A round-up of news and gossip relating to Manchester United over the past 24 hours.
The Manchester Evening News report that Robin Van Persie could fly into Manchester this evening as the player looks set to seal a move to United. The player has been training with Arsenal as they prepare for a friendly against FC Cologne on Sunday but the source does not foresee the player remaining an Arsenal player by that point and for United, having missed out on Lucas Moura, Van Persie will signal their intent of wrestling back the title off City.
The agent and brother of Lyon’s Aly Cissokho opened up a potential move for the left-back as he revealed the player is seeking a move away from the French club. Mamadou Cissokho divulged the information to France Football and claimed a move to England would be ideal. Manchester United have been searching for a left-back as additional cover for Patrice Evra and with reported interest from the club, the agent’s statement could fuel a move for Cissokho that would tie up United’s search for a left-back. Lyon have also admitted that the club would need to sell before bringing in new additions to their squad and as club president Jean-Michel Aulas criticised Cissokho earlier in the summer, there is indeed apparent potential for the move.
Manchester United are almost certain to miss out on transfer target Lucas Moura as the player yesterday revealed to Globo Esporte that he could leave in the January transfer window to Paris Saint-Germain. Lucas expressed his desire to stay with Sao Paulo until January in order to compete for the title and Copa Libertadores with the Brazilian club but admitted he had spoken to Thiago Silva and sporting director Leonardo about a potential move to Paris. This was then confirmed this evening by the Brazilian club, shortly before their own website crashed.
Reports in Italy suggest that Dimitar Berbatov could be set to complete a move to Zenit St Petersburg. They player has been linked to a host of clubs including QPR, West Ham, AC Milan and Galatasaray and the 31-year-old has been told he can leave for £5m with the player desperate for first-team football.
United assistant Mike Phelan has urged caution amongst fans regarding Darren Fletcher as the player steps up his recovery from a bowel condition. The 28-year-old started light training last week and will join the Scotland squad’s training sessions next week to further his progress but will not play in their friendly against Australia. Phelan warned however that it will be a long time before the Scot is ready for first-team football with United.
Mike Phelan has praised tonight’s friendly opponents Barcelona claiming the Catalan club still epitomise the benchmark of modern football. United kicked off against Barcelona in Gothenburg tonight at 1900BST and United fans will hope for an improved performance following a goalless draw with Valerenga on the weekend. United’s starting line-up included De Gea, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Valencia, Anderson, Scholes, Young, Welbeck, Rooney; with a bench of Lindegaard, Berbatov, Carrick, Powell, Kagawa, Wootton, Brady,Macheda, Hernandez, Lingard, and Michael Keane.
Everton’s Tony Hibbert has revealed that Wayne Rooney asked him if he could take part in the defender’s testimonial that takes place Wednesday night. Hibbert, who is Everton’s longest-serving player ever, received a call from former teammate Rooney asking to be involved but the striker’s reappearance in Everton colours failed to materialise as the testimonial game against AEK Athens will clash with Manchester United’s friendly against Barcelona.
Arsenal and Manchester United target Nuri Sahin has rejected a loan move to Besiktas and it appears the player would prefer to stay in Madrid and fight for his place. The Turkish international refused to speak to the Turkish side and despite Madrid boss Mourinho acknowledging that the player was available to leave on loan, Sahin looks set to remain at Madrid and improve upon an injury-hit first season following his move from Dortmund.
image: © wonker
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