Source: Daily_Mail
Sol Campbell responds to Manchester United speculation: 'It'd be a great move for me'
[LNB]Free agent: Sol Campbell in Notts County colours[LNB]Sol Campbell has responded to speculation linking him with Manchester United by stating that any deal taking him to Old Trafford would be a 'great move'.[LNB]The 35-year-old former Arsenal, Tottenham and Portsmouth defenderhas emerged as an unlikely candidate to join the United ranks after SirAlex Ferguson's side was hit by a string of defensive injuries.[LNB]Reports have claimed free agent Campbell could beapproached by United to train with the club with a view to him beinghanded a short-term contract in the new year.[LNB]Campbell, who has been training with Arsenal in a bid to keep uphis fitness following his departure from Notts County earlier thisseason, today revealed he had not received any contact from United, butadmitted the prospect of joining the reigning three-time BarclaysPremier League champions was enticing.[LNB]"I have heard nothing officially from Manchester United, but therehave been suggestions and of course, it would be a great move for me,if it happens," he told ESPN Soccernet.[LNB]"I shall just have to wait and see if a call comes through the right channels.[LNB]"Of course I would love to play for Manchester United, but I am not counting any chickens, just waiting to see what happens.[LNB]"I am training as usual at Arsenal, and would go to train at Manchester United if I was asked." [LNB] Campbell is free to resume his playing career after ending hiscontract dispute with Coca-Cola League Two promotion hopefuls County atthe start of this month.[LNB]Campbell signed at Meadow Lane in August after being enticed tothe club by director of football and former England boss Sven-GoranEriksson - but the defender left by "mutual consent" just one game intoa lucrative five-year deal.[LNB]Linking Campbell with United is plausible enough, purely on thegrounds that Ferguson was missing eight defenders in Germany last nightfor the 3-1 win over Wolfsburg.[LNB]Of those, Nemanja Vidic is expected to return from a flu virusagainst Aston Villa on Saturday but the rest will be missing for anunspecified time.[LNB]Although Ferguson has already ruled John O'Shea and Jonny Evansout until January with leg and calf problems respectively, with up toeight games during the month to get through, every additional week isvital.[LNB]Wes Brown has a hamstring injury and has spent far too long on thesidelines in recent years to be entirely confident that any absence wasnot going to be for the long term, while the same is also true of GaryNeville, who has picked up another groin complaint.[LNB]Welltravelled: Campbell celebrates with Rio Ferdinand at the 2002World Cup[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]Rio Ferdinand's back injury has already kept him out for over amonth, with Ferguson previously indicating that it had been slow torespond to treatment.[LNB]In addition, the Da Silva twins, Rafael and Fabio, are also out ofaction at present and in any case, would hardly ease a centraldefensive crisis.[LNB]Ferguson does have Northern Ireland Under-21 international CraigCathcart, currently on loan at Watford, although whether he would placehis trust in someone so inexperienced is open to question, particularlyfor an extended period.[LNB]If Ferguson decides he needs a short-term reinforcement, it iseasy to see why Campbell might prove attractive, particularly as it isonly three years since he caused a similar surprise when he signedCeltic legend Henrik Larsson.[LNB]However, in that instance, Larsson was match fit after playing in Sweden for Helsingborg.[LNB]Despite Campbell's personal training regime the fact remains he hasnot played a Premier League game since quitting Portsmouth in thesummer and would presumably require at least a couple of matches toreach the fitness levels required at the top level.[LNB] Michael Owen sends World Cup message to England boss Fabio Capello with stunning Manchester United hat-trickWolfsburg 1 United 3: Brilliant Owen fires hat-trick as defence holds firmCampbell free to play football after concluding Notts County contract spatMANCHESTER UNITED FC
