Early in the evening news had broken that Manchester United had made a bid of at least 7 mil pounds to Tottenham for Michael Carrick. While there has been no official response from Man Utd, BBC Sport has stated that Tottenham have rejected the bid out of hand (said to be 10 million pounds), with the Spurs asking for at least double that amount.
Without any clear statements from either clubs (or the player’s agent) we can’t be sure of anything, but one thing looks certain – if United have indeed made a formal bid, they will do everything they can to land Carrick. They may not be the force of three years ago with everyone looking at the Ruud van Nistelrooy situation for clues on where United is heading, but they can bid big, match his wage demands and offer him a virtually guaranteed starting position in the midfield.
United have been after Carrick for several months
Carrick is central to Tottenham’s desire to push on and play in the Champions League, and Martin Jol would do everything to prevent Carrick from leaving. Having said that, the lure of guaranteed Champions League football now (and in the future) as well as the chance to play at a big club (with due respect to the Spurs) might have a say in the final result. If Michael Carrick were to say that he wants to leave, Tottenham might be forced to accept a more reasonable transfer fee – Martin Jol has already been shopping around for midfielders all June, almost in the anticipation that Carrick would be leaving.
With the Champions League and Manchester United calling, Spurs may not have much of a choice…
If things go as expected United should be able to secure Carrick for 15 mil or less, with a possible opening now for United to get 2 midfielders for 25 mil instead of one (Diarra) as they had planned earlier. With Carrick in the team United could easily put up another 8-10 mil for an attacking midfielder such as Nolan. The issue then would be to clear out the midfield a bit as Fletcher looks less and less likely to survive at Old Trafford, and Alan Smith could be reduced to cup matches and the bench.
More as news comes through from United and Spurs.
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