Transfer Rumours Thread - Page 10 - TalkSoccer

**unitedfan** · 15-04-2007, 10:40 AM

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NEWS OF THE WORLD

Manchester United are ready to make a sensational summer move for Michael Owen. Sir Alex Ferguson has focused his search for a striker on Newcastle's 27-year-old England star, who has a £12million release clause in his contract.

The Red Devils are also hoping to clinch the £20million signing of Owen Hargreaves this week on a five-year deal

The forever crocked Michael Owen's name pops up.I think he's the last thing we need tbh - another striker with injury troubles. The lad has suffered burnout from his Liverpool days and has already lost his trademark pace. He's a good finisher, but a lack of anticipation would mean he'd need some very good coaching to adapt his style of play to make him a 20+ goal-a-seaason striker again. Then there's Haregreaves and the £20m. He's another one who has had injury troubles this season. He should be just what we need - a tough tackling, strong defensive midfield player who can contributeto the attack. But I can't see the need for him, not while Scholes is still playing to this standard.

**russe||** · 15-04-2007, 06:02 PM

Why the hell would we want Owen? Yes a quick striker to play on the shoulder o the last defender would suit our team but Owen shouldn't be the one we try and sign. He's too much of an injury risk and even before this injury he had lost a large chunk of the pace he had.

**unitedfan** · 15-04-2007, 08:41 PM

Exactly what I said. Owen has nothing to add to our side that we don't already have. We have pace in Saha and enough injury-ravaged strikers as it is.

Tattooed Crusader · 15-04-2007, 11:18 PM

I've said it before, so I'll just repeat it ... I still think United should make every effort to sign Huntelaar. United have been linked with Torres, Adriano, Owen, Zlatan etc - but I do believe every single one of them (with the exception of Owen) would cost almost twice as much as Huntelaar (at least!). I thought signing Owen would have been a good move last summer, but after this latest injury, United should steer well clear! Signing Huntelaar would give United a solid striker rotation - Saha (when he's healthy!), Rooney, Huntelaar, Smith, Solskjaer (who only has 1-2 more years tbh) and Dong (who may actually get a game next season!) The problem becomes how to get Saha, Rooney and Huntelaar on the field at the same time and not lose midfield cohesiveness!

As far as Hargreaves goes, it will become a very crowded midfield - Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Giggs, Park and some guy named Ronaldo

- and then you still have Fletcher and O'Shea (the ultimate utility player!) on the fringes ...

**kennethlindheim** · 16-04-2007, 09:30 AM

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Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder has rubbished rumours linking Michael Owen with a move to Manchester United.

Newspaper reports on Sunday suggested Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson was ready to trigger a £12million release clause in the 27-year-old's contract by tabling a bid in the close season.

Owen has been out of action since injuring his knee at the World Cup last summer, but Ferguson is still reported to be considering a move for him.

A source at Old Trafford was quoted as saying: "It's no secret that Sir Alex wants another striker and he is bound to be attracted by someone of Owen's pedigree at such a competitive price.

"Naturally we would have to be certain he has recovered from his injury and that is why his return will be closely monitored."

But Roeder told The Guardian: "It's all news to me.

"But I certainly haven't waited all these months to write Michael Owen's name on my team-sheet to even contemplate selling him.

"Michael is a very big part of my plans for next season and I know he's been as frustrated as everyone else and can't wait to start playing for Newcastle again.

"Personally, I can't wait to see him scoring goals for us that no-one else can."

Roeder rubbishes Owen move talk - Man Utd - TEAMtalk Football News

**unitedfan** · 16-04-2007, 10:00 AM

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Originally Posted by Tattooed Crusader

I've said it before, so I'll just repeat it ... I still think United should make every effort to sign Huntelaar. United have been linked with Torres, Adriano, Owen, Zlatan etc - but I do believe every single one of them (with the exception of Owen) would cost almost twice as much as Huntelaar (at least!). I thought signing Owen would have been a good move last summer, but after this latest injury, United should steer well clear! Signing Huntelaar would give United a solid striker rotation - Saha (when he's healthy!), Rooney, Huntelaar, Smith, Solskjaer (who only has 1-2 more years tbh) and Dong (who may actually get a game next season!) The problem becomes how to get Saha, Rooney and Huntelaar on the field at the same time and not lose midfield cohesiveness!

