Respected source claims Ferguson is planning bid for the Spanish hotshot

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The Rumour

David Villa`s dream of signing for either Real Madrid or Barcelona appears to be slipping away from him. Madrid`s pursuit of the Valencia forward effectively came to an end with the signing of Karim Benzema, while Barcelona are edging closer to sealing a deal with Inter Milan for Ibrahimovic in a deal that could see Samuel Eto`o move in the opposite direction, if the Cameroon striker agrees to the switch.

Villa had come close to obtaining his dream move to one of Spain`s big two clubs, but despite the best efforts of the player and his suitors, a move has thus far failed to materialise.

David Villa was unaware of Barcelona`s agreement with Ibrahimovic – as were the Spanish international`s representatives – and his discovery, on Saturday morning, that Barcelona had effectively abandoned their pursuit of him has left him distraught.

Manchester United have been following the situation very closely and they have told Villa`s representatives that, in the next day or so, they will make an offer that they feel will be well received by both Valencia and the player. In order to satisfy Valencia, that would mean United are prepared to offer the Spanish club around €45 million, plus a salary package in the region of €8 million a year to the player.

David Villa has always insisted that he would like to remain in Spain and that he does not want to move abroad, that is, until now.

Villa`s representatives have been told that Sir Alex Ferguson`s comments that United have ended their summer spending is nothing more than an attempt to avoid becoming distracted by a summer of speculation.

The Source: (Guillem Belague)

The Analysis

Guillem Belague is one of the most well respected journalists out there and what he say’s usually has a great deal of thought and accuracy and also tends to work out to be the case. Sir Alex may well have been telling porkie pies when he said the club wouldn’t buy any more players, after all they then went and signed Diouf, but it makes sense for the Man United boss to try to protect his team from the incessant rumours that spiral out of control at this time of year.

David Villa will be gutted that a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid doesn’t appear to be forthcoming and he won’t be keen to stay at Valencia another year, especially given their failure to qualify for the Champions League and their dire financial situation which will only drag them even further from the title chase.

Fergie has money to burn and could well feel his club could do with another striker even though he has Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov to call upon as it is.

The Likelihood

Villa to Man United: Don’t bet against a last gasp bid from the Premier League title holders.

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