good, no doubt about it. Would be a good signing for the future I think.

besty

What age is YaYa Toure? Is he an out and out conventional defensive midfielder? I haven't seen him play.

Pepe LeFrits

He's 22/23 and he's not a defensive midfielder. He is effectively a more polished version of Diaby - skillful, forward thinking centre-mid. He's quite creative and a good passer but he doesn't make many tackles, doesn't track back a great deal and comes across being very sluggish and lethargic. Himself and Kolo are like chalk and cheese.

besty

Well if that's the case, why is he so highly rated? I've heard an awful lot about him, presumably he would be keen to join Arsenal to link with his brother, but I doubt they will buy another central midfielder after Rosicky's arrival.

Petit is on for Portugal now. Let's see if the speculation over his future sparks a great performance.

Jimi-Spandex

Looks like the Torres thing is still hanging around. This is in the Mirror today, which is usually fairly reliable.

The Mirror wrote:

17 June 2006
FERGIE'S IN FOR TORRES
By John Cross

MANCHESTER United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has been given permission to go ahead with a £25million move for Spain World Cup star Fernando Torres.

Atletico Madrid striker Torres, 22, was Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign and has told World Cup team-mates that he will move to Old Trafford.

United had been behind Spurs and Newcastle in the queue of interested clubs but Fergie's fall-out with Ruud van Nistelrooy has led to him looking around at other strikers. Torres has two years left on his contract but Atletico want to cash in.

United have won the race for Norwegian kid Magnus Wolff Eikrem - thanks to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Molde midfielder Eikrem, a product of Solskjaer's soccer school in Norway, will sign a two-year scholarship when he turns 16 in August.

I wouldn't mind Petit if its alongside another major midfield signing, and if he's cheap.

Headshot

i would love to see Fernando Torres in a united shirt, quality player,superb

and yet only 22,but still needs his finishing to be improved a bit

homerjay2005

united have always being linked with alot of players during transfer times, but the amount of players rumoured this year is unreal, must be about 50 at this stage, anybody whos half decent is being linked(and some total sh**e players too!!). i still feel the riquleme is a done deal and carrick, even though i dont think he is the right type of player, will sign, unless spurs demand a huge fee. i rather go with a less expensive option of say zakora/ cambiasso. torres is a strange one, i dont see the need for him to be honest as i feel that ruud will now stay for another 2 years anyway. the only reason i could see united signing him now, is so that he doesnt sign for a big team like milan and be tied there for the rest of his career. he is only 22 so fergie may see him as a long term replacement. alot of links on vaiours forums suggest strong possibilities that united will at least bid for him, dont know if they will go all the way for him though. i also think that united will sign a player that will totally shock everybody> something that nobody predicted, a free transfer or something like that! petit looks a tidy player, but then JOS and giggs are tidy players and still wont do overt the course of the season in midfield.

Pepe LeFrits

besty wrote:

Well if that's the case, why is he so highly rated? I've heard an awful lot about him, presumably he would be keen to join Arsenal to link with his brother, but I doubt they will buy another central midfielder after Rosicky's arrival.

Eh, because he's a more polished version of Diaby. Arsenal won't buy him because Fabregas and Diaby are already there, Rosicky doesn't come into it.

homerjay2005

from bbc, both not true i feel>

Wales striker Bellamy has also emerged as the shock transfer target of Manchester United. (Express)

Chelsea have joined Manchester United in the hunt for Spain striker Fernando Torres. (Star, Mail)

Milan are supposed to have torres as their number on target for the summer. and what about this guy> Ghana midfielder Sulley Muntari ? scored the second yesterday. cheap and effective?!

adox

One guy knocking around the premiership who looks to be on the move but not attracting any of the big clubs is Steed Malbranque.

United could do alot worse than make a move for him and maybe play him as a playmaker.I`ve always admired the guys game and couldnt understand how he spent so long with Fulham without attracting outside interest.

besty

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Eh, because he's a more polished version of Diaby. Arsenal won't buy him because Fabregas and Diaby are already there, Rosicky doesn't come into it.

Well he does. The fact that they've paid £8m ish for a midfielder, and he can play in central midfield would generally be considered when going in for a new player who plays the same position...

Pepe LeFrits

besty wrote:

Well he does. The fact that they've paid £8m ish for a midfielder, and he can play in central midfield would generally be considered when going in for a new player who plays the same position...

Going off topic here, but he's been bought as a replacement for Pires. Wenger's made no secret of it.

PHB

Yeh totally, he is a direct replacement for Pires.

Nalz

Trilla wrote:

What about Mascherano, the Argentinian midfielder. I've now seen him play 3 times for his country, and i think he would be a good addition to the United squad.

I'll quote my post before the last Argentina game, and ask again what do people think of Mascherano? the tab papers have him linked with united at around 22m today? bit pricey....