Ashley Young in, Nani or Berbatov out? United plotting big money moves....

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The one thing Manchester United do not need right now is another winger and yet if we believe the latest transfer rumours Ashley Young could be heading to Old Trafford. The Villa winger has been strongly linked to several clubs including Liverpool, but reports claim United are the favourites to capture the England player in a reported £16m move.

Young is by no means the finished article and so it's worth asking if he is any better, or come to that as good as Park, Nani, or Valencia? Ryan Giggs will retire in the not too distant future and of course he can also play on the left.

Fergie might well reason that in signing Young he is bolstering his options, but with Scholes retiring there is an obvious void to fill in central midfield. United have just won a record 19th league title, but if they are to continue to dominate the Premier League and do well in Europe it is vital that Fergie spends his transfer war chest wisely; top of the transfer short-list should be a central midfield general.

United need someone like Wesley Sneijder or else Luka Modric, but Manchester City are said to be in the running to sign the Dutch midfield play-maker and they can out-bid anyone including Chelsea who are also said to be keen to capture the Inter Milan star.

According to Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, they will not sell Luka Modric - but we can safely ingore this assertion based on events of the recent past. In time honoured fashion, Spurs will hang United out to dry over any transfer fee for Modric, as they did when selling Carrick and Berbatov to the champions. Blackpool's Charlie Adam could be Fergie's 'plan B' for the central midfield slot. In an ideal world Fergie would sign two of the three midfield players mentioned, but will the manager have sufficient transfer funds?

As ever, the fans and media alike have no idea how much money the United manager has at his disposal, but given how little has been spent on transfers since the Glazer family takeover in 2005, it's a fair bet that Ferguson's cash will not stretch that far.

We know that Fergie is very confident about signing Spanish stopper David Gea - but if that deal doesn't come off the United manager will have a serious dollop of egg on his face after he publicly announced his intentions before the deal was cut and dried...it's fair to ask, why on earth did Fergie take such a risk?

Whatever happens with Gea, United will more than likely sign three new players this summer, but we could see as many as two big name exits. Ashley Young looks like a racing certainty to join United, as will David Gea hopefully along with either Sneijder, Modric or Adam.

As for likely exists, given that United do not really need to sign Ashley Young, (25), you have to wonder if Nani,(24), will be sacrificed, however, if that scenario actually comes to being then it doesn't really look like a sensible decision given that both players are a similar age and have a similar goals to game ratios (0.20 and 0.21 respectively). Fergie could argue that Young might perform better on the left than the Portuguese winger who was voted the player of the season by his team-mates in 2010-2011. Nani has taken time to settle, but he has proved his worth since Ronaldo moved on. There are no guarantees that Young will do as well as Nani.

Signing Young might make sense if Fergie had pots of money to spend this summer, but his transfer dealing under the Glazer regime suggests that will not be the case and so there must be a serious prospect of a least one big name player exit and if it isn't Nani then maybe Berbatov will be that man.

Berbatov was axed from United's Champions League squad and despite finishing top goal-scorer last season in the Premier League it looks as though his time at United could be coming to an end, thanks largely to the emergence of Javier Hernandez.

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Big clubs using the media to drive transfer talk...

The January transfer window has swung open and not unexpectedly the Red Devils are once again the subject of plenty of speculation. Berbatov's name keeps on cropping up in reports linking him with a move to United. The latest stories centre on the Spurs manager hinting that it will cost the Reds over £30m to acquire the Bulgarian.

For a man who doesn't speak English that well it hasn't taken Ramos long to start using the media as a transfer tool in a bid to get the best deal for Berbatov (you do wonder if the quotes which have been attributed to Ramos have come from someone else...). If United agreed to pay Spurs this hugely inflated asking price for the Bulgarian then the North London club stand to make over £20m on a player who only cost them £10.9m - a very nice piece of business and do not rule it out, but a summer move would be more likely. Why didn't Fergie take a punt on Berbatov when he was available for £10m?

Talking of clubs who use the media to get what they want, Real Madrid are reportedly closing in on Cristiano Ronaldo. Depending on which report you believe, it will cost the Spaniards between £45m and £75m to capture the Portuguese star. A lot will depend on whether or not Ronaldo wants to quit United. He has always said that one day he would like to play in Spain, so it is a question of when and not if.

However, in a week when Ferguson has courted controversy by opening his mouth when shouting down the fans, the United manager did find time to rubbish the stories which have gone as far as claiming that the two clubs are involved in negotiations.

"I anticipated this," Fergie told the official United website.

"The thing about this story is that it has been claimed that David Gill has been speaking to Real Madrid. That is a complete lie.

