United linked to the Jewel of French football......

Here we go again, the summer transfer window will open in just a few weeks time and not surprisingly we are starting to read stories linking new players to United. The latest big name to be linked with the club is "the Jewel of French football", Franck Ribéry, according to the Guardian, United will break the world transfer record for the French winger with an offer that is likely to exceed £63m - as if that figure isn't far-fetched enough, the Guardian goes on to suggest that the move will trigger a move to Real Madrid for Ronaldo.

United fans will be wondering if this is another example of media kite flying on what has been an otherwise quiet news day - seasoned observers know full well the media can create transfer speculation without fear of any comeback, what's more it sells papers, so what are the chances of this latest transfer talk actually becoming a reality?...

Fergie went on record at the weekend saying that United had no replacements for Carlos Tevez in mind; he also rubbished talk of the champions paying silly money for Kaka. The fact is Fergie cannot reveal his transfer plans for obvious reasons and so the manager has to remain tight-lipped about any potential summer moves, but while many fans will go along with the manager's denial about Kaka it seems unthinkable that Fergie does not have a plan in place sans Tevez, should the Argentine eventually move on.

As far as Ronaldo is concerned, here again we cannot rule out a summer move to Real Madrid and that's despite the fact that the Portuguese star was quoted at the weekend saying "the Real Madrid dream is over".

So what are we to make of the Franck Ribéry story? My own view is file it under unlikely, because for starters I do not see United paying £63m for any player. There's no doubt the Bayern Munich player is hot property and he is one of the few who regularly matches his star billing with consistent performances, but I wouldn't rule out Franck Ribéry moving to Real Madrid, who are club in complete turmoil following the hammering by rival's Barcelona at the weekend.

My money is on Tevez agreeing a deal to stay at United and I wouldn't rule out Ronaldo staying too, if that happens forget about Franck Ribéry. Even if United lose Tevez, I do not see the Frenchman singing for the club this summer.