 Man Utd tipped to swoop for Duff
Posted on: 2003-04-01 by: Travel4Sports Administrator
Manchester United are set to win the race to sign Republic of Ireland international Damien Duff, according to a report.
Sir Alex Ferguson is preparing to pay out around ?10m for the Blackburn winger in the summer, says The Guardian newspaper.
Rovers boss Graeme Souness is understood to be prepared to sell the 24-year-old to raise funds to boost his squad.
The Irishman has attracted interest from a number of clubs after an outstanding World Cup campaign last year.
The news that Man Utd are set to poach Duff will disappoint Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier who desperately wanted to bring him to Anfield.
Man Utd profits dip
But Ferguson has already been warned his Duff deal relies on other players leaving Old Trafford first.
"It is fair to say that if Sir Alex wants to buy someone, he will have to sell someone else," Man Utd chief executive Peter Kenyon told BBC Radio Five Live
"The reality is that you can only field 11 players at one time and we currently have 24 in our squad, which, along with some of our younger players, we feel is the right number.
"What we have consistently said is that we will not bring in players just to sit on the bench."
Duff's arrival at Old Trafford could put pressure on current left-winger Ryan Giggs, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Internazionale.
Turkish midfielder Nihat Kahveci is another player to have interested the Manchester club.
Ferguson will reportedly ask his England players to give him an assessment of Kahveci in Wednesday's Euro 2004 qualifier at Sunderland.
The 23-year-old Kahveci plays for Spanish side Real Sociedad.
Former Red Devil Jordi Cruyff, now with Alaves, told the Manchester Evening News Kahveci had improved tremendously since John Toshack signed him from Turkish side Besiktas last season.
"He is unbelievably quick and shoots from everywhere. If he played alongside a big centre forward he is very good feeding off that type of player because he is so incredibly fast," Cruyff told the News.
|
