It is a brave player who walks into Sir Alex Ferguson’s office and demands understanding – let alone a transfer to Liverpool – but Gabriel Heinze, the Manchester United defender, did just that yesterday as he returned to pre-season training with little or no intention of building the bridges he has burnt over the past five weeks. Ferguson, alarmed but seemingly not unnerved by the player’s actions during the summer, had suggested that there would be “no problem” once Heinze was back in the fold at Old Trafford, but the Argentina defender’s mood on his return to United’s Carrington training ground was far from conciliatory as he claimed that the club were guilty of breaking promises in blocking a proposed £6.8 million move to Liverpool. It was not clear last night how Ferguson had reacted to Heinze’s show of dissent, but no matter how stubborn the manager may be by nature, there is a growing feeling among the United hierarchy that the defender’s position seems untenable. Heinze, his agent and his legal team are determined to proceed with the legal bid to force the player’s departure, whether via the Premier League or the courts, with the only encouraging aspect for Ferguson that the 29-year-old is willing to consider alternative offers, with Real Madrid and Juventus having registered interest.
United would prefer to send Heinze overseas, even if it meant receiving a smaller fee than that offered by Liverpool three weeks ago. However, their unwillingness to sell to the Merseyside club – which they have not done since Phil Chisnall, a little-known inside forward, moved to Anfield in 1964. Heinze was told that he could leave at the end of last season, when a move to an unnamed Spanish club seemed imminent. David Gill, the United chief executive, wrote to Rodriguez to confirm that the player could be sold for a fee of €10 million (about £6.8 million), with Heinze and his representatives regarding that letter as a legal document that entitles him to move if any club offer such a fee, as Liverpool did on July 16. Gill has stated that the letter is “meaningless”, but it has been seized by Heinze’s legal team – which includes Liverpool’s legal adviser, Richard Green, of the Hill Dickinson firm – as a passport to Anfield.
Having been given extra time off after his exertions for Argentina in the Copa America last month, Heinze cited an injury on his return to Carrington, which rules him out of either of the two friendly matches tomorrow evening, away to Dunfermline Athletic and Glentoran, one of which is expected to feature a debut for Carlos Tévez, his compatriot. The Argentina forward has not finalised his controversial move from West Ham United, but Ferguson hopes that the necessary paperwork will be completed in time.
United’s preparations for the new season have also been boosted by the signing of Tony Strudwick, a highly regarded fitness coach, whom they have enticed from Blackburn Rovers. This development follows the abrupt and acrimonious departure of Valter di Salvo, the United fitness coach, to Real Madrid last month – but United have moved quickly to replace him, with Strudwick having begun his new job on Saturday.
Blackburn, for their part, are understood to be disappointed by the timing of the man Mark Hughes, the manager, credits with turning his squad into the fittest in the top flight, but the clubs are working on a compensation package that would at least go some way towards smoothing relations with their rivals in the North West.