The Times August 12, 2006
Hargreaves zu Man United?
Hargreaves enters the frame as United prepare Rooney reward
By Oliver Kay
MANCHESTER United are eager to secure Wayne Rooney’s long-term future by opening negotiations on a new contract that would put him among the highest earners at the club, but that is some way down the list of priorities as Sir Alex Ferguson attempts to finalise his summer transfer business, which may include a bid to sign Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich.
Hargreaves, the England midfield player, has been alerted to the possibility of joining United after discussions within Old Trafford this week. He is keen on the prospect, having made no secret of his interest in moving to the Barclays Premiership if a top club were interested, but his hopes of being granted such a move remain unclear, with Bayern reluctant to lose him so soon after the departure of Michael Ballack to Chelsea.
The mere possibility of Hargreaves moving to United will surprise some, given that Ferguson has already signed Michael Carrick, ostensibly his main rival for the holding role in England’s midfield. It may also come as a shock to Marcos Senna, whose proposed £4 million transfer to United from Villarreal has been awaiting completion for the past week, but it is now clear that the 30-year-old is regarded as a back-up target, one that would leave Ferguson with the funds to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy if such a forward can be found.
Ferguson continues to scour Europe for new attacking recruits, with Fernando Torres, the young Atlético Madrid forward, by far the most desirable. There have been claims from Spain that he is close to signing a new four-year contract with Atlético, but, with only two years remaining on his existing deal, United will move quickly if talks break down. Another possibility, however remote at this stage, is Adriano, the Inter Milan forward. With few other alternatives, Ferguson may look to use more of his budget on his midfield, hence the renewed interest in signing Hargreaves or Mahamadou Diarra, of Lyons, rather than Senna.
United at least have concluded one transfer saga by making Tomasz Kuszczak, the Poland goalkeeper, their second summer signing after Carrick. Kuszczak, 24, has initially joined on a season-long loan from West Bromwich Albion — with Luke Steele and Paul McShane moving to The Hawthorns on a permanent basis — but he has agreed a four-year contract, with the £2.5 million permanent deal certain to go through next summer, with the loan aspect understood to be a technicality for the benefit of Albion’s accounts. Both Mikaël Silvestre and Park Ji Sung signed contract extensions at United yesterday, until 2009 and 2010 respectively.
The deals for Carrick and Kuszczak may not have caused much excitement among United’s supporters, with Old Trafford expected to be less than half-full for today’s friendly against Seville to commemorate the expansion of the stadium, but Rooney, at least, seems happy to commit himself to the club for the long term.
Both Ferguson and David Gill, the chief executive, yesterday echoed that wish, which is likely to see the 20-year-old’s wages increase from about £60,000 a week — a figure that rises every season under the terms of his present deal, which expires in 2010 — to about £85,000 a week, which would leave only Rio Ferdinand ahead of him on the pay scale.
“It is a private matter, but it’s in our plans,” Gill said. “We’re not putting any time limit on it. It’s good that Wayne has indicated he wants to extend his contract. It’s very positive. We want to sit down and sort something out as well, but we are concentrating on strengthening the squad and then we can address Wayne’s situation.”
The only urgent situation for Rooney yesterday involved lodging an appeal to the FA against his three-match suspension for a red card against FC Porto in the LG Amsterdam Tournament. That appeal is likely to be successful, leaving Rooney confident of playing in United’s Premiership matches gainst Charlton Athletic, Watford and Tottenham Hotspur, even if a minor groin problem forces him to sit out today’s meeting with Seville.
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