Sir Alex Ferguson coy over Dimitar Berbatov's Manchester United future

Dimitar Berbatov's future at Manchester United was cast into doubt by cryptic comments from Sir Alex Ferguson. Photograph: Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Sir Alex Ferguson has cast doubt over the future of Dimitar Berbatov at Manchester United after appearing to suggest that the Bulgarian could leave the club.

Ferguson made the admission after his reserve side's 8-2 defeat in a charity match against Marseille in Monaco on Tuesday evening. A French television journalist asked the United manager if Berbatov could play with Paris St-Germain, who are interested in signing the striker. "Yes," a smiling Ferguson replied. "Absolutely, no problem."

The French club are reportedly willing to pay £18-£20m, which would help United to recoup some of the £50m they have spent so far this summer on Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones.

Berbatov was United's top scorer last season and, alongside Carlos Tevez, the joint winner of the Premier League's golden boot, but Ferguson appears to have lost trust in the Bulgarian's ability to influence the more important matches. The club-record £30.75m signing from Tottenham Hotspur was not even on the substitutes' bench for the Champions League final against Barcelona in May, a decision that devastated him to the point he did not even leave the Wembley dressing rooms.

Nonetheless, Ferguson's statement represents a considerable change of direction for the champions, who have maintained all summer that Berbatov is not for sale and can still play a significant part in their attempt to win a 20th league title next season.

David Gill, the United chief executive, said at the weekend that the club had never considered moving on the Bulgarian. "Everyone has been talking about Berbatov from the outside, saying he wants to leave or that we want him to leave, but we don't want him to go. We want him to stay. He scored 20 goals last season, so there is no desire on our behalf to see him go."

Gill also said nothing sinister was to be drawn from the fact Berbatov was the only player at the club in the final year of his contract not yet to be offered an extension. "People keep telling me he's in the final year of his contract but there is an option on the club's side to extend Dimitar's contract by another year. We can do it whenever we want, there are no conditions around it and that means, in effect, he has two years to go."

It also makes Berbatov more valuable in the market if PSG, who have a £37.7m deal in place for Palermo's Javier Pastore that would smash the French transfer record, are serious about adding him to their new-look side.

Ferguson also attempted to brush off the latest speculation about Wesley Sneijder, saying it was "just all the newspapers" when he was asked about the possibility of signing the Holland international from Internazionale.

United have been trying to play down the matter for weeks, repeatedly informing reporters they are not interested in the player, but a deal is actually in place providing Sneijder agrees to lower his financial requirements.

Ferguson was quoted in one Sunday newspaper saying: "If he [Sneijder] wants to come, he must accept our contract offer. If not, we have other options in mind. We're done talking." The United manager has since denied saying such a thing but this is, in fact, the accurate and latest position.

Source :www.guardian.co.uk

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Cesc Fábregas back in training but doubts over Arsenal future remain

Cesc Fábregas has had to sit out Arsenal's pre-season fixtures so far as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. Photograph: Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images

Cesc Fábregas is back in training with Arsenal as he steps up his recovery from the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the club's pre-season fixtures but his future in north London remains in some doubt.

Arsenal's next friendly is against Benfica on Saturday, yet it is unclear whether Fábregas will fly out with Arsène Wenger's squad on Friday. The Catalan's lack of match action may mean that Wenger decides he should continue his rehabilitation at the club's London Colney training base.

Fábregas wants to move to Barcelona, with his boyhood team interested in the 24-year-old rejoining them after he departed for Arsenal in 2003, although Wenger repeatedly suggested during last weekend's Emirates Cup that Fábregas could recommit to Arsenal. Fábregas will take part in Thursday's official club photo-shoot.

Carl Jenkinson has vowed to challenge Bacary Sagna for the right-back's first-team starting berth. The 19-year-old, who signed this summer from Charlton Athletic, said: "I'd like to think I'm quite an ambitious person so I want to get into that starting XI and I want to stake my claim to be a first-team regular. It's up to me to work hard and impress whenever I can.

"Obviously there are going to be opportunities in pre-season, and in training every day so I'm looking forward to working hard and doing as well as I can in an Arsenal shirt. Bac's a really nice guy, very friendly and I'm sure it will be good for us both – him to be pushing me and me pushing him. It's always healthy in a team environment to have that competition, and hopefully we can bring the best out of each other."

Arsenal's young centre-back Kyle Bartyley has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2014.

