Manchester United face the prospect of having to sell their captain Roy Keane as the row over his future rumbles on. The United board is believed to have told Sir Alex Ferguson that it will permit the game of brinkmanship being waged between club and player to continue only for another two weeks.

If Keane does not accept the offer of a vastly improved contract by the end of the month he is likely to be made available for transfer.

The Republic of Ireland midfielder has 12 months to run on his current contract and could leave on a Bosman-inspired free transfer next summer. He would be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club on January 1st.

Although Ferguson values Keane at £20 million there would be no shortage of interest, with the Italian clubs Juventus, Internazionale and Lazio certain to lead the charge.

Keane earns around Stg £19,000 a week at Old Trafford but has insisted on £40,000 a week. United are believed to have offered him around £28,000 a week in a five-year deal which would make him the highest-paid player in the club's history.

If Keane does not back down, United's chairman Martin Edwards is expected to make money available to Ferguson for a replacement before the early August registration date for the group stages of the Champions League.

The obvious target would be Juventus's Dutch international Edgar Davids whom Ferguson has been attempting to sign, as a partner for Keane, for the past three weeks for the £10m asking price.

But Ferguson has insisted United must hold on to Keane.

He told United's ClubCall service: "Roy Keane is the captain of our club. He's our most influential player to my mind and I think everybody would agree with that and so it's important that we get him to sign."

United fans agree with the manager and they do not think Keane would carry out his threat and turn his back on the Treble winners.

Andy Walsh, chairman of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, said: "The supporters want Roy Keane to stay at Manchester United and the key to all this is that the player himself wants to stay.

"The top players are very well paid and there comes a point when they must weigh up the success they've achieved in their professional lives against the riches to be earned.

"It's been shown to Roy Keane that if he stays at Manchester United with Alex Ferguson, there will be success.

"Most fans would say that the club should not be held to ransom, but the club should also be a little bit more imaginative in the remuneration package being offered to him."

Meanwhile, one player who is ready to sign a new contract at United is striker Teddy Sheringham.

Sheringham also has 12 months remaining on his existing agreement and he would like to put pen to paper on a fresh deal.

There has been talk that the club want to keep him beyond June 2000 and Sheringham said: "I've not heard anything about that, but I have to say that I'm certainly very happy here at the moment.

"I have always approached things in football by saying that if anything comes up I'll look at it, but after what happened at United in the last few months, I'm certainly happy here."

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough are chasing Paul Ince, who has been told he can leave Anfield. They are willing to pay £1m for the 31-year-old midfielder, who yesterday travelled to the north-east for talks.

Also apparently on their way out of Anfield are Sean Dundee and Danny Murphy. Liverpool's manager Gerard Houllier hopes to sell Dundee to Stuttgart for £1.5m this weekend and, quite possibly, Murphy to Derby County for £1.75m early next week.