Man Utd Transfer Signings + Rumours

SteM

It'll definately be an interesting season for them and I believe it'll be Fergie's last tbh. The only thing I'll say is that no one knows what is happening behind the scenes at United but the players and managment, I'm sceptical of newspapers that quote 'sources' etc. Not dismissing it as paper talk but certainly not getting too worried by it.

Looking forward to seeing how Ferdinand will be treated at OT for the first match of the season if he hasn't re-signed by then. Ferdinand hasn't been made captain for any pre-season match so far IIRC (even Fletcher and Rooney have been given the armband ahead of him!) so I don't think he'll be made captain until his future's sorted one way or another.

SteM

Jimi-Spandex wrote:

Has everyone here forgotten that this is 'Man Utd Transfer Singings and Rumours' thread and not the 'OMFG ManYoo are teh fuxord' thread.

Thank you.

Back OT, Ballack by next friday anyone?

There's nothing to talk about!

Is Ballack even a rumour anymore?

Jivin Turkey

SteM wrote:

Looking forward to seeing how Ferdinand will be treated at OT for the first match of the season if he hasn't re-signed by then. Ferdinand hasn't been made captain for any pre-season match so far IIRC (even Fletcher and Rooney have been given the armband ahead of him!) so I don't think he'll be made captain until his future's sorted one way or another.

He was however second in command prior to his contract problems and first in line to take the band on Keanes retirement. Not surprising in the slightest that AF doesnt want to give him the captaincy when the lad isnt commiting to the club.

SteM

Jivin Turkey wrote:

He was however second in command prior to his contract problems and first in line to take the band on Keanes retirement.

It certainly seemed that way alright.

MooShop

SteM wrote:

There's nothing to talk about!

Is Ballack even a rumour anymore?

yeah he is, i read a few days ago that their chairman would contemplate selling Ballack

Necronomicon

Jimi-Spandex wrote:

Has everyone here forgotten that this is 'Man Utd Transfer Singings and Rumours' thread and not the 'OMFG ManYoo are teh fuxord' thread.

Thank you.

Back OT, Ballack by next friday anyone?

Compared to the raging speculation a couple of weeks ago, things have gone a bit quiet. Which could be a good thing. Bayern are certainly willing to sell him.

Headshot

still no Rumours on united in the transfer market

at lest Phil is staying and Smith wants to concentrate on united winning the league than on the World cup, shows how much he loves united

Necronomicon

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

at lest Phil is staying and Smith wants to concentrate on united winning the league than on the World cup, shows how much he loves united

Yeah I saw that interview this morning, we need more characters like Smithy.

Headshot

Necromomicon wrote:

Yeah I saw that interview this morning, we need more characters like Smithy.

exactly

we dont want players like Rio

PHB

Rio - One of the best CB's in the world

Smith - Unable to make it as a striker, thus forced to play in the DMC position.

I like Smithy, but we need Rio, does nobody ****ing remember united before his return? Defense was utter ****e.
Memories of goldfishes

Necronomicon

Yeah I remember, in fact I think it was when he got banned that Howard completely lost his confidence because the defence was **** and we went on to lose 9 or 10 games in that season. But we need more attitudes like Smith, the real Keano-type of fighting spirit. I don't know what to think of Rio at the moment.

Headshot

PHB wrote:

Rio - One of the best CB's in the world

i would have to disagree with you there
i honestly think hes good but not one of the best in the world nothing compared to Nesta and Terry

Man utd in defense are nothing with out Rio ,that bit is ture

Silvestre is bad enough

Rio is like Silvestre's rock

sprinkles

Terry has weaknesses, in particular pace, so I'd have to disagree with you. imo Rio is terry equal, no doubt about it. He has pace and is very confident on the ball. His absence would be sorely misssed (evident during his ban) and he would have to be replaced with a top class CB

Headshot

sprinkles wrote:

Terry has weaknesses, in particular pace,

fair point

PHB

Ivan Helgura used to b e considered the best CB in the entire world.
When Makelele left he was no longer.

sprinkles

PHB wrote:

Ivan Helgura used to b e considered the best CB in the entire world.
When Makelele left he was no longer.

He was getting on in any case. I think Rio has prove that he can perform in any team. Batty wasn't exactly Keane/Makelele quality now was he.