As far as Hargreaves goes, it will become a very crowded midfield - Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Giggs, Park and some guy named Ronaldo

- and then you still have Fletcher and O'Shea (the ultimate utility player!) on the fringes ...

The problem that I see with us signing a striker, is that I don't see what kind of striker we need. Do we want a quality, world-class striker who will come in, take Saha's place in the team, partner Rooney and score goals? Or is it another option up front that we're looking for. Are we just looking to up the numbers?

Huntelaar would still command a big fee - Ajax spent over £10m to get him the January before lkast and he is their goal machine - so I'd imagine he'd cost us around £19m - similar to what we paid for Ruud. If you're spending that much, the man you're buying has to be a starter, in which case, you're taking the first of the above options, and pushing Saha to the fringes, Along with Smith and Solskjaer, not to mention resigning Rossi to another loan spell.

Another option, people would obviously point to a line-leading goalscorer - and rightly so - but how many goal-getting centre-forwards (Ruud-esque), would be content to sit on the bench for half the league matches? If a striker came in, I'd prefer him to be in rotation with Saha, but I'd also like him to be a goalscorer. Most goalscorers at this level, however, would expect to play most of the matches.

I want us to sign a forward, don't get me wrong (and I wouldn't mind Huntelaar at all

), but it's the type of centre-forward and the role in the squad I want him to have that eludes me. Larsson 8 years younger would be perfect.

Tattooed Crusader · 16-04-2007, 12:55 PM

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Huntelaar would still command a big fee - Ajax spent over £10m to get him the January before last and he is their goal machine - so I'd imagine he'd cost us around £19m - similar to what we paid for Ruud. If you're spending that much, the man you're buying has to be a starter, in which case, you're taking the first of the above options, and pushing Saha to the fringes, Along with Smith and Solskjaer

As much as Saha brings to the table in terms of speed and strength, he is unbelievably injury-prone. So yes, I suppose I am talking about bringing in another starter. What are the other options? A squad player? United already have Smith, Solskjaer, Rossi & Dong - but in all honesty, other than Smith (who I am very happy to see back), can you really see any of the other three as a starter - now, not five years from now? Don't get me wrong, I love Ole, but to be honest, he's coming to the end of his career and I don't foresee him starting a lot of games. Dong is a fringe player at the moment to be sure, and I'm not entirely convinced that Rossi has a long-term future at OT.

We will see what happens in the summer ....

**kyan** · 16-04-2007, 02:52 PM

I wouldn't mind Owen, I may be overly optimistic but having read interviews etc with him since his operations and rehab process I'm confident he'll be coming back quicker than he has been recently as he's apparently done rehab for all his previous injuries too so they don't recur (which is y it's taken so long).

But I'm not sure if he's the type of striker to bring the best out of Rooney. I'd prefer someone else (eg Torres/Huntelaar) but Owen for £12M wouldn't be awful.

Doug7518 · 16-04-2007, 05:04 PM

What do you think of Nugent at PNE? Ihaven't seen him play and am not very framiliar with the kid but could he be an option?

**unitedfan** · 16-04-2007, 07:03 PM

Maybe. He's blooming quite late for a player in this country - think of all the young english kids who burst on to the scene at 18 - but maybe that will add longevity to his career. Good all-round upfront, has been likened to Alan Shearer, scores some great goals, making use of his dribbling abillity, and puts the ball in the net a healthy number of times. I doubt, however, that we would show any kind of interest untill proven at Premiership and Senior International level. If he gets that far with a club like Bolton, maybe.

