Manchester United Hold Talks With David De Gea But Yet To Agree A £17.5m Fee With Atletico Madrid

Old Trafford club look set to land Vicente Calderón Stadium star.

Manchester United have held talks with Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea according to the player’s agent Hector Rincon.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson wants a long-term replacement for retiring Edwin van der Sar and has settled on the 20-year-old.

The Spain U21 international broke into the first-team in 2009 and has been scouted by the Red Devil’s goalkeeping coach Eric Steele.

Ferguson himself watched De Gea play Valencia last September.

Rincon revealed his player does have a release cause but Atletico may be persuaded to sell for cheaper.

He also says Wigan have made an attempt to sign him as well as a host of big European and English clubs.

“Well, we did have talks with Manchester United but, first of all, they always look for an agreement with the club,” Rincon told Sport.co.uk.

“Anyway, most of the biggest European teams have shown interest in David De Gea.”

“What I can tell you is that his release clause now is €20 million (£17.5million), but I have no idea if the club would sell him for less.

“Right now, the player has a contract with Atletico Madrid and if Manchester United or any other team want him they will have to reach an agreement or pay the whole release clause.”

“Well, some time ago, before he became an important player in Atletico, Wigan made an offer, but the club rejected it,” Rincon added.

“Recently, I don’t want to say any names but all the big clubs in England and in Europe have asked about him.”

Manchester United Hold Talks With David De Gea But Yet To Agree A £17.5m Fee With Atletico Madrid, 9.0 out of 10 based on 3 ratings

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Capello - Rio talks still on

The Manchester United defender was stripped of the armband last week as the Three Lions prepared for a Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales.

In the wake of ongoing injury problems, it was decided to relieve Ferdinand of the honour.

Chelsea centre-half John Terry was reinstated to the role, 13 months after he was stood down following allegations about his private life.

Capello admitted in the build-up to the Wales game that the issue could have been handled better, with Ferdinand discovering his fate through the media.

Talks were due to be held between the United ace and his national coach, but such discussions failed to materialise.

Capello is still planning to explain his decision, though, and hopes he will get the chance to meet with Ferdinand at some stage in the near future.

It is important that he gets the opportunity to explain his side of the story, as vice-captain Steven Gerrard revealed on Sunday that he had been made aware of the decision through a telephone call.

Pressed on the issue during a press conference on Monday, Capello said: "Rio was the captain, Steve was the vice-captain.

"I hope that over the next few weeks I will meet with him (Ferdinand)."

Capello has also revealed that he allowed Terry, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Dawson to return to their clubs ahead of Tuesday's friendly against Ghana in order to protect them from injury.

He said: "The players that aren't here, those that went home, are not here because if you are tired it is easy to be injured."

The Italian will also be giving his full support to Jack Wilshere's claims for an U21 berth this summer, with the Arsenal youngster revealing that he hopes to step out of the senior fold and join the Young Lions at the European Championship.

Capello added: "Yeah, I will support him 100 per cent because I think the players will be really important for the Under 21s.

"Those players can make the difference."

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Newcastle United In Talks to Sign £40m New Strike Pairing

Pardew wants to bring Lille duo to St James’ Park.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is understood to have approached French club Lille about the possibility of securing both Moussa Sow and Gervinho on a deal which would see the pair spearhead a £40m-rated Toon attack next season. Sources close to Pardew say he has been monitoring the progress of both players, who are yet to be locked into long-term deals at the table-topping Ligue 1 club. Sow has been a revelation for Lille this season and is the current French top scorer with 19 goals.
His contract comes to an end in 2013, but after signing on a free transfer from Rennes, Sow’s value could see the club cash in when the window reopens in the summer. Strike partner Gervinho meanwhile offers a flexible option to Newcastle with both his ability to play upfront and on the wing an asset. The Ivory Coast star shone in the World Cup and has also contributed with 12 league goals this season.

SOURCE: Metro

Clearly Newcastle United could do with some fresh attacking options following the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool in January but is £40m a tad steep for this pair of Ligue strikers? Well Lille are riding high at the top of the table and looking good for their first domestic title in over 50 years and a big reason for this, as well as young starlet Eden Hazard, has been the form shown by Moussa Sow and Gervinho up front.

Lille have outscored all French sides and Sow has netted 19 league goals in his first season at the Stade Lille-Metropole and Gervinho has put in a good deal of support and is perhaps the more well known of the two, having done pretty well at the World Cup last summer with Ivory Coast.

Pardew currently has to count on the fairly limited attacking offering that he gets from the likes of Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands, Leon Best, Nile Ranger and Shefki Kuqi, none of them being the most prolific of finishers.

In relation to thsi Lille swoop, one has to wonder whether Magpies owner Mike Ashley will shell out to this extent, especially if you take into account Alan Pardew will be looking to tie down key players with lucrative contracts as he did recently when Cheik Tiote signed on the dotted line on a long term deal.

