Bayern put £15m price on Hargreaves' head
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Sir Alex Ferguson was given the green light to sign Owen Hargreaves yesterday when Franz Beckenbauer revealed that Bayern Munich were prepared to sell the England midfielder for £15million.
In a further sign of imminent transfer activity at Old Trafford, Southampton withdrew Gareth Bale from tomorrow's FA Cup tie at Torquay in anticipation of an improved bid by Manchester United for their 17-year-old wonder kid.
Bayern chiefs have maintained a defiant stance over Hargreaves throughout a transfer saga that has been running for almost a year and repeatedly told Ferguson to keep his distance. But the United manager was on the verge of landing his main target of the January window after the Bundesliga giants relented and conceded that £15million would be too good to turn down.
Bayern were particularly incensed that United continued to pursue Hargreaves after he signed a lucrative new contract, but they finally accepted the inevitable when Beckenbauer made it clear they were ready to do business. "If the offer that is being talked about really is true, we will have to think about it," said Bayern's club president.
"In principle, we were right to stick to our guns over Owen. If a player has signed a new contract with us, then tries to move for more money, we are within our rights to say 'no'. "But this is different, and if we receive an offer on the scale that has been mentioned, it is going to have to be given serious consideration."
Hargreaves is nearing recovery from a broken leg and is ready to fly to Manchester for a medical, at a moment's notice, after being earmarked by Ferguson as the New Year addition needed to reinforce his side's title push.
He could be followed into Old Trafford by Bale, who has attracted strong interest from United, Tottenham and Arsenal after becoming Wales' youngest-ever full international.
Though Southampton cited a hamstring strain as the official reason for Bale missing the trip to Plainmoor, it is thought United do not want him cup-tied after indicating a willingness to increase their original £5million offer.
Southampton have tried to tempt their teenage full-back into staying, with an improved £15,000-a-week package, but face a major dilemma after he rejected the chance to sign an extended deal at St Marys.
Bale is keen to stay with Southampton until the end of the season before weighing up his options in the summer, however by that time he will only have 12 months remaining on his current deal.
Promotion could convince the 17-year-old wonder-kid to put pen to paper on the offer of £15,000-a-week until 2009. But it is risk the Southampton board may be unwilling to take with United, Tottenham and Arsenal all keen to sign him sooner rather than later.
And should the south coast club fail in their attempt to return to The Premiership they risk losing their immensely talented full-back for considerably less than the £5m plus add-ons they are currently demanding - a situation compounded by the fact this is the their final season of 'parachute payments' following relegation in 2005.
An Arsenal supporter as a youngster, the Emirates Stadium carries the strongest pull for Bale, but United appear to be in pole position after sensing their initial proposal of around £1.5million up front, with further payments based on appearances, may not meet with boardroom approval at St Mary's Stadium.
A meeting is planned at Southampton next Tuesday to discuss Bale's future, and United seem certain to have tabled their follow-up offer by then. Ferguson is also considering trying to extend Henrik Larsson's Old Trafford stay, after initially signing him on loan until the start of the new Swedish League season in March.
With Louis Saha out for a fortnight with a groin injury and Wayne Rooney taking a breather, Larsson will make his United debut alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in Sunday's FA Cup third-round tie at home to Aston Villa.
If he comes up to expectations, Ferguson will talk terms with the former Celtic and Barcelona frontrunner, and his current club Helsingborg, about keeping him until the end of the season. -
let me go bake my popcorn, and see how this sage unfolds...
it does seems likely that things are moving...
http://www.tribalfootball.com/ -
Aiya i say just pay them whatever they want lah and get over with it... Owen Hargreaves will be worth the money if not this season, next year for sure... A player like him can out perform Lampard and Garrerd in the England midfield... should be good enough, just need time to settle into a new team thats all.
