Posts for 'Players' Category

Rooney, currently on holiday following his participation at the World Cup with England, was instead ordered to pay a 'restititional remedy' of £90,475.25 to Proactive, who had sued for unpaid commission, by Judge Brendan Hegarty QC at a hearing at Manchester Mercantile Court on Thursday.

The conclusion of the court case has removed a significant obstacle preventing United from thrashing out a new long-term contract for the 24 year-old, whose £90,000-a-week deal expires in June 2012. Although United are confident that negotiations with the player and his advisers will pass smoothly, securing last season's 34-goal top scorer to a long-term deal is regarded as crucial by manager.

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Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney's poor performance at the World Cup was principally down to the weight of expectation on the striker. The 24-year-old failed to score in four matches for England, who were eliminated in the second round after a heavy defeat by Germany.

Rooney had been widely expected to demonstrate the form for England which brought him 34 goals for Manchester United this season but never looked at his best. Ferguson has denied that Rooney was hampered by an ankle injury suffered during the run-in with United but has admitted that pressure played a part.

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Michael Owen last night tipped Jonny Evans to be a cornerstone of the Manchester United defence for years to come.

United striker Owen, battling to be fit for the new season, sees the Northern Ireland defender.

As the obvious choice to eventually succeed Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic. Evans (22) has been steadily establishing himself at Old Trafford since making his debut less.

Than three years ago. “Jonny is the future of Manchester United. Obviously Rio is in his 30s now and has.

A good few years left but Jonny has the potential to be every bit as good and commanding as Rio,” stated Owen.

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Manchester City’s buying spree just does not seem to end. They spent millions last season and brought in some big names such as Adebayor from Arsenal, Carlos Tevez from Manchester United, Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers, Kolo Toure from Arsenal, Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan and plenty more, but money does not guarantee success, atleast not instant success. That was proven when Man City could not end the season 4th, which was their target at the start.

This season, they have once again started splashing the cash and started their summer shopping with the big name signing of Spanish left winger David Silva. The Valencia man was on the radar of a number of big European clubs and no less than Man City’s neighbours and old rivals Manchester United.

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The unseemly wrangle over Paul Pogba's transfer from Le Havre to Manchester United finally reached a satisfactory climax for both clubs last week. This was a relief after the last similar saga, involving Gael Kakuta, but as with Chelsea's French prodigy, spoke volumes of a coveted young prospect. So what can the Premier League expect from its latest young import from across the Channel?

Pogba was spotted by Le Havre's chief scout Franck Sale in his home district of Sarcelles, in the suburbs of northern Paris, at the age of 13. Sale wasted little time in recruiting him to the much-vaunted academy that has produced the likes of Vikash Dhorasoo and Charles N'Zogbia in the past. "I was impressed by his attitude," Sale told Goal.com. "He was already like a footballer and had great game intelligence for his age."

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Manchester United are reportedly set to offer €21 million to prise Ivorian midfielder  Yaya Toure away from Barcelona. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be keen to strengthen United's midfield given the constant injuries plaguing Owen Hargreaves and the loss of form from the likes of Michael Carrick and Anderson.

A report in Spanish publication Sport claims that Ferguson has identified the 27-year-old as a key target in bolstering United's capabilities in the middle of the park, particularly from a defensive viewpoint.

While Barca coach Pep Guardiola is said to be keen to retain the services of Toure, reports yesterday stated that the Catalan outfit would consider releasing the player for a fee of €30-35 million.

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Ben Foster is expected to complete a £6 million move from Manchester United to Birmingham on Wednesday. A fee was agreed between the two clubs last week and Foster is expected in the Midlands on Tuesday for a medical that will seal his Old Trafford exit.

Although he began last term with high hopes of ousting Edwin van der Sar from his status as United's first-choice keeper, Foster's chance disappeared with high-profile mistakes against Manchester City and Sunderland during a two-month period at the start of the campaign when the veteran Dutchman was missing through injury.

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Being unavailable to help Manchester United in the final stretch of their Premier League push might be frustrating, but Wayne Rooney is trying to focus on the positives  primarily that he'll be fit and fresh to help England in this summer's World Cup.

The recently-crowned PFA Player of the Year has struggled for fitness since falling in a crumpled heap in the first leg of United's ultimately disappointing Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich last month, and now hopes to be back for his side's final game of the season.

The 24-year-old admits it has been a disappointing conclusion to a great season, where he has notched 34 goals in all competitions."I'm pleased to have done well in a World Cup year but it's been a difficult last couple of months injury-wise," Rooney told reporters. "I'm disappointed to have missed a couple of games over the last few weeks.

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Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has filmed two versions of an advert for a video game in Spain this week, one in a red kit and one in a white kit reminiscent of Real Madrid. Spanish newspaper Sport has reported that this would seem to indicate that Rooney is at least alive to the possibility of a move to Los Blancos, with whom he has been linked in recent weeks.

The film was made in Barcelona, with the kit colours being requested by Rooney's representatives. Whilst this indicates nothing definite at all regarding a possible switch, it is perhaps significant that Karim Benzema did the same thing last summer and subsequently joined Real from Lyon.

England striker Wayne Rooney insisted he will be fit for the World Cup after being voted player of the season Sunday by his English league peers.

The Professional Footballers' Association award came a day after Manchester United manager.

Alex Ferguson said Rooney would miss the final two matches of the Premier League title run-in because of a groin injury, having just recovered from an ankle problem.

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