Papers: Forward on radar
12/10/2011 09:30
The Daily Mail reports...United lead £11m chase for Sporting wonderkidManchester United have confirmed they are monitoring Sporting Lisbon striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Sportsmail revealed United’s interest after they watched the Dutch striker score against Lazio in the Europa League tie on September 29. The 22-year-old only joined in the summer from Utrecht for £5.5m but is now valued at £11m after scoring six goals in his first eight games. United assistant manager Mike Phelan said: "We’ve known Van Wolfswinkel for a long time. He’s a young striker, very talented, who has developed well in the last few seasons."
All the papers feature quotes from Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre who says his club should be allowed to pursue their own international television rights deal. The £1.4billion contract, which expires in 2013, is currently shared equally between the 20 top-flight clubs. But Ayre insists his club must consider going it alone if they are not to be left in the slipstream of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
In other news, David Beckham tells The Sun he wants to make a dream return to United in a sporting director role. Pointing to former Real Madrid team-mate Zinedine Zidane's current sporting director position at the Bernabeu, Beckham says: "I'd love to do that."