Papers 27/07

[moomba]

Didn't know you had spoken to either of them. Next time you get in touch with SAF tell him to hook up the Mascherano deal.

No, but I've heard enough from both to have a fairly good idea of the true state of affairs.

Van Klinsmann has said that he wants out, Fergie from the time he started benching him, to leaving him out of the Keane testimonial to many statements, including one last night has made it clear that he will be sold.

But you keep your rose coloured glasses on if you like.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

He will go for about 12m and that will be fine. Means we will have essentially paid just under 7m for a guy who's scored 150 club goals and is the best Eurpean scorer we've ever had.

The Carrick deal is apparently set to go through at around 16m, which is crazy money.

 

[moomba]

He will go for about 12m and that will be fine. Means we will have essentially paid just under 7m for a guy who's scored 150 club goals and is the best Eurpean scorer we've ever had.

Yep, £12m sounds about right. It's the old balancing act, two to three years ago you could have got £20-30m for him but he's got some important goals for you in that time.

 

[Shinboners]

I think Mascherano and Carrick will be a fantastic partnership if Rooney continues to develop as a second striker, or even if Scholes gets back to his best. Won't work as part of a 4-4-2 though, neither of them get into dangerous positions.

Ironically, it might have worked with the 4-4-1-1 system (which I hate) if Fergie kept RVN. Both Scholes and Rooney are not only capable of splitting defences with one killer pass, but both can get goals from well outside the box. If we got Mascherano, it would have been very difficult to fit him, Carrick, Scholes, Rooney, and RVN into the one side - it would have been shades of trying to fit Veron in all those years ao.

I reckon Rooney could probably play as a lone striker with Scholes behind him, but I think he'd be wasted in that role.

Can anyone really see Corinthians selling to United though? I can't.

Mascherano's contract is held by an investment company (part owned by Ambraovich). I reckon that with Chelsea having plenty of midfielders, Fergie might be trying to exploit this one window of opportunity to nab him - give the investment company a quick profit.

Personally, I don't think Ambraovich would let it happen, but at least with Fergie, he'll give it a go.

 

[Crow-mo]

Mascherano's contract is held by an investment company (part owned by Ambraovich).

no one knows whether Abramovich has a stake in it, but the source of their funding has only ever been tracked back to London, and it is heavily 'rumoured' that he was the benefactor.