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duh.. thought hargreaves is more to DM? unlike lanpa/Gerrad who are AM, he's a likely replacement to Kean i guess. when scholes retires, Carrick should be moved into the attacking role ot replae scholes, i think a likely partnership between him and carrick in the midfield is pretty good imo in the near future.. Darn.. Saf got it all worked out
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Gareth Bale? Another Theo Walcott ah?
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Southampton have offered Gareth Bale a one-year contract extension in an effort to stave off interest from Manchester United and Tottenham. Both clubs are understood to have had offers of around £5m rejected for the Wales left-back but although Bale has 18 months to run on his contract, there is concern that his worth will decrease as his contract runs down.
Representatives of the 17-year-old Bale are adamant that he is not currently interested in moving to the Premiership. "I don't know what all the fuss is about. said Bale's agent, David Manasseh. "Gareth is under contract and wants to stay at the club for the next 18 months." -
hopefully if man utd buys him. it'll be a good bet.
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sumhow i tink SAF wun buy him, i tink he will buy sum1 in epl
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I think Man Utd will buy Gareth Bale then loan him back to Southhamton...
They did that with Ben Foster...
They'll likely do it with Bale... Give him more match experience...
By the time Heinze hits 30, Bale will be ready to step in and replace him... -
apparently germans want the price of a mercedes mc-claren for an aston martin.
now 20m... by end of saga, it will be status quo.
and David Gill and SAF will said, their current team is strong enough.
and have a good bonus year..
POS... -
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=fergie%2Ds-%2Dpound%2D17m-bid-lands-owen%26method=full%26objectid=18404672%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
it seems there are more promise that he is coming @ 17M. -
Originally posted by iceFatboy:http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=fergie%2Ds-%2Dpound%2D17m-bid-lands-owen%26method=full%26objectid=18404672%26siteid=94762-name_page.html
it seems there are more promise that he is coming @ 17M. -
trust me, it will go up to 20mil sterling...
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20m or 25m, nvm lar, just pay and he will come in janOriginally posted by kaobeikaobu:trust me, it will go up to 20mil sterling... -
Bayern hold off Hargreaves sale
Bayern Munich insist Manchester United target Owen Hargreaves will not be sold in the January transfer window. The Bundesliga club have put a price of £20m on the England midfielder, 25, but want to keep him until the end of the season even if that offer was met.
Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness told the Welt am Sonntag paper Hargreaves "will definitely not be leaving this winter. Beyond that, we will see". Hargreaves has not played since breaking his leg last September. Earlier in the week, Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer told German newspaper Bild that if an offer of £20m was tabled "we would have to think about it".
Beckenbauer added: "That is a figure that would allow us to be active in the transfer market." Hargreaves has been repeatedly linked with United over recent months - with the player admitting he would relish a move to Old Trafford.
Bayern had previously stated that they would not sell a player who last season signed a contract to keep him at the club until 2010. -
come end of the season, SAF might turn his interest to someone else instead of owen if bayern munich insists on getting their way..
pay 20m now and then get him in the next transfer window? mad har? wait he get injured again how?
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this is turning to be a see-saw thingy.
just don't understand, one moment, yes, by FB,chairman, and one moment no, by the general manager.
Sometimes, like in CM, MUFC just enquire and does not tabled a formal bid, and thus, it is hard also for BMunich to make a decision.
so I think both sides are leaving us, supporters on the hook.. -
he may be coming.........
only at the end of the season~ -
Owen Hargreaves column
Let's get one thing straight as I start my first Sport column - this is a place where I will be airing my views, not discussing idle rumours and speculation.
I'm sure you are all more than aware that there has been a lot of talk involving myself moving to Manchester United. But that is something I'm not prepared to discuss in this column. That's for other people to do.
Don't get me wrong, I know this type of speculation is part and parcel of being a footballer and that goes especially for me because my situation is so different to that of other players. I was born and raised in Canada, I moved to Munich at a young age and I have been here for a long time. I play for England, yet I have never played in the Premiership.
