A round-up of news and gossip relating to Manchester United over the past 24 hours.
Serie A side Fiorentina are preparing a £3.5m bid for United striker Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian striker has been told he is free to leave Manchester this summer and has seen chances of playing time further diminish after Robin Van Persie’s arrival. Fiorentina forward Stevan Jovetic has been linked to Manchester City but it is believed the signing of Berbatov would be to supplement the forward line rather than to replace the 22-year-old. Sir Alex Ferguson values Berbatov at £5m and it remains to be seen whether United would compromise on the fee for a player they paid £30m for in 2008.
Goal.com believe United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is targeting French veteran Philipe Mexes to ease his central defence injury crisis. AC Milan have already sold Thiago Silva to PSG but manager Massimiliano Allegri does not envision Mexes as part of his plans. Ferguson is seeking a loan deal but would consider a permanent move if a temporary deal cannot be reached.
Sir Alex Ferguson stated after the 1-0 loss to Everton that his team lacked penetration in attack. New signing Robin Van Persie did not start the game but came on for Danny Welbeck after 68 minutes. The striker had no attempts on goal and his manager sighted a lack of service as one factor in United’s lack of attacking impetus. Ferguson did not blame United’s makeshift defence however for conceding the goal conversely believing that Michael Carrick deputised well in central defence.
The manager admitted that his team could not cope with Marouane Fellaini but maintained that his were nonetheless the better side: “Fellaini is a handful. He is a big, tall, gangly lad and they just lumped the ball forward to him — that’s all they did. We were the better football team.”
Ferguson was also disappointed to see referee Andrew Marriner favour home side Everton in a raucous Goodison Park. The manager believed his side merited a penalty after he adjuged Danny Welbeck to have been tugged by Phil Jagielka in the area.
Manchester United will again be without four central defenders for next weekend’s game against Fulham at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed. Michael Carrick partnered Nemanja Vidic at Everton and he will be expected to deputise once more against Fulham.
Despite the opening day loss, captain Nemanja Vidic asserted that there was no reason for Manchester United to panic. Vidic claimed there were enough positive signs from the performance to be confident of a successful season but conceded that Everton deserved their goal and ultimately the win.
United have announced the signing of Alexander Buttner from Vitesse Arnhem on a five-year contract. The Dutch left-back was close to joining Southampton earlier in the summer but now has a dream move to Old Trafford where he will challenge Patrice Evra for the left-back berth. Sir Alex Ferguson has described him as ‘one of the best young left-backs in Europe’. Read our profile on the defender here.
It has emerged that billionaire investor George Soros has bought 7.8% of Manchester United’s Class A shares, which amounts to a 2% ownership of the club. His company Soros Fund Management oversees $25 billion in assets. The 2% uptake of shares represents a sizeable proportion of the 10% that was placed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Manchester United, along with Chelsea, are set to miss out on French prospect Kurt Zouma of Saint-Etienne with QPR on the verge of securing his signature with an offer between £9.5m and £11.8m. Club scouts watched the 17-year-old defender in Saint-Etienne’s opening match with Toulouse but he conceded the penalty that led to a 2-1 defeat.
image: © nasmac
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