Necronomicon

Man United beat Urawa Red Diamonds 2-0 in the last game of their Asia tour. Rooney scored both goals in the second half.
I don't have MUTV, but I was reading a review on the United website. Apparently Rooney and Ronaldo absolutely ran the show, with another good CM performance from Smith.

PHB

I saw the game.
It was like playing a Wigan or someone, all 11 behind the ball, good test.
Rooney's first goal was lucky, his second was sublime. I'll get an AVI when I can of it.
Pique was very impressive actually beside Slyvestre, best preformance so far for him.
Smith was unimpressive imo, his tackling was a bit more measured but he gave the ball away 6 times, which I don't think Jones would do. I can't wait for Keane to be back.
Ronaldo was ok, nothing special, although he should have gotten two penos, but its a friendly.
Saha looked utterly unimpressive, today, I just don't know what else we can do except hope he finds his touch again.
Van NIst was slightly sick.

Scholes once again ran the show, as he always has this pre-season.

Theres a real thrist to win in the squad, real fighting and competitiveness going on even in pre-season which is good to see

PHB

http://s40.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2PGLPC6QEKGMS25W56NA5Z1MIJ

Rooney's Goal

Necronomicon

PHB wrote:

http://s40.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2PGLPC6QEKGMS25W56NA5Z1MIJ

Rooney's Goal

What a beaut

sprinkles

Quality Strike. Sign of good things to come.

Headshot

sprinkles wrote:

Quality Strike. Sign of good things to come.

its a kind of magic

see the goalie after wards had a smile on his face
he knew that was quality

Headshot

looks like Man utd are back in the newspapers

seems to be alot of stories about michael Owen
and ballack going to united

if fergie got both omg

thejollyrodger

i see in the newspapers that Man Utd are going for Owen and are going to offload kleberson, Saha and Phil Neville. Good move IMO

jank

thejollyrodger wrote:

i see in the newspapers that Man Utd are going for Owen and are going to offload kleberson, Saha and Phil Neville. Good move IMO

Expect him to be linked with every club under the sun now since he seems to be frozen out of Real Madrid.

Dont know why the ballack rumours are back. Munich and himself stated that he wants to stay in germany for the time being. In fact hsane he agreed a new contract with them?

Headshot

i didnt say their true

just nice to see united in the newspapers again

PHB

Ballack:

Ballack has stated he wants to stay for next year, but doesn't intend to sign a new contract.
i.e. he wants to run out his contract.
Bayern are trying to get him to get to sign a new contract, but if he doesn't, they have said they will consider offloading him for the right price.
Thats why the United links continue.

---

Owen:

Now that he is being frozen out, he will be once again linked with United.
United have 18 million left in the transfer kitty starting tomorrow.
There is no reason why he should be sold.
That said, if Fergie is still concerned about United not putting away the goals, Owen would be a welcome addition. He is a quality goal scorer, although I don't know how well he would fit in as one of the wing men in the 4-3-3 system, and Van Nist's place is secured. If he was bought however, I'd expect Saha to be sold or at least loaned out.

---

Phil Neville:
is in a tough position, but he seems to want to stay. He is united through and through, and if he could regain his old form i'd love to have him there

---

Kleberson:
Has had several bids made for him, all of which have been rejected.
They are rumoured to be in the 2 million euro mark, but United seem to be holding out for 4 million.

---

Validity of any rumours?

Fergie said:

At the end of the Urawa Reds' match, Steve Bower from MUTV asked SAF if there will be anymore "in and outs" in August. SAF laughed and was very coy in his reply, saying "I don't know..You never know" Then Bower asked if he is looking to add one more , SAF said "Possibly...Possibly. We're searching our minds."

Steve Bates in the people today:

SIR ALEX Ferguson has started his move for German superstar Michael Ballack.

And Fergie is confident the 29-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder will be a Manchester United player before the start of the Premiership season.

I can reveal that United have decided to make the pursuit of the £9million Bayern Munich star their top priority.

