Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, is keeping his cards close to his chest as his side prepare for a struggle against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford.

If United get knocked out by Munich then many will say it will be the end of United’s season after they lost to Chelsea at home last weekend. That could prompt demands from the fans for the club to release funds to buy better players.

However, Ferguson is one of the most gifted and experienced managers of his generation and he will know exactly how to handle his players in the run up to this game. He will also know exactly the sort of players, which will ultimately help improve his team.

He said: “We have made some good progress with the lad and the medical team have done fantastically, but I am not prepared to take the risk if he is not 100 per cent fit. We are looking more at the Manchester City game [on Saturday week], or maybe Blackburn as a sub possibly.”

“No wholesale buying is needed here as we have a very good squad that just needs tweaking here and there. Looking at potential squad additions is an ongoing process — it’s not just confined to a certain time of year — although we obviously don’t reveal our plans. We have some ideas at the moment, but not many players will be joining the club. But in any case, I think the transfer market prices have been terribly inflated over the last year.”

“Old Trafford has that suction behind the goal. In the Stretford End in the second half, the ball gets sucked into the goal. It’s amazing. The fans sometimes make it happen. Those last-minute goals, there are too many to count, but it’s not by accident. It’s the way we play.”

“The players aren’t used to losing so you hope it registers. The black and white of Saturday is that Chelsea now have a better chance of winning the league. We didn’t start well and they kept possession well, but we showed character in the second half, so that shows we have a bit more in our locker.”

Munich will go to Old Trafford with a much fitter and better squad than in the first leg in Germany. United’s problem was they did not make the most of the ball when they had it and they will need to retain it in the same way that Barcelona do or Chelsea did last weekend.

This will allow them to slowly build up the pressure on the Bayern goal and sooner or later the chances will start peppering the Bayern goal and they will have to play very well to keep a clean sheet.

United have to score the first goal of the game. If they go behind, it makes their task twice as difficult and it may be one that they find too big to pull back. The team needs players to step up in key areas of the pitch.

Manchester United defender, Nemanja Vidic, says the club have what it takes to turn their tie against Bayern Munich on its head.

United are currently trailing 2-1 in the tie and have been rocked by the news that their top scorer and best player, Wayne Rooney, will be out of action for about a month after spraining his ankle in Germany.

However, Vidic says there is a lot more togetherness in the team than many give the side credit for. He believes that ultimately it will be this team spirit, which helps get the side through some tough matches ahead.

He said: “We showed this season, we play as a team. It is not just about one man. Definitely Wayne Rooney has had a great season. He is unbelievable, one of the best in the world. But sometimes big players are missing, and others need to be ready.”

“Dimitar had a great game against Bolton on Saturday. He is a great footballer. He scored twice himself and can set up goals for other players as well. We have a good squad. We just need to believe in ourselves and believe in each other.”

“We had all night to think about what went wrong. It was not a great game for us. We should play better and we will need to play better against Chelsea. Sometimes when you lose a game and play badly you wake up and realise you need to improve.”

“I am not concerned. I was disappointed. But 2-1 is not that bad a result bearing in mind we still have a game at home and I expect us to be stronger.”

The scale of the task immediately in front of United may just be a little too big. It is ridiculous to say that the side can play with the same charisma and influence when Rooney isn’t in the side.

If this was the case, then Rooney would be able to sit on the bench for United a lot more often. This would have meant that he didn’t have to play in Germany and get injured.

They will miss him but the point is whether they can hang on by the skin of their teeth to a point where Chelsea do not sneak ahead of them and Bayern do not nip past them in the Champions League.

England will be happy because it means Rooney will get a nice one month break before the World Cup. This equipped with the fact Chelsea’s England players don’t have to play extra Champions League games could work well for the team.

However, the battle in the mind of many English fans will all be about United and Chelsea this weekend. Whoever wins this game will probably go onto win the title if all the other results go as intended.