I guess it is understandable that all the fans and the media want to be able to see me in the Premiership so that is why there is so much speculation. It has happened before, where people tend to say anything for a story, but all I am prepared to say is that I think this time it is a bit different because it is kind of concrete. This isn't just your average speculation, there is some kind of information behind all of this, which is probably why the story has gone on for so long.
Personally, I don't find it particularly frustrating. After all, I cannot control what people write or when those people choose to do a story, can I? There are so many journalists out there and stories travel so quickly nowadays.
I am in Dubai at the moment at a mid-season training camp with Bayern Munich and if I do a story with a local journo it is all over the world on the internet within minutes. I'm not the sort of guy who likes to make headlines and always be reading about myself.
But at this present moment it's a major topic in Germany because I play there and it's a major topic in England because that's where a club wants to sign me, so it's all pretty intense right now.
It is kind of funny really because it has got to the stage where my life is almost defined by this. The only thing people ever ask me is 'When are you going to sign for Manchester United?' It's like I've never done anything else in my whole life!
It doesn't bother me, it just takes on a life of its own after a while and until there is a conclusion it will carry on. Me personally - I have probably said three things on it in the last six months but it is an everyday topic because the press draws it out - and that is what they are very good at.
I have to say I'm not massively aware of what the English press says about me, although I get the gist of it. I don't pay attention to the good or the bad, I'm far more interested in what my coaches and team-mates are saying about me and whether they are happy.
I could have easily come back from last summer's World Cup and had a rubbish game for England against Greece and then all the good press I had built up would have disappeared.
In England, the press speculation is a lot more intense than it is in Germany.
In some countries you are famous for being an athlete so they write only about that, not who you are dating or what you are wearing. But other places are different. In England you are a public person and everything you do will be spoken about, so I guess that would take a bit of getting used to.
The thing is, if you choose to play in a certain country, you have to accept the way it is and then adapt to it. I must admit though, I would rather people asked me how the injury is going as I continue to recover from my broken leg. I broke it in September and it was a bit of a freak break to be honest. The timing wasn't great because it was not long after the World Cup and I was enjoying playing for England and Bayern a great deal.
I'm not the best watcher, so rocking up to Bayern games and having to sit through them is pretty horrible. It was hard at first. I had a cast from my toes to my hip and could barely move and when the cast came off I had to get used to walking again, using joints that hadn't moved for weeks.
It makes you appreciate being able to walk and things like going upstairs. When you are an athlete and something like that is taken away from you so abruptly, it's terrible. But I'm coming along fine at the moment and in a couple of weeks I should be able to join the other players in a full-on training session.
Just being in Dubai is brilliant, to be honest. We've had a terrible winter in Munich, one of the worst in recent memory, so to be out in the sunshine in shorts and T-shirts is great. I just can't wait to start playing football again. -
anyone watch football focus last night?
they were commenting on this sale.
if OwenH were bought, will it benefit MUFC?
In the long run, maybe, in the short run, no, cause he is recovering from his injury and it may destablises the team..
if the sale went through, does it means that Carrick will lose its place given Scholes in Red-hot form? or should Giggs or Ronaldo lose their place?
In the long run, if Carrick can take over Scholes' place, then OwenH will be a perfect replacement. -
Reports in Germany claim that The Blues have made secret enquiries for Manchester United target Owen Hargreaves, and from this Bayern expressed their interest in Robben.
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Well, i wouldn't be surprised.Originally posted by zocoss:Reports in Germany claim that The Blues have made secret enquiries for Manchester United target Owen Hargreaves, and from this Bayern expressed their interest in Robben.
It has happened before (Duff, Obi Mikel, Robben, Essien, etc) and it's nothing new la. Got money, got talk.
Cheers.
C.K -
Saha and park oso at 1 pt of time...
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damn chelsea!
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just put the $$ on the table and ask them.. whether they want the deal or not.
if not, then forget it lor...
seems like we are begging..