Barcelona and Chelsea have emerged as frontrunners in the race to sign German World Cup star Mesut Ozil.

The 21-year-old Werder Bremen prospect has attracted the interest of Europe’s elite after his string of fine displays at this summer’s World Cup helped his country to a third place finish.

Ozil has just one year remaining on his contract with Bundesliga giants Bremen but would still command a fee in the region of £13million, such was the impression he made in South Africa.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were expected to battle it out for Ozil’s signature, but they have been ousted to the back of the queue by the Premier League and La Liga champions.

London is believed to be the playmaker’s preferred destination with compatriot Michael Ballack’s distinguished career at Stamford Bridge providing inspiration for Ozil.

“To the top players the Premier League is attractive,” the midfielder admitted when questioned on his future at the Weserstadion.

“You look at what Manchester United and Chelsea have achieved over the last five years and you see it would be easy to be successful at two clubs like that.

“I see what Michael Ballack achieved at Chelsea and the quality of players he played with and the temptation becomes obvious.

“Trophies are what matters to me. There are two teams in England always at the top and of course that’s attractive. But the same is true for La Liga. They’re the strongest leagues in the world.”

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson travelled to Craven Cottage at the weekend to get a closer look at the former Schalke man, who made a whopping 33 assists for club and country last year.

The Germans slumped to a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Mark Hughes’ Fulham side, with Ozil failing to overly impress amid torrential London rain.

Sir Alex Ferguson has said that he thinks Arsenal pose the greatest threat to Manchester United ahead of the title run in.

That time of the season has arrived once again where managers start coming out with comments and phrases as a way of trying to put off their closest rivals. In this case, Ferguson has chosen to ignore Chelsea.

Arsenal have surprised everyone with the way they have managed to maintain their title push this year and Sir Alex says it reminds him of the time a few years ago when Arsenal were pushing United in all areas.

He said: “We are back in the lead, but Chelsea have a game in hand. It’s also going to be a hard-fought tussle, with Arsenal coming strongly now, and I have a suspicion that they might yet mount the biggest challenge.”

“To a certain extent the title is in our hands because Chelsea have to come to Old Trafford [on April 3] and naturally that will be a massive match, but, as I say, I’m wary of Arsenal if they don’t suffer too many more injuries to key players.”

“Right now it’s looking like it, I must say. It’s looking very tight. We have only got eight games left, Chelsea have nine games left, so you never know. You have to think about goal difference. We’re four goals ahead of Chelsea. I wish it was 14, but at least it’s something in our favour.”

“I suppose the simple way for us and Chelsea to look at it is just to win all our games. But life is never that simple.”

The reason that the Scot probably thinks Arsenal are the greatest danger is because they will have the momentum if they keep winning games. They seem to have snuck up from nowhere and have a very good chance of winning.

United came through a potentially tricky match against Fulham at the weekend thanks to their in form strike force. This is the strike force they will need to keep firing.

Striker, Dimitar Berbatov, said: “There can only be one winner in the title race and I think it is going to be us. Arsenal and Chelsea are great teams and we have difficult games ahead, but the good thing is we play at home against Chelsea and that will be an advantage for us. I am optimistic that in the end we will be champions.”

All three teams going for the title have now experienced what it is like to win after a tight run in to the end of the season. Every side has experience and this is what will bring the best team through.

United will be hoping that they can get in front and keep their noses in front but Arsenal have the best run in of the top three sides and on paper will be hoping to gain the most points. It looks set to go down to the wire again this year.

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, says his side are fully aware of the threat that David Beckham poses on his return to Old Trafford.

Beckham travels as part of an AC Milan side looking to cancel out a 3-2 lead they conceded in the first leg of the tie, which was played in Milan.

Beckham could start the match as he did not play a full 90 minutes in Milan’s draw against Roma at the weekend and Ferguson still clearly rates him as one of the best dead ball takers in the whole world.

He said: “It is difficult to say what effect David will have on the tie because we don’t know whether he is going to start, but the one thing with him that you have to be aware of is his delivery of the ball, it’s fantastic.”

