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14th Jun 2013

Transfer Talk: How United plan to prove there is life after Fergie and another Irish exit at Villa

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been linked to Man Utd for quite some time, but today we got a fresh perspective why.

JOE

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been linked to Man United for quite some time, but today we got a fresh perspective on just why that is.

Former Old Trafford hero Ronaldo has been subject to mounting speculation that he will return to the scene of former glories for a few weeks, and yesterday’s announcement that he had not agreed any contract extension with his current employers added to the frenzy.

The Welsh wizard has been touted as a Real target for as long as he has been scoring sensational goals and United are also thought to be keen. We would have thought that either/both would add to the Red Devils’ attacking options, help them become an even greater threat in Europe and generally raise the bar at the club. The Sun has a different take.

According to the paper, the club want to break the world record transfer for either player “to prove there is life after Alex Ferguson”. We kid you not, that is actually what they went with.

Over on the other side of Manchester, it looks as though Manuel Pellegrini’s contract demands are stalling his appointment. The Daily Mirror suggest that he will be ratified as Roberto Mancini’s successor as soon as both parties agree to a compromise.

FC Barcelona v Malaga CF - La Liga

If you are an Irish player at Aston Villa, you might be best advised to forge a new passport. Richard Dunne has been released, Shay Given has said he is looking for a new club and The Telegraph say that Stephen Ireland is also on the way out. The midfielder is one of the highest earners at the club and Paul Lambert has reportedly told the Cork man he can leave. And by the by, JOE would never advocate illegal activities such as forgery of passports.

The latest PSG link is with a manager, rather than a player. A number of the papers are of the opinion that Swansea’s Michael Laudrup is being targeted by the Parisian club amid speculation that he has fallen out with members of the Swansea board.

Edinson Cavani has still not moved from Napoli. We really hope he gets a move on so the papers can make up/speculate about other players. Man City and Chelsea are leading the chase, while The Telegraph believe that Jose Mourinho will look to Robert Lewandowski if a move for Cavani fails to materialise.

Laurent Koscielny must be enjoying the speculation since the season ended. First AC Milan, now Barcelona (The Sun) are being linked with the central defender. The most likely scenario is that he will stay at the Emirates, but a bit of ego stroking is always good.

Southampton are looking to Valencia to bolster their midfield, with £8 million rated Ever Banega thought to be on Mauricio Pochettino’s radar.

And in the ‘forgot about him’ transfer of the day, Roysten Drenthe is on his way back to England, with Reading his destination of choice. The Dutch midfielder didn’t set the world alight at Everton, but maybe second time around, who knows?