Manchester United and England have been left sweating over the fitness of key striker, Wayne Rooney, after the front man got injured against Bayern Munich last night.

Rooney has picked up a knock to his right ankle and it looks set to keep him out of the Premier League clash against Chelsea at the weekend and the return game against Munich next Wednesday.

Rooney scored United’s away goal in Germany but his side later went on to lose 2-1 as Bayern managed to grab the winner with virtually the last kick of the game. The Rooney news just caps off a very bad evening for the United side.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Wayne has hurt his ankle, it’s too early to say the condition of it, but we will know tomorrow. I don’t think it is terribly serious. I don’t know. I can’t answer that [whether he’ll play against Chelsea].”

Munich’s coach added: “I don’t know if he is injured or how serious it is, but Rooney is United’s most important player. Look at the statistics. He has 34 goals this season. Then they have [Dimitar] Berbatov with 12 and then 11 own goals as their third top scorer, so that’s how important he is to United.”

If United were going to lose the game then they probably would have asked for a 2-1 loss. They have scored their away goal and they would back themselves to beat Bayern at Old Trafford.

However, United will face a much stronger side in the return game with a number of internationals and gifted players returning to the Munich side. Mario Gomez and Miroslav Klose will probably start the game and winger, Arjen Robben, will return.

The bitter pill is Rooney’s injury. United will hope it isn’t a bad one and predictions are that he will only be out for around a week. However, if it is a bad one, they will have to nurse him and he may start thinking about his summer with England.

Rooney is so important and has been the sole reason for much of the team’s recent success. The problem for United is how they are going to adapt their side to make up for the influence, which Rooney has in spades.

It means that Dimitar Berbatov will probably be given the sole responsibility of leading the United attack in at least their next two games. Many would argue that these next two games are the club’s biggest of the season.

It will not fill United fans with confidence as they have said so many times in the recent past that the Bulgarian does not do enough to pull his weight in the side. Rooney brought so much to the team that United will struggle greatly now he is out.

On the other hand there is a big opportunity for someone to come in and do the magic. United need someone to step up and they need that someone to do it right now.

The war of words between Bayern Munich and Manchester United continues to roll on as the pair prepare to meet in the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League.

Bayern coach, Louis van Gaal, says the club are not focusing on Wayne Rooney as the main threat to the current German league leaders. The coach says the United side is fill of other players who can cause problems.

However, the Dutchman has already said that the main focus for his Munich side will be to win their home game and win it well. They will have to get in front if they are going to have any chance of coming through the match at Old Trafford.

He said: “I’m not afraid of anybody. I’m never afraid and never have been. My players are not afraid of anybody either. We respect his [Rooney’s] qualities, but, as a team, we can handle him. We also have qualities. I think Sir Alex [Ferguson, the United manager] and his players are maybe a bit afraid of my players.”

“Rooney is a super-footballer and he isn’t that old. He is now very difficult to keep out of the game, but it is important not to concentrate on one player.”

“I was the one who said to Arjen that it would be better if he wouldn’t start. I protected him, but he and the doctor said that he could play.

Sir Alex Ferguson added: “I don’t pay any attention to that. They have had one or two bad results of late but that doesn’t mean they are a bad team. We are not getting carried away and thinking for a moment this will be an easy game.”

“I think it’s a massive week for us — we have two big games against Bayern and a great game against Chelsea. You have to enjoy it and at the same time know it’s crucial. You hope you don’t make any mistakes and hope they will happen to [your opponents] to win games for you. It’s going to be an exciting week.”

The match is sure to be a tight one but the point is that it could well be Rooney who is the difference in this game. Bayern’s problem seems to be that they are focusing only on their attack and the potency of their two wingers.

This is a bad mistake because if they are naïve enough to think that if their wingers bomb forward all night, they will win the game. United know exactly how to soak up the pressure and then hit teams on the counter attack.