“I think David’s strength has always been his crossing and his set-piece play, that doesn’t change, and if he plays, that will be the threat against us.”

“We will try to do it in our normal way. Winning in Milan for the first time was a landmark victory for us. It was a psychological thing, but I don’t think we should be confused by the 3-2 scoreline. It does not represent a bye into the quarter-finals. What we need is an early goal because with the advantage of away goals in the San Siro, Milan would then find themselves in a very difficult position.”

“Credit must go to Wayne and his rise in the game. I just wish I had the two of them [Rooney and Ronaldo] there.”

Leonardo added: “It’s incredible to see the way he has developed and matured (Rooney). Maybe it has something to do with Cristiano Ronaldo leaving. He has had to step up.”

Milan will have to come to Manchester and attack from the off. They will have to score at least two goals if they are to stand any chance of winning this game and that means an uphill climb from the first whistle.

That also means keeping United quiet at the other end. If the home team manage to get the first goal then it could virtually signal the end of the tie. However, there is still a lot of football to be played.

Funnier things have happened and United will want to see off Milan in style and send out a message to the rest of the European teams still in the Champions League.

Milan have the experience but they are lacking the special extra edge, which a player like Rooney will give to United. They have ageing players all over the pitch who have been here before but it could take some moments of magic to make the difference.

Milan cannot concede an early goal. They probably need to be 2-0 up by half time if they are going to get through this game. If they get two goals and defend, it could be difficult for them to hold out.

Here we go again. Another needless round of international friendlies, another needless round of inevitable injuries.

I know who my money is on to come back from the midweek ‘friendly’ exchanges with a niggling injury at the very least – Fernando Torres. Rafael Benitez’s decision to include his star striker in the squad against Manchester City last week may have come as a boost to most Liverpool fans, but for me the timing could not have come any worse.

His 15 minute cameo appearance during the Eastlands stalemate was all the encouragement Spanish national team boss Vincente del Bosque needed to include him in his squad to face Les Bleus at the Stade de France on Wednesday, one of 30 worldwide international matches that day.

They say lightning never strikes twice, but it was in this very stadium that former Reds player Djibril Cisse suffered the second horrific leg break of his Anfield career and for Torres, the lightning never seems to stop.

‘El Nino’ has more often than not come back from international duty with some form of injury, usually related to his troublesome groin. True, the Spaniard has never suffered injury on quite the same level as former France international Cisse, but the omens do not look good.

An unfit Torres has already won ‘pool games this season, most notably against Manchester United, but in truth he was never going to make a difference against City – a woeful game of few chances which saw both sides conjure up a measly one shot on target each.

Delaying the 25-year-old’s return until Sunday’s win over Blackburn, in which an unfit Torres proved a match winner for the Reds once again, could have been hailed as a masterstroke by Benitez – as the Spain squad had already been announced and del Bosque would have been none the wiser of the striker’s availability.

If Rafa wasn’t so stubborn, he could learn a thing a two from his nemesis Alex Ferguson who has been protecting his top players from being involved in pointless international friendlies for years, and he gets away with it.

It’s as simple as delaying a return or releasing a fake injury statement, but it can save weeks or even months on a player’s fitness. Some might say Torres needs the minutes under his belt, but I for one would much prefer to see the Spaniard play 75 minutes in a reserve game at Prenton Park than have him travelling to Paris to be left open to hefty challenges from a host of eager Frenchmen playing for an undeserved World Cup place.

It could be a poor physio in their national set-up or it could just be coincidence, but something is not quite right and I fear for Fernando’s fitness every time he ventures off with his compatriots.

Benitez knows it too, he’s made no secret of his disapproval of how Torres is looked after on his travels with Spain. But the boss has played right into his countrymen’s hands and, should Torres pick up a knock on Wednesday, Rafa will only have himself to blame.

Jose Mourinho, manager of Inter Milan, has responded to the number of jibes aimed at him by Chelsea boss, Carlo Ancelotti.

Chelsea and Inter meet this evening in a huge Champions League contest and the two managers have been locked in a war of words over the last couple of days in the build up to the match.