Ballack - who has been staying in the same Tokyo hotel as United and scored twice yesterday to give Bayern a 3-1 win over Jubilo Iwata in the second of two pre-season friendlies - is still in contract dispute with his club. That alerted Fergie but, at first, he suspected the German skipper might just be trying to force more cash out of the Bundesliga giants. Now he is convinced he can land Ballack and the Old Trafford board - who had informal meetings in Japan - have told Fergie they will give him the financial backing.

The row in Portugal with Roy Keane would only have helped Fergie to make up his mind. It is still unclear whether Keane and Ferguson have fully patched up their differences. Keane was left behind when United flew out for their four-match Far East tour and played for the reserves at Walsall yesterday.

Fergie's decision to chase Ballack is another indication that his 33-year-old Irish captain is no longer the force of old.

Many people however hold Bates in high regard, so perhaps there is some truth.

--

Gut feeling from me:

We're after Ballack, not after Owen.

andyman

Anyone see the Walsall friendly yesterday? The youngsters(and Keane) were in great form. They won 4-2. Goals came Colin Heath, Kenny Cooper(2) and I can't remember who got the other one. Cooper did a Beckham and scored from just over the Half-Way Line.

PHB

Funnily enough Eagles did the same thing about 3 weeks ago

The Muppet

PHB wrote:

Ballack:

Gut feeling from me:

We're after Ballack, not after Owen.

Me too, Rumour is United are in the advanced stages of a deal for a midfielder , Ballack is the most likely target. I don't think United will sign Owen unless he is very cheap and they will only sign him then if they can sell on of the current forwards, the most likely candidate being Saha.

PHB

David Gill has revealed Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has money available to raid the transfer market, fuelling suggestions that the Scot could make a big name signing this summer.

Fears had been raised that the takeover by American tycoon Malcolm Glazer would see the purse strings tightened at Old Trafford, but chief executive Gill has countered this claim.

Gill says the transfer kitty is sizeable and that Ferguson has the green light to bring in a big name if he feels the squad can be strengthened as a result.

Widespread reports are suggesting Real Madrid star Michael Owen is the player on Ferguson's wish list, with the England striker rumoured to be on his way out of El Santiago Bernabeu.

However, reports in France are suggesting The Red Devils are ready to rival Chelsea for the signature of Lyon's coveted midfielder Michael Essien.

Chelsea have failed to agree a deal with Lyon and the French champions' chairman Jean-Michel Aulas declared on Sunday that Manchester United were showing an interest.

Gill refused to be drawn on potential targets, but confirmed Ferguson has the chequebook at the ready.

"The money is there for Alex," said Gill.

"If he identifies a talent that he thinks will improve the squad - and that is the crucial thing - the funds are available.

"The Glazers have said that if there is a big player out there who is available, then the money is there to go for him.

"We can still afford a lot of money for top players and at the same time, we are also able to develop many of our own."

The stuttering pre-season form of Ruud van Nistelrooy has fuelled suggestions that Ferguson could move for Owen and the speedy marksman would add a new dimension to the Old Trafford attack, but the Scot may have more pressing needs.

He has failed to find a long-term replacement for talisman Roy Keane and Essien is in the mould of the no-nonsense Irishman.

It is debateable whether United have the financial muscle to go into a straight fight with Chelsea for the midfielder, but a decent opening gambit could see Aulas enter into negotiations in a bid to end the long-running saga.

The actually true quoted part is that Man United have money to spend on a new signing.
Since Glazier had said 30 mill a year, and we've spent roughly 6.5, we have 23.5 availible.
Not including the 40 million that is availible for extra transfers over the new 5 years, so I'd say at most we can spend 30 million.

Big Nelly

Heard from a few websites that there is talk of Miller going to Derby either on loan or for 500,000, anyone hear anything of this?

Would rather if he moved to a mid table team like Charlton but I suppose if he gets first team footie will help him anyway for the WC

PHB

He can't go to Charlton since Spector is already there, although there was talk of him going to West Brom a while back.

Big Nelly

PHB wrote:

He can't go to Charlton since Spector is already there, although there was talk of him going to West Brom a while back.

Will he move thou? only mentioned Charlton because it was the first club that came to mind!! any mid table team! I think a drop to the Championship wouldnt be all that good in the long run!! will only be shown up by Whelan of the mighty Wednesday!!!!

