Saviola – from Barcelona to Manchester United, via Arsenal?

Do you think that Saviola would fancy a move to Manchester United?

Arsene Wenger’s has said recently that despite all the reports linking Arsenal to Saviola (including Saviola’s agent himself), the club is not interested in bringing in another striker.

“We have Ljungberg, Reyes, Van Persie, Henry, Adebayor, Walcott, Lupoli, Bendtner and Aliadiere. So where do I put all the strikers?”

Of this list, Ljunberg plays on the wings and that leaves Arsenal with Henry, van Persie, Reyes and Adebayor as the recognised strikers in the side. On that account Arsenal don’t need Saviola especially considering that even if Reyes leaves, they have Walcott as backup.

Could it be that Arsenal are now making the hard choice between buying a defender and buying a midfielder? They have always run a tight ship and like Manchester United (although for different reasons) Arsenal may be short on transfer funds as well. They could sell Ashley Cole but that aside, Arsenal need a defender and a central midfielder and they might not have the money for both.

For Saviola (whose agent is in England and in negotiations with the reps of Bolton and Newcastle), his options are limited. He has no shortage of suitors but would prefer playing in a club that offers him Champions League football, and with that in mind Liverpool and Manchester United are the two names that crop up immediately. Manchester United are due to dispose of Ruud today, leaving them 10 mil richer and a striker short.

Will Manchester United go for Torres, as it is widely rumoured and expected, or will they surprise everyone and try to sign a young and extremely talented striker for a bargain price? Barcelona bought Saviola for 15 mil, but with one year of his contract left and Barca keen to sell him, United will only have to offer the chance of playing in Europe and to match whatever outrageous deals that other clubs offer. There’s a chance that Newcastle may try to throw money at Saviola but 1) they may not have that much money and 2) Saviola may not want to go there.

Saviola’s agent has said that he wants to resolve the issue before the pre-season starts next Monday. Maybe this is why the Ruud deal was pushed through so quickly?

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