The 20-year-old FA Youth Cup-winner made a combined 32 senior appearances on loan at Rangers and Sheffield United last season but to date has played only once for Arsenal's first team, in a Champions League tie with Olympiakos in 2009.

"If I'm honest, I don't think I was anywhere near the level to play for Arsenal last season," he told the club's website. "But I've come back, I feel really strong and I feel that I am ready now. I am a little bit different to the other centre-backs.

"I like the physical side of the game and I see myself as a leader. If Arsène decides that he wants me in the first team then that will be fantastic."

Source : www.guardian.co.uk

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Frank Lampard: England have little chance of winning 2014 World Cup

England may have been handed a favourable qualifying group for the 2014 World Cup, but Frank Lampard believes that even if the team reach the finals in Brazil they will have little chance of winning. Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine are the principal hurdles in Group H, but the England midfielder thinks that winning the trophy in the home of the five-times champions is likely to be a challenge too far.

"It will be very difficult for an English team to win it over there," said Lampard, speaking as Chelsea's pre-season tour of the Far East ended in Hong Kong. "In their own back yard, with the strongest teams in the world there, and the climate. But what a great challenge it will be for whatever team that goes over there."

The draw in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday also placed Moldova and San Marino in England's group, with the qualification matches to start in September 2012 and finish in October 2013. With Fabio Capello due to stand down after Euro 2012, a new manager will lead England. The nine European group winners will go to Brazil, while the eight best runners-up will go into two-leg play-offs in November 2013 to decide Europe's final four qualifiers.

Lampard will be 36 by the time the finals start, and while he hopes to still be involved with England then, he admits he may not be able to hold off the next generation of players. "I take every year as it comes. It will be difficult, but it's great to see young players coming through, to see the Jack Wilsheres and the Josh McEachrans getting their chances, and I'd hope to be involved for as long as possible. I'd certainly be happy if I was there, but I can't call that one."

Having previously stated that he would never voluntarily retire from the national side Lampard, who has battled injuries in recent seasons, appeared to leave that option open. "It is my sentiment [not to retire], but you don't know, do you? There may be a time when, maybe for your own benefit and your own career as a player, you feel you have to come out of it like Paul Scholes did [and retire]. So whether that's ever an option I don't know, but at the minute I want to give everything, and I want to give it on all fronts. I can't say what will happen in the future."

The England delegation endured high tension towards the end of the draw, as England and Spain were the final two teams to be drawn, meaning one of them would be placed in Group I with France. The retired Brazilian Ronaldo brought respite to England by delivering them into Group H, leaving the reigning world champions to face the winners from 1998.

Laurent Blanc, France's head coach, expressed his dismay that they had been seeded in Pot 2 after group-stage exits at the most recent World Cup and European Championship. "I don't understand why France is in the second group," he said. "Why are Greece, Norway and Croatia ranked higher?"

Finland, Georgia and Belarus make up Group I, the only pool with five teams, and Blanc said Spain's strengths would not be a surprise. "Spain is the world champion. Barcelona won the Champions League. I know everything about them but the qualifiers start after 2012. I've got time to improve my team."

Wales were the first team to be drawn in the European section and they were soon joined in a difficult-looking Group A by Scotland, Serbia, Croatia, Belgium and Macedonia. Gary Speed, the Wales manager, was in Rio and said afterwards: "I'm happy to have got another home nation side. It adds to the interest and we know their strengths having played against them in May [in the Carling Nations Cup]."

Scotland's manager, Craig Levein, who stayed at home, was also looking at the positives. "The draw could have been a lot worse and with every draw like this there will be a lot of homework to be done on our opposition. I am not going to try and make predictions at this early stage."

Northern Ireland face a daunting task in Group F, with Portugal, Russia, Israel, Azerbaijan and Luxembourg, while the Republic of Ireland are also in a tough group, with Germany, Sweden, Austria, the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan.

The draw took place at the Marina da Glória against the background of a barely concealed spat between Ricardo Teixeira, the head of the Brazilian football federation and the World Cup organising committee, and Pele.

Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, appointed Pele as an honorary World Cup ambassador to ensure the world's most famous player was not excluded from the tournament in his own country. Asked on Friday why he was only involved at a late stage, Pele said "I would not go to a party I was not invited to", although the organising committee released a statement later claiming that he had been invited in April but declined by email.

source : guardian.co.uk

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Magnificent England destroy India's resistance to take second Test

England's five-wicket hero Tim Bresnan, right, celebrates taking the wicket of Harbhajan Singh with Kevin Pietersen. Photograph: Tom Shaw/Getty Images

India's claim to be the foremost Test match side in the world lay in tatters in Nottingham on Monday evening. Defeat, by a huge margin of 319 runs with more than a day to spare – by a country mile the most humiliating they have suffered at the hands of England – followed their 196‑run loss in the first Test at Lord's. In the aftermath of that it was said they were slow starters and would pick up the pace.