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Sir Alex Ferguson talks to BBC! Manchester United boss ready for a peace summit with Corporation

Sir Alex Ferguson and BBC director-general Mark Thompson have agreed to a meeting to discuss the Manchester United manager's six-year snub of the Corporation. The summit has been brokered by Premier League chairman Sir Dave Richards in his attempt to get Ferguson talking to the BBC again and so avoid the need for the League to take action over Sir Alex's continued breaching of their media regulations. Turning over a new leaf? Sir Alex Ferguson's ban of talking to the BBC could be coming to an end The level of the fines for Ferguson was decided during a League board meeting last October, but Manchester United will not be informed until Richards has exhausted all avenues in ending Fergie's silence prompted by his massive displeasure over a BBC3 documentary in 2004 about his football agent son Jason. Getting Ferguson and Thompson in thesame room is a sign of progress, although a date for this notableoccasion has yet to be fixed. The expectation is that it will takeplace near or at the end of the football season. Building bridges: BBC director-general Mark Thompson will meet with Ferguson at a yet-to-be-agreed date Ferguson has maintained from the start of the marathon stand-off that he wants an apology from the director-general. The BBC insist, equally strongly, thathe won't receive one. Certainly the much-criticised Richards deservescredit, for once, if an unlikely compromise can be reached. Recent form: Ferguson chose to ignore his media requirements with the BBC following United's 3-1 defeat to Liverpool The ridiculous five-month delay in breaking the news to Old Trafford about the size of the Ferguson fines has irritated rival clubs and reinforced the impression that there is one rule for United and another for the other 19 teams in the division. The low-key BBC programme at the heart of the dispute concentrated on Jason's dealings as an agent with United but revealed little that wasn't in the public domain. Ferguson has never taken legal action over the contents.  Ferguson slammed for undermining Respect campaign over ref rantCharles Sale: John Terry breaks with firefighter PR as he bids to clean up act on his ownAll the latest Manchester United news, features and opinion  Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Mark Thompson

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Manchester United In Talks to Sign £18m Italian “Paul Scholes”

Sir Alex Ferguson moves closer to bringing Roma and Italy midfielder to Old Trafford.

Daniele De Rossi’s representatives have sounded out Manchester United to establish whether the Premier League leaders would consider an £18 million move for the Roma midfielder this summer.

The 27 year-old, who has played 63 times for Italy, is considering leaving the Serie A side he has supported since childhood after a turbulent three years in which his father-in-law was shot and killed in a gangland revenge attack and he separated from his wife, Tamara. United, like Real Madrid, hold a longstanding interest in the Roma vice-captain but have been consistently informed that he would not consider leaving the club where he started his career and his father, Alberto, remains a youth team coach.

Both clubs have now been informed, though, that De Rossi is prepared to leave the Italian capital in a bid to escape the troubles that have enveloped his life away from the game. Jose Mourinho, the Real manager, is thought to be keen to pair the player with Xabi Alonso, while Sir Alex Ferguson will be given funds this summer to strengthen his squad, with a replacement for Paul Scholes, along with a goalkeeper and a central defender, likely to be a priority.

The Scot is also believed to be examining the likes of Douglas Costa, the Shakhtar Donetsk player, and has also monitored Charlie Adam, of Blackpool, but his interest in De Rossi dates back to the player’s initial emergence at Roma. The midfielder’s contract, worth £60,000 a week and well within United’s budget, expires in June 2012 and it is believed Roma would not stand in his way should their price be met.

SOURCE: Daily Telegraph

Whilst he is no spring chicken, at 27 Daniele De Rossi has a great deal still to offer and the opportunity to finally capture a player he has been monitoring for some time may be too great a temptation for Sir Alex Ferguson to pass up. In many ways the Roma man is just what Manchester United need, a box to box midfielder with plenty of heart and the ability to score goals and break up play.

With Owen Hargreaves seemingly in treatment room limbo and unlikely to get a new contract in the summer, De Rossi also adds steel that the Old Trafford club could well do with. The comparison with Paul Scholes are also fairly accurate, although thankfully the Italian international does on occasion time his tackles well, although he is certainly not beyond playing rough, as Shakhtar man Dario Srna can attest to.

The price seems a fair one and it seems that a move to Real Madrid would be an unlikely one as the role he would take is currently being presided over both Lassana Diarra and Sami Khedira, two quality players who have done well this season.

Manchester United have of course a number of solid, if not spectacular, central midfield options. Darren Fletcher is consistent without being explosive, Michael Carrick has improved but is still a fairly sedate player who offers different attributes to De Rossi. Anderson has time on his side and has the makings of being a quality player but is arguably not there yet. Paul Scholes himself still has a lot to offer but is clearly nearing the end of his glittering career and doesn’t get forward half as much as he used to.

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