They blew AC Milan away who have a much more experienced and technically gifted side than Bayern Munich. They are also leading the way in the Premier League having suffered all season long through injuries.

It would take a brave man to bet against United in Germany this evening because if Bayern switch off for a second, that’s the away goal in the bank for United.

Manchester United are preparing their first attempt to try and sign a player using the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer cash. United are reportedly piecing together a bid for Inter Milan striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as they look to bring in a high profile target to replace their former Portuguese play maker.

United have been knocked by a lot of people in the game over the last two weeks or so because of their failure to move in securing the signatures of a lot of influential players who are all moving to Spain. They have just missed out on signing Karim Benzema from Lyon and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich looks set to follow his fellow Frenchman to Real Madrid.

There is no dancing around the fact that United need a big and high calibre striker, as they are short up front. The arrival of Michael Owen at Old Trafford was nothing more than a stop gap move and they were always going to be linked with a big name player sooner or later. United are going to need a big player that has the ability to change a game instantly and someone that can bring other people into a match just by his presence at the top of the pitch.

Whether Ibrahimovic is the right person for United is highly debatable. Sir Alex Ferguson clearly rates the six-foot plus tall Swede but a lot of pundits would call it a bad move as he rarely turns up in a lot of big games. Furthermore he is well liked by Jose Mourinho who will be incredibly reluctant to let the player leave unless it is in a huge deal.

This is a deal that probably wouldn’t justify the player and United could well be better off looking at other options. The English champions still have a lot of time before the next season starts and they should not panic about trying to find a striker to lead their attack in the coming campaign.

It is easy to see why United may be interested in such a player because he does have a lot going for him. He is tall and very quick on his feet for a player of his height. United will need a big target man up front as they will not now be able to play their slick and aggressive passing football as Ronaldo was so integral to the success of this style of play.

Although a lot of people have called Ibrahimovic quite selfish in the past a move to United and England could end up revitalising his career. The player has already hinted that he wants to move away from the Italian game, which apparently does not suit his style of play and is too slow. He would probably be quite grateful for a move to English football and would therefore be a good signing as United are going to need someone who will sweat blood for the side.

The point is however that a lot of people are supposedly telling Sir Alex Ferguson to steer clear of any bid he is considering making for him. He could get a lot more for his money and the Swedish front man has not really done enough to justify such a huge price tag.

In a football world that is becoming increasingly dominated by cash, Inter are clearly trying to make the most out of a bad situation and United need to keep their business heads on otherwise they could well end up being ripped off.

Ferguson will have a long list of targets and he needs to weigh up how important each one is to his United side. It is important to remember that Ferguson will probably now be considering reinventing his side as he lost two very influential players so far this summer in Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Ferguson has a very good idea of where he wants to take the current side and if Ibrahimovic fits into this philosophy then United will be hard pushed to find someone to match his characteristics. However, they really do need to proceed with caution because the Swede can be very temperamental at times and United will need someone who can raise his level of performance consistently.

Ibrahimovic cannot always do this easily and on a consistent basis and many will say that this, equipped with his slight ego, are the two main reasons why Ferguson should not go any where near the player. It will be interesting to see how the move develops as United could do a lot better.

However, if they do sign one of the top scorers in the Italian leagues then they will have to work very hard in basing the team around him. Ibrahimovic does not strike the ordinary fan as a player that can adapt himself to a team and this will make United’s job a lot harder as they restructure to have another go at European and domestic success.

It is impossible to say at this moment in time whether it would be a gamble that pays off because the move has so many advantages and disadvantages. The money being talked about is a lot of cash in the current climate and United should only spend it if they are absolutely certain that this player is the person to help them move forward.

They may let the move go because the doubts are too big to ignore. Being the top scorer in Italy is totally different to being the top scorer in England where the league is a lot more difficult to play in.