Mourinho has said that the only reason Chelsea are still a heavy weight of the football world is because of him while Ancelotti has focused his criticism on the inadequacies of the Inter squad and their Mourinho’s insistence on focusing on everyone but himself.

Mourinho said: “If Ancelotti says that, it’s because he knows, or because somebody told him. Or because he belongs to the clan. I just do my job. I’m here to play a game of football.”

“Ashley Cole at this moment has to take care of himself and take care of his recovery. I called him a couple of days ago because I care about him. I wished him a very, very quick recovery. Because I like him very, very much, my advice to him is to stay in England.”

“I watched Ashley Cole play until the moment he had his injury, and he played superbly. If he has problems, for sure they are not on the pitch. I think Ancelotti must give him advice, his family must give him advice and he must think for himself, but if he really wants my advice, I think he should stay in England.”

“The most beautiful thing in football for a coach is the passion and respect of his players, and the supporters of his own club. That happens with me all the time, at Porto, Chelsea and Inter. That makes me proud. What Didier keeps saying about myself makes me proud, but I know what will happen tomorrow. I know that tomorrow he will break his legs for Chelsea.”

Inter stand a very good chance of progressing into the next stage of the Champions League but it will be a lot more difficult for them. Chelsea are the strongest team in England at the moment and all of the pre-match stories will fire them up.

Mourinho is an expert in knowing how to push all of the buttons in the managers of teams his side are about to face. He did it for a long time in England and got away with it for a long time in England.

It is impossible to count the number of times he forced the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger to come out in the media with outrageous comments in the build up to a Premier League game.

Both sides are on top form and both sides will want to win more than any thing else. What it will come down to is who is up for the game more. Mourinho may just edge the tie on tactics but Ancelotti is no mug.

Manchester United, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Porto each take a lead into the UEFA Champions League second round second leg after in an intriguing return of Europe’s premier club competition.

With the playing format of the tournament altered this season, just four of the eight second round ties took place this week, with the other four commencing next week, and it was United who gained the most impressive result.

AC Milan 2 Manchester United 3
A brace from in-form Wayne Rooney helped them to a creditable 3-2 win over Seria A giants AC Milan in the San Siro. The rejuvenated Ronaldinho handed the Italian outfit a third minute lead with a deflected volley before veteran midfielder Paul Scholes equalised for Alex Ferguson’s men ten minutes before the break.

The match turned into the Rooney show in the second half, as a pair of headers moved United into control of the tie as Milan’s unfavourable average age began to show as their performance waned. Veteran Dutchman Clarence Seedorf ensured Leonardo’s men hold a glimmer of hope in the second leg with his sublimely taken goal five minutes from time.

United will be without midfielder Michael Carrick for the return leg, however, as he received a foolish second yellow card for kicking the ball away in stoppage time. The English side will no doubt remain overwhelming favourites to progress, with the Old Trafford meeting pencilled in for the 10th of March.

Porto 2 Arsenal 1
Meanwhile, Arsenal have given themselves plenty of work to do as they must overcome a 2-1 deficit after going down away to Porto in a game riddled with mistakes. Lukasz Fabianski was the centre of attention after he gifted the Portuguese side an 11th minute lead after fumbling Silvestre Varela’s cross.

Veteran defender Sol Campbell, making his first Champions League appearance since Arsenal’s 2006 final defeat to Barcelona, popped up with an equaliser soon after but he was at the forefront for Porto’s second in a bizarre phase of play.

Goalkeeper Fabianski was penalised for picking up a backpass from Campbell, before the pair stood aimlessly as the hosts got on with the indirect free-kick, leaving Radamel Falcao the simple task of tapping into an almost empty net with the Arsneal goalkeeper stranded when he perhaps should have been more alert.

The Gunners remain favourites to progress to the quarter finals despite the defeat, with an impressive home record at the Emirates this season leaving them confident the tie is far from over. Manager Arsene Wenger’s injury list should have lessened by then, with his beaten side heavily weakened through injury in Wednesday night’s encounter.

