United to make £17m bid to land Hargreaves

SOCCER:Manchester United are preparing to test Bayern Munich's resolve with a first official bid for Owen Hargreaves, thought to be in the region of £17 million, but the Premiership leaders will not be getting involved in any other transfers until the summer.

Alex Ferguson has already stated he is only "looking at one thing" and yesterday it was the chief executive David Gill's turn to play down suggestions that the club may seek to strengthen other areas. United have already added Henrik Larsson to their playing staff, albeit on a seven-week loan arrangement with Helsingborgs, and Gill said that it is unlikely they would bring in anyone else.

"The money is there but traditionally we do most of our big spending in the summer and I think that will continue," he said. "Things may change. If there's an area in which we want to do something then we'll do it. But we don't plan to do a great deal. We've brought in Larsson, while a number of the players who have been out on loan are back."

United's priority is Hargreaves and they have been increasingly encouraged by some of the noises coming out of Munich. The Bundesliga champions do not want to lose one of their key players but they are aware that there are pitfalls in keeping a player who is keen to leave.

Hargreaves, close to fitness after recovering from a broken leg, has made that clear he wants to leave, even being fined on one occasion, and United believe they have a 50-50 chance.

"I think we all know the area in which we want to strengthen," Gill said. "But I'm not going to comment on that."

Looking further ahead, United have been alerted to the news that Marseille are willing to sell the France international Franck Ribery for around £17 million.

Manchester City are hoping to head off Chelsea's interest in Micah Richards beyond the transfer window but have reluctantly accepted that the defender will leave at some point this year.

Richards does not intend to force the issue but it has become apparent that he wants to move to Stamford Bridge and his transfer now seems to be only a question of timing and finance.

City, however, increasingly frustrated by growing speculation of an imminent deal, have reacted aggressively to the latest round of newspaper stories, with the manager, Stuart Pearce, describing as "lies" reports that there has been contact from Chelsea.

John Wardle, City's chairman, has spoken to Peter Kenyon, Chelsea's chief executive, about trying to re-sign Shaun Wright-Phillips on loan, but Richards's name has apparently not been mentioned in that context.

Behind the scenes, however, City are realistic enough to accept that they cannot hold off a club with Chelsea's financial backing, and that the England international right back is bound to be attracted by a deal that could multiply his wage six times over. There is a suspicion that some of the leaks have come from the player's representative, however, and that there seems to be a concerted effort to promote a deal through the media.

Chelsea's need for defensive cover is greater than ever, with Khalid Boulahrouz's knee injury against Aston Villa on Tuesday adding to the loss of the captain John Terry, who underwent back surgery last week.

City anticipate there will be official contact in the coming days but their preference is to keep Richards until the end of the season, unless they receive an offer so high they feel they cannot turn it down. Roman Abramovich would therefore have to release another £18 million-£20 million if they are to sign the 18-year-old in this transfer window.

Uppermost in Pearce's thoughts is the fact that he can scarcely afford to lose a player of Richards' calibre at a time when Sylvain Distin may be about to sever his ties. The Frenchman is out of contract at the end of the season and has not accepted a new deal, despite City being willing to make the centre half their best-paid player with a weekly salary of about £40,000.

Distin wants closer to £50,000 and is rumoured to be attracting the interest of West Ham United.

Pearce is hoping to bring in at least two players, specifically a left-sided midfielder and a striker, but he also has a battle on his hands to keep Republic of Ireland international Stephen Ireland. The midfielder wants a better deal despite being only a peripheral first-team player and has hired Joey Barton's agent, Willie McKay, to find him another club or, failing that, to persuade City he deserves an improved contract.

Guardian Service