Ibrahimovic is a player that relies on time on the ball and not being pressured in order to make space and bring other players into the side. These are things that he would not get in the Premier League and they are things that mean United may be better off in going for another target. I’m sure with this player that if Real Madrid came in and tried to poach him, United probably wouldn’t be too annoyed.

So it’s official, the reigning world player of the year now plies his trade in La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo was greeted by around 80,000 jubilant Real Madrid fans upon his official revealing as the Bernabeu neared its full capacity on Monday night. If you thought Florentino Perez’s second ‘Galacticos’ era had begun with the unveiling of Brazilian Kaka last week, well it has well and truly begun now.

Ronaldo’s unveiling breaks the record number of fans turning out for such an occasion which was previously set by none other than Diego Maradona, who attracted 75,000 upon his arrival at Napoli in 1984.

Put world records to one side for a minute however, take a step back and look at what effect this transfer can have on other major leagues in Europe. The arrivals of Kaka and Ronaldo in Madrid means La Liga have arguably the three best players in the world, with Lionel Messi set to remain at the Nou Camp.

Not since the early 1990’s when Seria A boasted players such as Gullit, Van Basten and Klinsmann has a league employed such world class quality from nations other than their own, and back then Italy was the place to be.

Although Premier League clubs self proclaim themselves to play in the ‘best league in the world,’ it very much appears that Spain is now the undisputed place to be, just like Italy was in the 90’s.

Italian football has suffered greatly since the well documented match fixing scandal in 2006, despite the national team winning the World Cup that summer. With the retirements of Pavel Nedved and Luis Figo this summer and Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, probably the biggest name left in Seria A, signalling his intent to leave Italy, it now appears that only Jose Mourinho can save the league from dropping below the likes of Germany as one of the most prestigious in Europe.

Meanwhile, the English league remains as strong as ever, despite the loss of Ronaldo. However, it does now appear inferior to the Spanish game as the new most expensive player in the history of the game suggested himself.

‘The Premier League is a very good competition, but I think that the Spanish league is going to have a little more quality because of the players that are arriving,’ said Ronaldo earlier in the week.

‘Both leagues are going to be very good, but I think that with Florentino Pérez’s signings the Spanish league is superior to the English. It’s going to be a magnificent competition in Spain this year. All the players have a lot of quality and the referees protect the players more.’

Real Madrid now have the previous two Ballon d’Or winners, Barcelona hold the European Cup and to top it off the Spanish national team top the FIFA rankings after a couple of years in which only the USA have inflicted defeat upon them.

What remains to be seen is what effect all of the above will have on the other top leagues. Franck Ribery has made no secret of his desire to move to Madrid from German giants Bayern Munich, while Karim Benzema has already moved to the Bernabeu from Lyon as French football loses it’s only major star player.

Incidentally, Benzema turned down the opportunity to go to Old Trafford in favour of Madrid, further strengthening Ronaldo’s case for now playing in a league ‘superior to the English.’

The Premier League could be the one that suffers most from this summer’s activity. Speculation continues to surround the futures of Liverpool midfield duo Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano as Real and Barcelona continue to sniff around the pair respectively.

La Liga has continued to rob the Premier League of talents such as Thierry Henry, Alex Hleb and Arjen Robben in recent seasons, and the trend looks set to continue.

Bayern Munich have once again insisted that in-demand midfielder Franck Ribery is not for sale at any price.

The Frenchman is one of Europe’s top stars and is reportedly being tracked by top rate clubs Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid, with the latter said to be his preferred destination. Inconsistent reports coming from Germany have led to the biggest transfer saga of the summer, with Real Madrid ready to make yet another substantial offer for one of the world’s best players.

Bayern legend and current club chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge has however reiterated that the Bundesliga giants are unwilling to part ways with the 26-year-old. “Franck Ribery is irreplaceable,” he told L’Equipe. “Real Madrid know our position: he is not for sale. “That Franck wants to go to Real is not a surprise. It’s a fascinating club and attractive on a financial level. But Bayern are not a bad club either.