"We have never spoken to them. The story depends on agents and their imaginations.
"At best it's mischievous, but I just dismiss it because it's nonsense.

While Fergie says the latest stories about negotiations are nothing but lies, it will be interesting to see how far the United manager will go in a bid to retain Ronaldo. Will Ferguson go public like he did earlier this week when attacking the fans? Or will the manager roll over when the Glazers' tell him what their decision is on the future of Ronaldo should Madrid push home their reported interest?

Of other transfer news doing the rounds and despite being short of a striker the stories concerning incoming transfer targets mainly centre on defenders. The latest name to be linked with United is Alan Hutton, the Scotland and Rangers right-back, who has just turned down an £8m move to Spurs. This has led to speculation that Hutton is waiting for United to come in for him.

Wes Brown has been standing in for Gary Neville for most of the season and United have this week let it be known that they've turned down an offer from Newcastle for his services. Is it a coincidence that reports are linking United with Hutton at the very time that Brown is stalling on a new deal? You do wonder what is going on, could it be that United have leaked this story to the press in a bid to get Brown to sign that new contract?

Meanwhile Jonny Evans has rejoined relegation threatened Sunderland. Clearly things have not gone to plan where the Northern Ireland international is concerned, hence this loan move to the Black Cats. It will be interesting to see if Evans can help stem the flow of goals that Roy Keane's team have been conceding.

Transfer talk hotting up: United and Arsenal in striker battle?

United continue to be linked with Miguel Veloso of Sporting Lisbon, the Reds are set to take on the Portuguese club in the Champions League next week and no doubting this will further fuel the speculation that Fergie is interested in acquiring yet another central midfield holding player.

So why exactly would United need Veloso given that they already have Owen Hagreaves and Michael Carrick? It doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, unless the Reds have concerns over the long term fitness of the former Bayern Munich star, or is it perhaps that Carrick could be sold back to Spurs in part exchange for Berbatov? Personally I cannot see the latter being the case, as I expect Ramos to follow Rafa Benitez in buying stars from Spain.

Fergie's most pressing problem is to find a new striker, so the stories linking United to Miguel Veloso are either speculation coming from the player and his agents or else the media - who not for the first time are being shall we say 'creative'.

On the search for new forwards and ahead of the weekend clash with Bolton. Carlos Tevez does not return from international duty until Friday morning and with Rooney being out injured it leaves Fergie desperately short of numbers having to rely on Saha and the jet-lagged Argentine - who by the way was sent-off in the 2-1 defeat to Colombia on Tuesday night in a World Cup qualifier. Don't be surprised if either Ryan Giggs or Ronaldo play up front alongside Saha against Bolton.

So will the manager try to sign a new striker in the January transfer window? Most fans will surely agree that he simply has to, but as ever the best players will be cup-tide for Europe, whoever it is that comes in will still be able to play in the Premier League.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is a name that has been cropping up in reports linking him with a move to the Red Devils, Arsenal are also said to be interested. The Ajax star is of course hot property with a number of European and English clubs said to be in the hunt for his signature. Unlike United, the Gunners appear to be able to conduct their transfer business without news spilling out onto the back pages, thus alerting rivals which can affect valuations and fees. The talk is that Huntelaar will cost at least £10m.

Berbatov remains a possibility for United, but there's been some recent speculation which suggests the Bulgarian striker might be lacking in appetite when it comes to battling for a starting place. Ferguson and David Gill have made it clearly down the years that there needs to be a desire to want to play for the club and this will be key when talking to the likes of Huntelaar and Berbatov.

Berbatov top of Fergie's most wanted list as January transfer window looms?

So today former Spurs star Michael Carrick has gone public via the press telling Berbatov that he should follow him to Old Trafford. It's not exactly news that United want to sign the Bulgarian. It has been widely speculated that the Red Devils had an inquiry turned down for the striker last summer. Since then a lot has changed at the North London club with the sacking of Martin Jol and the arrival of his replacement Ramos, following on from the change of manager there has been the usual talk suggesting that Berbatov wants out, only for the striker to then say that all is well.

Only those within Berbatov's inner-circle will know the truth behind his intentions. What we do know is that it's only a few weeks before the January transfer window opens and Fergie has been given a wake-up call about the need to sign a fourth striker with the latest Wayne Rooney injury - which was sustained when the England striker came into contact with a 'metal object' in training -you do wonder if it was in fact Vidic's iron leg.

Personally, I'm not sure that Berbatov will fancy his chances of holding down a regular starting place and so a lot would depend on what Fergie has planned in terms of how he will convince the Bulgarian to sign, bearing in mind that Rooney and Tevez are his current number one strike partnership.