Lyon 1 Real Madrid 0
Elsewhere, Real Madrid have also given themselves an uphill task after they went down to a shock 1-0 defeat to Lyon. Jean Makoun’s screamer was the only goal of the leg, with Madrid’s star-studded side unable to break down the resilient French side.

The Spanish giants have an added incentive in reaching this year’s final as it takes place in their very own Bernabeu stadium, not to mention spending in excess of £250million in the summer in president Florentino Perez’s latest ‘Galacticos’ era.

But they must come from behind in the second leg if they are to continue their quest towards a tenth European Cup. Should they fail to progress, however, manager Manuel Pellegrini’s job could well be on the line.

Bayern Munich 2 Fiorentina 1
The week’s only other Champions League game took place at the Allianz Arena where Bayern Munich took a 2-1 win over Fiorentina in an evenly balanced tie. Former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben opened the scoring from the spot on the stroke of half-time, his sixth consecutive match in which he has scored.

Former Everton defender Per Kroldrup got the Italians back in the contest shortly after the break but the Germans ensured they take a slender lead to Stadio Artemio Franchi thanks to a controversial goal from Miroslav Klose.

It is debateable whether the Germany international should still have been on the pitch after escaping with a yellow for a lunge on Cesare Natali earlier in the match, but there was no debating his equaliser should not have stood.

The 31-year-old, a second half substitute for Thomas Muller, was clearly yards offside when he nodded in a minute from time, leaving the Viola coach Cesare Prandelli livid with the decision and no doubt determined to gain justice in the return leg.

Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, walked out of a press conference ahead of his side’s game against CSKA Moscow. The Scot says he was at the press meeting to talk about his team’s Champions League match and not the Football Association charge he has just been given for making comments about the fitness of referees.

Ferguson is no stranger to creating a bit of controversy among the media but it was clear on this occasion that he is not going to talk about the charge because he will not want to make the situation worse.

He said: “I’m at a press conference for a game tomorrow. I’m hear to talk about that. Good night.”

[Before his exit] “There will be changes on Sunday. I’m hoping Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Fletcher will be fit. It’s difficult to say with Giggs, but we are fighting to get Rooney ready. It may be an uphill fight, but we are trying. Fletcher is a slight doubt but we are hoping to get the main players fit because it is a big game. Park is a couple of weeks away but Evra will be fit.”

Sergei Ignashevich, the CSKA defender, added, “We are in fighting mood — United are experienced, but they have weak points. They are less confident away from home. Aside from home support, we have another advantage as we are playing on artificial turf.”

“Several United players played on this pitch against Russia for England and they know how different it is. We are used to it but the ball will be slick and bounce off the surface quicker than normal.”

This is the same surface that a lot of people within the English game have said is a disgrace. England lost when tey played on it against Russia and the point is that as good as it may be, it is still a danger to a lot of the players.

You are not able to slide tackle on artiifical turf and this will stop a lot of the aggression that is commonly linked with the English game. Ferguson’s team are not going through a golden patch at the moment and would have been looking to slide in and get some authority about early on.

However, Ferguson has been in this same situation before and there is no one who will be better experienced in knowing how to deal with the exact situation that he and his club now find themselves in.

Manchester United continued their good start to the Champions League this year with a 2-1 victory over VFL Wolfsburg at Old Trafford. The win puts United in control of the group and will most likely help along the way to securing their progression into the knock out rounds.

United struggled early on in the match, as the German champions had obviously travelled to England with very attacking intentions. Michael Owen was forced off early on with a groin strain and was replaced by Dimitar Berbatov who signalled a revitalisation of the United team.

It was a bitter blow as Owen had been hoping to play well in front of the England manager, Fabio Capello, who was sat in the stands. However, the Bulgarian’s introduction was not enough to prevent Wolfsburg from taking the lead when Edin Dzeko rose at the far post and buried his header into the near corner.

It seemed to be the awakening that United needed as they stormed down the other end and scored their two goals in quick succession. The first came from Ryan Giggs, who hit a free kick, which was deflected and then went on.