Headshot

the Lyon chairmen is quoted as saying Man utd are also interested in Essien

Mitch Connor

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

the Lyon chairmen is quoted as saying Man utd are also interested in Essien

i reckon he is purely trying to put some pressure on Chelsea as it comes to the last in the Essien/Chelsea saga. i really doubt United are in for him anymore.

Headshot

Tauren wrote:

i reckon he is purely trying to put some pressure on Chelsea as it comes to the last in the Essien/Chelsea saga. i really doubt United are in for him anymore.

i was thinking that too

Necronomicon

Bayern have said today that they confident that Ballack will sign a new deal. There's also contradicting reports that United have reached a preliminary agreement for him to join in 2006. It was in The Guardian apparently, can't find a link.

_blank_

Necromomicon wrote:

There's also contradicting reports that United have reached a preliminary agreement for him to join in 2006. It was in The Guardian apparently, can't find a link.

Here you go

http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1540850,00.html

Mitch Connor

not really happy bout having to wait a year for ballack, a year later means a year older which means he would be 30 when he joined (or very close to it) Would prefer to see him in midfield this season WITH keane as ballack is in no way a viable replacement for roy, very very different players.

PHB

Keane ability is replacable.
We can find another DMC who can do what he does as DMC.
His attitude and determination is much much harder to replace, and Ballack has that determination. The fact that he is an AMC is irrelevant to an extent, since thats not what part of Keane he is replacing

PHB

Normal day for Man Utd:

Transfer rumour made up
Transfer rumour denied

The agent of Bayern Munich midfielder Michael Ballack has dismissed reports that the Germany captain is set to join Manchester United next summer.
There had been speculation that the 28-year-old would see out the final year of his deal before joining United.

But his agent Michael Becker said: "There is no pre-contract, no gentleman's agreement. The only people we are talking to now are Bayern."

Bayern have offered Ballack a new deal and are waiting for his signature.

Club president Franz Beckenbauer said: "Everything is in Ballack's hands. I would advise him to seize the opportunity."

Ballack joined Bayern from Bayer Leverkusen in 2002, turning down Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process.

He has won 57 international caps for Germany and has scored 61 goals in 206 Bundesliga matches.

Richardson looks likely to go to West Brom, can't seem to get into the squad

MooShop

Jones to go on loan to Preston. Probably a good move to give him first team experience, at least he'll get to play regular first team football which in the long term can only improve him and help United.

Jones on loan

"Manchester United have loaned David Jones to Preston North End for a year.

Sir Alex Ferguson has decided that the promising midfielder will not be competing for a first team spot, despite featuring in much of the pre-season campaign......"

sprinkles

thats a good move for him. He was never likely to break into the squad in what I think will be Uniteds hardest test in years. It'll be interesting to see how he gets on at preston, def one to keep an eye on.

andyman

Whats the story with Owen lads? I heard on the radio yesterday that a bid was made.

Necronomicon

Good move. Hopefully Preston will be on the fringes of promotion like they were last season.

MooShop

andyman wrote:

Whats the story with Owen lads? I heard on the radio yesterday that a bid was made.

Not sure what the story is with Owen, but he has stated today that he has been in contact with three or four Premiership clubs.

This post suggests that United are leading the chase with the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham, Birmingham, Arsenal, and his former club Liverpool are all thought to be interested: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=3138618#post3138618

SteM

MooShop wrote:

This post suggests that United are leading the chase with the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham, Birmingham, Arsenal, and his former club Liverpool are all thought to be interested: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=3138618#post3138618

Can't believe that he'd end up at Newcastle, Everton, Spurs or Birmingham. Rafa and Wenger said they're not interested. I'm surprised Chelsea haven't shown more interest tbh.

growler

Owen is a risk for any club, I can't see him playing for chelsea I just don't think he has the class anymore, he's short and he has lost a lot of pace, he might do well at Newcastle though.

sprinkles

I thought Rafa came out and said that he wasn't interested in owen. Real are looking for 16mil apparently whcih is a bit over priced. Saha's agent told a few home truths about Owens form too, saying that he couldn't not score when playing for a team like real and that his last season in the prem was pretty poor so in his opinion Saha was his equal if not his peer.

personally I agree. I think Saha, if he stays injury free will record a good tally this year. Don't think we need Owen tbh