I’m back from Kansas City, which means I’m back to work on Stretty Stories. Today we have Sir Alex’s praising his scouts, Hargreaves facing exclusion from the squad, Defour possibly moving to United this summer, and a “snub” from a soon-to-be City player.
Ferguson: United saved millions on Javier Hernandez – The Guardian
Sir Alex has paid due credit to the scouting team that unearthed Javier Hernandez before the World Cup. The gaffer reckons that after Chicharito’s showing at the World Cup a lot of clubs would’ve been interested and the striker may have cost three times more. I couldn’t agree more. Hernandez had a fantastic World Cup and now it appears United have done a sly bit of a business by getting him for has little as they did. Sir Alex confirmed that he would like to give Chicharito a run out against the MLS All-Stars, while also saying the striker would play one half with each team against his former club Chivas.
New squad rules to keep Hargreaves sidelined? – The Daily Mail
With the Premier League’s new squad rules taking effect this season, players like Owen Hargreaves may find themselves sidelined even once healthy. It’s not sure when or if Hargreaves will play again, and that could have a lot of meaning for the midfielder. In past seasons he would’ve been cleared to play once he was fit, but now the boss will need to consider whether or not to include a player with a potential long-term injury in his squad of 25. The Daily Mail reported that Jonathan Woodgate would be left out of Redknapp’s plans due to the rule, and Hargreaves may become another high-profile casualty. If he is fit in time for the January transfer window, Hargreaves could be included in the squad. Hargreaves is obviously a concern and surely the manager will be concerned about including a player in his squad who may not be fit.
Defo is now a maybe for Utd – The Sun
You have to love The Sun’s clever titles. This story first came out last week, although we’ve been linked with Steven Defour for awhile now. Like I said last week, I’ve always expected Defour would one day play for United, I just wasn’t sure when. I certainly didn’t expect it this summer, but a summer move is beginning to seem more likely. The 22-year-old midfielder is currently with Standard Liege in Belgium and recovering from a broken foot. The injury doesn’t seem to stop the rumors though. Defour’s agent, Paul Stefani, says that if the two clubs can agree to a fee Defour may join United as early as this summer.
Balotelli snubs United to join City- The Daily Mirror
I doubt we were ever interested in Balotelli to begin with, but this headline was always an inevitability. Also, Balotelli hasn’t even officially joined City yet. I’m sure he will, most likely this week, but it’s still not a done deal. Nevertheless, ever since City began their spending spree last summer, it seems like everything is a competition between the two sides of Manchester. I’d bet money that United never ever made an offer, so Balotelli likely never had the opportunity to snub United. Including that he “snubs United” makes the story bigger than it truly is; seems like another case of the press embellishing to sell more newspapers.
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