A reassessment might be in order now, for this was little short of slaughter. England, who have not lost any of eight Test series and only four of 29 matches in more than two years since Andy Flower has been in full charge of the team, lead by two matches to nil in the four‑match series and have their eyes firmly on the official No1 ranking. Only the most fervent Indian optimist, of which there are many, will believe that their team can recover from this.

England had begun the day in the ascendant, already with a lead of 379, almost certainly secure enough in itself, but added a further 103 in 19 overs in the morning, with Tim Bresnan making 90, thus setting India a notional 478 to win. They did not have a chance, for the new ball has proved dangerous throughout the game and England had the extra pace to exploit it. Inside 26 overs, two of the galácticos were gone for single figures, Rahul Dravid to Stuart Broad and VVS Laxman castled by an irresistible delivery from Jimmy Anderson and India were 55 for six, with Bresnan, the indefatigable Yorkie dreadnought, bustling in on Yorkshire Day, having dismissed the India captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, first ball to stand on the verge of following Broad with the second hat‑trick of the match. It did not happen but Bresnan still managed to take five for 48, his best Test figures, and with his robust batting ensured that a few cats have been set among the selectorial pigeons when it comes to the third Test in Birmingham which begins a week on Wednesday.

Bresnan has now played eight Tests and won them all, a 100% record bettered in the game's history only by the West Indian Eldine Baptiste, who played in 10 winning sides.

Only Sachin Tendulkar, batting flawlessly for two and a quarter hours while things tumbled around him, showed the technique and resolve to cope. But having made 56 he misjudged Anderson and was lbw offering no shot, the seventh time that the bowler has dismissed Tendulkar, just one behind the eight of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Beyond that Harbhajan Singh, in the middle of Broad's hat‑trick and preventing Bresnan's on Monday, threw the bat for 46, made with such vigour at times that it raised eyebrows as to the state of the damaged stomach muscles that prevented him from bowling during the England mayhem.

India, should they need it, can console themselves with the knowledge that they have twice been beaten by a team of astonishing depth and resilience. Twice Dhoni was won an important toss this series and put England under pressure and twice England have responded. On Friday, as the ball swung and seamed under leaden skies, they found themselves 88 for six, before Broad and the lower order rescued them. Then, on the second day, in better conditions, when Dravid's brilliance had helped take India to 267 for four, a lead already of 46, Broad conjured up his hat‑trick in a spell of five wickets at no cost. It shattered India. Thereafter, they were not in the game as England battered an inadequate attack into submission. In four innings now India have a top score of 288.

India now need desperately to regain some equilibrium but it is hard to see whence it will come. Virender Sehwag is expected to arrive in England on Tuesday but he has only one game against Northamptonshire this week in which to prepare.

The recovery of Zaheer Khan, should he get over his hamstring strain, will help but is not a game changer, and Gautam Gambhir, who in any case did not appear unusually discomfited in the nets before the game, ought to have recovered from his bruised elbow.

On the other hand, Harbhajan, taker of more than 400 Test wickets, has had such a miserable series with the ball – two for 287 thus far – that there is a strong case for him making way for the leg‑spinner Amit Mishra. On Monday, Yuvraj Singh suffered a nasty blow on his left index finger, from Bresnan, that may cause further problems. It is not just mentally that they are battered and bruised.

As with Lord's, though, England have not escaped the match entirely unscathed. The shoulder wrenched by Jonathan Trott while in the field on the second day had eased sufficiently for him to bat, and he now has a week of intensive treatment in which to get fit again with any replacement likely to be either Ravi Bopara or the new Lions captain, James Taylor, who has a chance to impress this week.

Monty Panesar would be a top‑class replacement for Graeme Swann should his injured hand not recover. But the pace bowling goes round in circles. Never give a sucker an even break, said WC Fields, but that is what Chris Tremlett's back and hamstring niggle has done with Bresnan. Anderson is the second‑ranked bowler in the world, Broad's comeback speaks for itself, and Bresnan has taken his first Test five-for and contributed 101 runs. Who would want to call that one?

Source : www.guardian.co.uk

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