“At our club the doors are solid and very resistant and we’re not going to push up the bidding. The France international joined Bayern from Marseille for €25m in 2007 and has been a revelation in an otherwise disappointing two seasons for the German club, and Rummenigge knows Ribery is key if they are to return to the top of Europe again.

“Ribery figures among the best players of the world. And when you have a player of this quality among the squad you don’t separate. “We want to build around this player who (Bayern coach) Louis van Gaal absolutely wants under his command.”

Meanwhile, striker Luca Toni has revealed he is open to a return to Italy with Inter and AC Milan monitoring his situation. The former Fiorentina poacher has spent two successful seasons in Germany but after netting almost 60 goals in that time the 32-year-old’s future is uncertain.

The arrival of €30m striker Mario Gomez from VfB Stuttgart plus reported interest in Lazio forward Goran Pandev has left the Italian international pondering his future, and he admits Seria A is a likely destination.“I’d like to come back,” he said. “I know there is the crisis that clubs can’t invest so much, but someone looked at me.” “Inter and Milan? There have been talks, but to arrive to a transfer these are not enough.

“I’m not a slave of my salary. Should I not find space at Bayern, I won’t have problems in coming back to Italy also reducing it (his salary). “And it doesn’t seem to me that my season with 18 goals in 35 matches has been so negative.”

Toni was part of Italy’s World Cup winning side of 2006 and remains a part of Marcello Lippi’s set up as they prepare for the defence of their trophy next year, and the 6 ft 5 striker knows he has an important season ahead of him.

“I want to play in the year that will end with the World Cup. I haven’t done a good Confederations Cup, but it hasn’t been nothing better or nothing worse than the others,” he added.

Manchester City have signed up Blackburn Rovers striker, Roque Santa Cruz, in an £18 million deal. It was a transfer that was expected to happen last January but with City’s widely reported interest in trying to get Kaka the deal took somewhat of a back seat.

It was in fact Mark Hughes who signed him when he was Blackburn boss a couple of seasons back, snapping him up for a few million pounds from his then club, Bayern Munich. It is a very sensible and shrewd signing on the part of City who are looking to build an impressive squad that can push for a top four place by the end of the season.

Santa Cruz should now become the main man in the City team and should link in well with Brazilian, Robinho, in attack. The Paraguay international has often been noted for his terrific ability to hold the ball up, create space and bring other players into the game and the fee is a relatively small one compared to what City could raise if they were pushed.<

Sam Allardyce at Blackburn will have to work very hard to try and replace him. He has been by far and away the best Rovers player over the last couple of seasons and even managed to finish as one of the club’s top goal scorers, despite having been out for some of last season with a significant injury.

It had been thought that Blackburn were not going to budge from their original asking price of £20 million, even when City made it clear that they only valued the player at £5 million less than this number. Therefore the over all compromise that was reached seems to benefit each side. City have finally got a player that they have been tracking for a long time and Blackburn have got a little bit more money than the player may actually be worth. A good bit of business.

This is unlikely to be the end of the Manchester City spending this summer as they are continuously linked with high profile players on a daily basis. However, the point that Mark Hughes has so often stressed is the fact that the club will not be able to attract these players until they start getting some success on the pitch.

His theory seems to be very good and very smart. So far City are buying up the most under rated players that the Premier League has to offer and they are creating a squad that is full of quality in every position. They may well end up having their best season in the Premier League next year and with the sensible way the business side of the club now appears to be running, it could be the makings of a very bright immediate future.

City have also bought into a player that does not seem to have an ego or a problematic personality that could bring the club down. They are buying frequently and they are buying well. It is actually quite nice to see a club with so much money deploying the advantages in a positive and efficient way.