jlae11 · 16-04-2007, 08:44 PM

i agree with the fact that i dont think united absolutely NEED to go after a top-class striker--we have saha (and rooney, but hes not really an out-and-out striker), who is undeniably at that level. in my opinion, united should be looking closely at YOUNG talent: huntelaar (but not for 19million) and nugent... who are the two names being addressed on here. i think i would prefer nugent... hes YOUNG and ive seen him play 4-5 times and been impressed each time (plus, i would be ok to get a striker being likened to alan freakin shearer!!!). i believe that united should be looking to spend from 10-14million on this purchase.

does anyone else think that united's #1 priority for next year is a winger? we have giggs, ronaldo, and park right now (and richardson, who does not really count)... giggsy is nearing the end of his career, although hes still a genius) and someone should be brought in to learn from him. in this summer, i would sell richardson (for around 11 pounds... hahaha) and go after a class winger... dont really know who though--any suggestions?

i just think that we have an adequate strike force (smith, solskjaer, rossi, rooney... plus, ronaldo and giggs can play up there if needed). ALSO, we are pretty good in the center of the park (carrick and scholesy are brilliant... oshea and fletcher are more than capable players)... with that said, isnt a winger at the top of the list? thats just my opinion

plus, i think that adding players to the striker rotation and/or midfield rotation will cause problems... and interrupt team chemistry

**unitedfan** · 16-04-2007, 09:55 PM

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in my opinion, united should be looking closely at YOUNG talent

There's another wall of very complicated reasons for thought in front of that as well. Young Guiseppe Rossi. Rated as the best finisher at United by Ole Solskjaer himself. He is a marvlous talent who, if we can him utilize correctly, could be a great player for this club. So you see the problems? You're split between evils. You get a young forward - you neglect Rossi. You get a world-class striker - you neglect Saha. You get a rotary man - you risk upsetting the balance. We have Saha, Solskjaer, Smith and Rossi as potentail partners for Rooney. So we already employ a basic, pecking-based rotation system. The trouble is, Saha and Solskjaer are often on the treatment table and Rossi is still a young, unpolished player. Smith has to show his own as the man who is always there, ready for selection. Or we buy someone there who can be always there, ready for selection. It's just a brick wall to bang your head against at the moment - I just can't tell who it is best to sign for us.

jlae11 · 17-04-2007, 01:11 AM

good points unitedfan... you really proved my point there. after reading that, it does seem quite clear that if united go out and buy a "top-of-the-line" striker (ie. torres), that alan smith and guisseppi rossi probably have NO future at united... so, i am just NOT going to advocate that united need to do this. alan smith is surely returning to old form (i just love his attitude and ability) AND rossi is going to be a good player at united. with that said, doesnt it become clear that united is NOT in need of a striker??

WE NEED A WINGER!!!

**russe||** · 17-04-2007, 07:43 AM

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UNITED IN FOR £8M PEDERSEN - REPORT

Manchester have been linked with a summer move for Blackburn's Morten Gamst Pedersen.

According to the Daily Mirror, the Treble-hunting Red Devils are ready to trigger an £8million release clause in the Norwegian's Ewood Park contract.

United were linked with Pedersen before he joined Rovers in the summer of 2004, and he netted both goals in their 2-1 Premiership win at Old Trafford last season.

Pedersen would probably be the long-term successor to Ryan Giggs on the left flank at Old Trafford, with the Welshman now 33.

In the meantime he would provide valuable wide cover for both Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, and give Sir Alex Ferguson yet another attacking option.

According to the tabloid, Blackburn ended interest from Spurs last summer by doubling Pedersen's £10,000-per-week wages.

But part of the new contract was the release clause that allows Pedersen the right to move to any club that puts in an £8million bid for his services.

United have been alerted to the existence of the clause, similar to the one that allowed Liverpool to sign Craig Bellamy for £6million.

Football365.com - UNITED IN FOR £8M PEDERSEN - REPORT - All The News - Football365 News

**kennethlindheim** · 17-04-2007, 08:46 AM

Gamst Pedersen has done a good job for Blackburn and scored some spectacular goals, but in truth he is very inconsistent and has not exactly had a great season. Lets not forget you are attempting to replace Giggs so I think you have to be looking for someone who have the potential to be something special. Gamst Pedersen is not the answer.