schmeichel01
26-05-2001, 10:00:AM
Premiership Player of the Year Patrick Vieira seems destined to leave Arsenal and is being linked with a shock move to Manchester United.
Vieira: Looks likely to leave
(RossKinnaird/Allsport)
Stung by the furore surrounding the future of Sir Alex Ferguson, United's directors would welcome the opportunity of a transfer coup to win back public opinion, although they insist they have not approached the player.
Almost £30million has been wiped off the value of the club since Ferguson's announcement at the end of last week that he will cut all ties with United when his contract expires next season.
In order to stop the slump, the United board would jump at the chance to sign the unsettled Vieira should he decide that Arsenal can no longer fulfil his ambitions. The news emerged on the day that the Highbury club revealed they are preparing to break the bank to sign Tottenham's England defender Sol Campbell.
Arsenal's joy at the thought of snapping up their north London rivals' best player would quickly evaporate if there was a real threat of losing Vieira to the champions.
Already this week, Arsenal are believed to have told Juventus that Vieira is not for sale at any price but, in an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, the player reiterated his concern at Arsene Wenger's failure to keep players of the quality of Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit.
Arsenal may decide that it is preferable to allow the Frenchman to follow Overmars and Petit to Spain rather than let him go to Manchester. If Vieira did go to Old Trafford, there appears to be a greater likelihood that Ferguson would be around to oversee the purchase.
After the United share price closed on Thursday at a three-year low of 158p, plc chairman Sir Roland Smith and chief executive Peter Kenyon met Ferguson yesterday to discuss his future.
Following what were described as convivial talks, Smith and Kenyon reported to the plc board that Ferguson had given his word he would remain as manager until the end of his contract in June 2002. In return, the board agreed to try to settle the issue of what happens to United's most successful boss after his retirement.
While peace appears to have broken out - Ferguson was happily meeting United fans in Ireland yesterday - the board would still have a problem if the manager rejected their new offer.
http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/afc/vieira_rosskinnaird_150x200.jpg
Vieira: Looks likely to leave
(RossKinnaird/Allsport)
Stung by the furore surrounding the future of Sir Alex Ferguson, United's directors would welcome the opportunity of a transfer coup to win back public opinion, although they insist they have not approached the player.
Almost £30million has been wiped off the value of the club since Ferguson's announcement at the end of last week that he will cut all ties with United when his contract expires next season.
In order to stop the slump, the United board would jump at the chance to sign the unsettled Vieira should he decide that Arsenal can no longer fulfil his ambitions. The news emerged on the day that the Highbury club revealed they are preparing to break the bank to sign Tottenham's England defender Sol Campbell.
Arsenal's joy at the thought of snapping up their north London rivals' best player would quickly evaporate if there was a real threat of losing Vieira to the champions.
Already this week, Arsenal are believed to have told Juventus that Vieira is not for sale at any price but, in an interview with French newspaper L'Equipe, the player reiterated his concern at Arsene Wenger's failure to keep players of the quality of Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit.
Arsenal may decide that it is preferable to allow the Frenchman to follow Overmars and Petit to Spain rather than let him go to Manchester. If Vieira did go to Old Trafford, there appears to be a greater likelihood that Ferguson would be around to oversee the purchase.
After the United share price closed on Thursday at a three-year low of 158p, plc chairman Sir Roland Smith and chief executive Peter Kenyon met Ferguson yesterday to discuss his future.
Following what were described as convivial talks, Smith and Kenyon reported to the plc board that Ferguson had given his word he would remain as manager until the end of his contract in June 2002. In return, the board agreed to try to settle the issue of what happens to United's most successful boss after his retirement.
While peace appears to have broken out - Ferguson was happily meeting United fans in Ireland yesterday - the board would still have a problem if the manager rejected their new offer.
http://www.soccernet.com/images/england/afc/vieira_rosskinnaird_150x200.jpg