Lyon have accepted that they are close to defeat in their attempts to try and keep star player, Karim Benzema. The young Frenchman is thought to head a shortlist of attacking players that Sir Alex Ferguson will try to buy to make good the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester United would be a good destination for the young man and it should not unsettle him too much in terms of moving to another country. He would be well positioned to be able to go home frequently and the pace of the Premier League could suit him well as he continues his development as a player.

Lyon had insisted that the player would not be going to another club this summer but the club’s president, Jean-Michel Aulas, has now admitted that £35 million would be a hard fee to turn down. United would probably be happy to pay it as well because it is a lot less than they would have to fork out for Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich.





Aulas said: “Karim has said he wants to stay at Lyon but I think Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka also imagined they would be staying with their clubs. There is a tsunami known as Real Madrid sweeping through football which leads to a reaction from Chelsea, City and tomorrow United.”

“I won’t hide the fact he has been approached by other teams – as a consequence, saying that he is non-transferable is tough.”

Benzema has been far and away the most potent of Lyon’s attacking players over the last two seasons, scoring 54 goals in the process of becoming the most feared player in the top-flight of French football. This has meant that he has attracted a lot of interest but the rumours linking him with United have existed for a lot longer than those associating him with any other clubs.

He would also benefit from the fact that Patrice Evra, his international team mate, already plays at United and could easily help him settle in. He would also be more likely to get a starting place at United as opposed to if he joined a top Spanish side. The thought of Benzema and Rooney side by side, destroying defences is a truly terrifying prospect.




It may also be the case that Ferguson wants to go for a player that mirrors how Ronaldo was when he first went to United. Although Benzema would arrive with a higher profile and the statistics to back him up, he would be similar to the Portuguese winger in the respect that he still has the naivety of youth. This could allow the United boss to mould him into a truly terrifying player that could benefit United in a number of other areas.

Lyon now seem resigned to the fact that they will have to sell the player as soon as United come in with a big bid. Benzema would be well advised to ignore the lucrative rival offers that are likely to come his way and think about what would be best for him personally and his career in the game.

Ashley Young is in some extraordinary news today with reports saying that he has demanded Martin O’Neill shows some ambition and forward thinking at the club or he will leave. The Aston Villa star is said to be growing frustrated at the lack of progress the club has made since starting the Premier League in blinding form last season.

Villa have been one of the very few talked about clubs in the transfer market so far and Young wants some ambition to be shown if he is to commit his future to the club. Villa are now an established top six club but the challenge is breaking into the top four and this is something they have got close to doing but have failed on so many occasions.

Villa have already let Gareth Barry leave to go and join Manchester City and with no clear signs of any replacements walking through the door any time soon, Young could make good of the reports that have been saying it is only a matter of time before he joins Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham revolution in London. There are also rumours that Young has been linked to Chelsea who are looking for a high class winger, should they fail in their attempts to sign Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich.

Unless big changes are made quickly then it would be hard for Young and Villa to turn down any lucrative approach from another club. Young would not be worried about leaving the club behind because at current he feels there is little progress being made and that the future of his career may be better served if he moves on to another challenge.

The problem for Martin O’Neill is that he is in a situation where he has to sell before he can buy. If the top clubs in England keep missing out on the players that are joining Real Madrid then they will be forced to look at more realistic domestic options. This could mean that Villa would get a big fee for Young and leave O’Neill with roughly £40 million to spend in reorganising the playing staff.

However, this amount of money will not be as great if Young does stay on and this is the thing that Villa have to weigh up as a club. They need to address how vocal Young is being in his frustration and whether a move would be in the best interests for all of the parties concerned.

It would be remarkable if they did let him go because Young has the ability to put a football onto a ten pence coin and this is the sort of ability that is so priceless in football. He has become one of the deadliest set piece takers of a football and has been knocking on the door of Fabio Capello’s England side for a very long time.

This is the other thing that Young has to consider. If he gets a bigger move, will it mean that his international chances are increased? Doubtless is the fact that he would want to become an international regular and he currently feels that if he stays at Villa then this may not happen.