Perhaps the key to any deal will be the promise of rotating his four strikers, but Fergie has recently told Saha that he's very much third-fiddle behind Rooney and Tevez, which in some ways wasn't the brightest move by the manager, as competition for places needs to be fierce in all areas of the team and selection policy should be based on current form - it shouldn't be based on a pecking order.

No doubting Berbatov's advisors will have noted Fergie's recent comments about Saha and here again if the manager wants to sign the Spurs striker then he's going to have to go the extra mile by explaining how he sees the Bulgarian fitting into his selection policy.

Before any negotiations start in earnest, no doubting we shall be hearing a lot more talk from the likes of Carrick telling Berbatov that he should join United, it's all apart of the orchestrated courtship on the run-up to the transfer window opening.

I will of course be keeping tabs on all the stories linking potential new signings to United. Watch this space....

As Berbatov to United talk reignites: Why it's unlikely to happen...

Oh dear, only 24 hours after Berbatov says that all the talk of him wanting to leave Spurs because he's unhappy is untrue and just when Spurs fans might have hoped that the issue has been put to bed for a few weeks, and then what do you know, his brother pipes up and says 'he's outgrown Spurs and wants to join Manchester United'. Is it a PR disaster, or is it part of a cunning plan on the part of the Bulgarian striker and his camp? Time will tell on that front.

The latest gossip doing the rounds about Spurs and Berbatov, is that he might have become unsettled due to competition for places. I find that scenario hard to believe, he's been around long enough to know that it's healthy to have players fighting for places in the starting eleven.

Expert pundit Graham Souness reacted to this theory by adding that if he eventually ends up at Manchester United, he will have plenty of competition for places. How true.

One thing is for sure, there's been too many stories about Berbatov appearing in the press about him being 'unhappy', it surely must be a case of no smoke without fire.

So what are the chances of him pitching at Old Trafford this January? Slim is my own view. Here's why. Ferguson for sure wants a new striker, but he's building a new team and the last thing he needs right now is someone who will want assurances about his place in the side. For one thing, the manager cannot give any guarantees with Rooney and Tevez clearly being his preferred strike partnership. That said, it didn't stop Fergie telling Alan Smith he'd only be used as a striker before signing, only for the former Leeds man to end up in midfield.

You could understand Berbatov expecting to have some sort of assurances about his probable place in the side, he's older and has more experience than Rooney and Tevez. However, Fergie may well prefer to sign someone who wont expect to start every game and be less demanding - it all adds to the pressure of management, only this week Fergie went public stating that he's finding it hard to leave out players like Fletcher.

That said, if Berbatov says that he would be willing to fight for his place, then there's a slim chance it might happen. However, Spurs have a fair record of pulling United's collective trousers down when it comes to transfer fees. After the Reds had completed the signing of Michael Carrick for silly money, sources close to Spurs let it be known that they'd have accepted a lot less, now that was really taking the p*** - it might have seemed funny at the time, but the stunt may have soured relations between the two clubs and it could lead to problems in further negotiations. So the transfer fee would be another potential stumbling block.

There's also the possibility that United might offer a player in exchange for the Bulgarian, Fergie might want shut of injury prone Saha, even Michael Carrick could be up for grabs with the summer signings of Hargreaves and Anderson. Though the arrival Ramos is surely more likely to lead to players from Spain or South America arriving at the Lane in January. So while the Red Devils might well prefer a player plus cash exchange, I think Ramos will have other ideas (that's assuming he's actually got a say on new players).

All in all and for the reasons outlined above, my gut feeling is that Berbatov will not be coming to United in the short term, not to play for the Reds at least at any rate. I do rate the Bulgarian though, his style is different to the likes of Tevez and Rooney. He would be a good signing if a deal could be done.

Brazilian striker Alfonso Alves linked to United.....

So here we go on the summer transfer speculation merrygoround and for the remainder of the summer the Red's will be linked to just about every half decent striker going.

One name who hasn't as far as I'm aware been linked previously is prolific goal scorer Brazilian Alfonso Alves who plays for SC Heerenveen, this season the 25 year-old bagged 34 goals from just 31 games. His previous clubs include Malmo FF and another Swedish side, Orgryte IS.

Alves has been linked to Chelsea and it remains to be seen whether or not Fergie will press home his reported interest in the player. A lot will depend on what money is available to spend.

The Brazilian joins an ever growing list of potential summer sigings which includes the following names: Michael Owen, Jermain Defoe, Mark Viduka, Darren Bent, Fernando Tores, Samuel Eto'o, Jan Huntelaar and Dimitar Berbatov.

My personal verdict on this latest transfer link is: Possible.