Fergie eyes Porto's Raul Meireles as Ozil's alternate

Off to Man Utd?

Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly keen to sign the amazing play-maker Raul Meireles if he's unable to sign German midfielder Mesut Ozil who is as told by Alex earlier "over-priced".

Werder Bremen, Ozil's current club demands a sum of £12m which is way beyond United's expenditure limit I guess.

Manchester United has spent just under £25 million this season to bolster the squad. Chris Smalling remains the most expensive transfer for United this season at £10m with Bebe next at £7.4 and finally Mexican super genius striker Chicharito at about £6m reportedly.

This is less than 1/4 of Manchester City's lavish expenditure this year which included big signings such as Yaya Toure, Ballotelli, Silva, Barry to name a few. But the bottom line remains, do these players know how to play together or is the blind management just interested in putting down money just to challenge Manchester United.


My opinion is that Manchester City is NOWHERE near United. As Alex Ferguson said last season ,"City is an expensive club with cheap mentality" shall remain in our hearts for ever.

Mancher Citu, our Bitter rivals, are trying to match United's quality by buying awesome players, can they do any thing but fail YET again?

Alright, I think City does look a bit dangerous this season. But they can't challenge someone like United for United will eat them and not even spare the bones.

Glory Glory!

Ozil will either go to Chelsea or ManUtd

A senior Werder Bremen official has said it is increasingly likely playmaker Mesut Ozil will leave the club this summer, confirming "there is movement" over his transfer amid rumours of firm bids from Manchester United and Chelsea.

Bremen director of sport Klaus Allofs has so far refused to name the interested parties, although it is rumoured both the Premier League giants - as well as Spainsh club Barcelona - have been in contact since the German international turned down a new contract.

Ozil, 21, has publicly suggested he will leave the Bundesliga this summer but, although he is keen on a move to La Liga, Barca's financial situation suggests they will be outbid by either the Red Devils or the Blues.

Allofs told the Kreiszeitung Syke newspaper: "It is possible that there is now a bit of movement in the issue.

"But I am not running backwards and forwards to the fax machine or getting sweaty palms when I check my emails to see if maybe an offer has arrived."

Ozil is expected to command a fee of around £15million despite having just 12 months left on his current deal because he was so impressive at the recent World Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson gave a thinly-veiled hint he is tracking the midfielder in comments after Sunday's Community Shield victory over Chelsea while Carlo Ancelotti has also sung the youngster's praises in the media.

Red Devils "very close" on signing young German sensation - Mesut Ozil

While Fergie missed Manchester United's annual open day with fans, he spent the time spying on the 21-year-old German Mesut Ozil.

While more than 5,000 United supporters tried to spot their manager as United's players trained in public at Old Trafford, Ferguson was 200 miles away at Fulham's Craven Cottage to watch Ozil, who could be the biggest transfer window bargain as he only has one year left on his contract at Werder Bremen and might cost as little as £15million - half his real transfer market value.

Ferguson was reluctant to make any more signings in this window following the purchases of Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling. But with Real Madrid and Arsenal also tracking Ozil, he does not want to be left behind in the chase for a player who could light up Old Trafford for a decade.

Ozil, whose parents are Turkish, became a symbol of a 'new Germany' at the World Cup as they ripped apart their reputation for dull efficiency to hammer four goals past England and Argentina.

The exciting midfield player scored one of the goals of the tournament with a long-range shot against Ghana and set up goals against England and Argentina with his dazzling footwork.

Significantly, Ferguson also feels he possesses the big-match mentality required to cope with the pressure of expectation at Old Trafford.

The race for Ozil, who was only a substitute as Werder Bremen were beaten 5-1 by Mark Hughes's Fulham in a friendly, is now set to be one of the most competitive. Jose Mourinho, who has already signed Ozil's fellow German World Cup player Sami Khedira, wants Ozil to stand in for the injured Kaka, while Arsene Wenger sees Ozil as a perfect fit for Arsenal's pass-and-move style.

But Ferguson is in pole position, with Ozil happy to see the United manager taking such a strong personal interest as he prepared for today's Community Shield.

How soon he can sign him may depend on how Bremen fare in their Champions League qualifier against Sampdoria later this month. If they are eliminated after the second leg on August 24, they are likely to want to sell their talisman rather than lose him for nothing on a Bosman next summer