It remains to be seen whether Rio Ferdinand will be fit for Manchester United’s Premier League curtain raiser against Newcastle on 16 August, but the club are set to ward off the speculation about his partner in the heart of United’s back line.
According to the Guardian, United are set to offer defensive stalwart Nemanja Vidic a two-year contract extension worth £90k per week. Vidic, who arrived from Spartak Moscow in a £7m deal in January 2006, currently has two years left on a deal that pays him £70k per week.
The 28-year-old has been linked with a move away from United on multiple occasions over the last year, and this summer, Real Madrid have been bandied about as the top potential destination. And last month, Paolo Fabbri, a Vidic representative, opened a can of doubt about the Serbian stopper’s future.
“We are waiting for Nemanja to tell us what we he wants to do,” Fabbri said. “We are waiting as it is up to him. He is concentrating on something else [the World Cup] so I guess it won’t be until after the World Cup he makes a decision on his future. We have requested some time from Manchester United to think about things and Nemanja does not want to look at things until after the World Cup. Any eventual transfer will take place only after the World Cup.”
But yesterday, Silvano Martina, Vidic’s agent, told Italian media that there’s been no contact from Real and that Vidic is looking ahead to next season with Manchester United.
“Real Madrid? So far the Spanish club has not contacted us.”
“The player is on holiday in Mallorca and he is thinking about next season with Manchester United.
“It is difficult for him to leave England even if with the market open anything can happen.”
Sir Alex Ferguson may not have had the most definitive answers when pressed about Vidic yesterday, but he did state that he believes Vidic will be at the club this season. And if United’s forthcoming contract offer is to his liking, he’ll be there for a few seasons more.
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