The second was a piece of United class that saw the ball eventually laid off To Michael Carrick who slammed it in with such authority that you virtually knew that the game was over and done with at that point.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “He felt his groin in training on Sunday and he trained a little bit on Monday, had a rest on Tuesday and thought he was fine. Groins are groins, though, and on a wet surface like that, he has turned quickly, it has gone again and we have had to take him off.”

“It’s not serious, but groin injuries can be troublesome and it could be two to three weeks. The only good part is that his fitness levels are very good, so there shouldn’t be too much of a worry with that.”

United’s next match in the Champions League will be away to CSKA Moscow on a bitterly cold evenings game during the Russian winter. CSKA themselves, revitalised their qualification hopes with a victory over a poor Besiktas side that do not look as though they will go very far this year.

United are well placed and it would take a very brave betting man to lay his money down on another team to win the European Cup this year.

Michael Owen says that he is as good as ever, regardless of his age. Owen has been in good form for his current side, Manchester United, and insists that he is still as good as he was when he scored his famous hat trick against Germany for England eight years ago.

A lot of people have said that Owen would struggle to cope with the pace of life at the Premier League champions, but his performances to date have shown that Sir Alex Ferguson may well have pulled off a managerial masterstroke.

Owen said: “I am not slower now than I was seven, eight years ago. No chance. With the hamstring problems early in my career, they knocked a yard off my pace straightaway, but since then I have been the same player and if anything I have improved.”

“Game awareness is a good word for it. A lot of it is so instinctive it’s hard to put down. It is your experience taking you into areas. You think, ‘Would I have moved there as a kid, would I have anticipated that?’”

“People think I’m past my thirties, I’m in my forties, the way they talk about me. I’m only 29. I’m not past it. It’s not an easy squad to get into with the results the team are getting at the minute. But I’m as passionate as ever about extending my time with England.”

“He came to Highbury to watch us one time — I think I had five touches in the game. Then, I was coming back from injury. So there are reasons why he wouldn’t pick me so far. Yes, I have to play a bit more. I am sure with the number of games we have got, so many cup competitions, I will start my fair share.”

Owen’s recent performances have meant that he is in line for a starting place when Manchester United take on Wolfsburg later this evening. It was clear that playing Wayne Rooney up front on his own did not work in United’s last Champions League game and Ferguson may opt to go for experience over the unpredictable nature of Dimitar Berbatov.

Owen seems to have found his place and if he carries on playing well then he could well finish his career at United. He seems happy and the club seem happy and as far as all parties are concerned, it is a clossoming relationship.

The memorial service of football legend, Sir Bobby Robson, has been attended by some of the biggest and most famous names in football. The elite turned out to pay tributes to a manager that seems to have attracted universal affection for the way he handled himself throughout his career.

Robson will be best known for taking the England side to the verge of World Cup success in 1990 when his side lost a heart breaking semi-final that they could have so easily won. The scenes yesterday were like a who’s who of football, as it appears that everyone wanted to turn out and show their respect and admiration.

Robson also spent a lot of time coaching in other countries and members of Barcelona have sent messages of well being and condolence to his family in a move that proves Robson’s reputation still lives on over seas. When he coached in Spain a lot of people said that Robson was the most simple thinking man that football had ever seen and that his mind and way of coaching would take his teams to tremendous success.

Current Manchester United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, said: “The enthusiasm, you just can’t explain it, special people have it. I think I speak for almost everyone here, in football terms. He influenced me but what made him so special was that he influenced people who didn’t know him. They admired his courage, his dignity, his enthusiasm. He influenced me then and he has always influenced me.”

It was a fitting send off for one of football’s great legends and is proof that in a game that is covered in egotistical dominance that there will always be space for that one person that wants to carry himself with respect and unite people across the world.

It was all too much for one of Robson’s greatest projects, Paul Gascoigne. ‘Gazza’ was reduced to tears at one point during the ceremony and has already said that he will never know another person that knew how to understand him in the way that Robson did.

Gazza was an enigma of the English game, often being caught off the field for a number of problems and situations that a football player should not be found in. However, Robson always saw the better side of him and was always the one person that Gazza says he knew he could turn to in his hour of need.