Manchester United facing £20m fee for Bolton's Gary Cahill

02 October 2009 21:03
Bolton manager Gary Megson has been made aware of Cahill's emergence as a transfer target for United, but with the club facing a fight for Premier League survival, he has made it clear this week that he will not sanction any sale of the former Aston Villa centre-half during the January transfer window.[LNB]With Cahill earning international recognition with call-ups to Fabio Capello's England squad this season, however, Megson is bracing himself for a battle to retain the player's services at the end of the season.[LNB] Related ArticlesRooney may miss Moscow for birth of first childDimitar Berbatov admits to first season failureFernando Torres: I'd never play for UnitedManchester United v Sunderland: match previewComplete TV guideUnited have monitored the Sheffield-born defender closely and his progress at the Reebok since a £5 million transfer from Villa in January 2008 has led to Ferguson earmarking Cahill as a possible long-term successor to Rio Ferdinand, who will be 31 next month.[LNB]Having handed Cahill an improved four-year deal earlier this season, Bolton were able to renegotiate the player's previous contract, which included an £8 million escape clause.[LNB]That clause has now been removed and, with Everton raising £22 million from the sale of Joleon Lescott to Manchester City in August, Bolton believe that Cahill's progression to the England squad has raised his transfer value significantly.[LNB]Meanwhile, Ferguson claims that the anticipated first-team return of Owen Hargreaves later this month will provide his team with a free-kick specialist second only to Cristiano Ronaldo.[LNB]The England midfielder has impressed the United manager with his progress since returning to Old Trafford 10 days ago following rehabilitation in the United States in the wake of double knee surgery.[LNB]Ferguson said: 'Owen's physio has now left and gone back to America. He is completely under our control now and hopefully he will be back into football training soon.[LNB]'The signs are good. He has had absolutely no reaction at all from the operations. It has been a long road for the boy, but I am sure that the sacrifice to stay in America to get himself right shows there is a good determination to do well when he comes back.[LNB]'He has proved what an excellent footballer he is, but the one area that he may help us in is that, outside Ronaldo, I don't think there is a better set-piece deliverer of the ball than Owen. He is a great asset at free-kicks which you might look upon as minimal but I look at it as an added detail to a football team.[LNB]'Ronaldo could get you maybe three of four goals from free-kicks and we are searching for that at the moment. To have someone who can score from a free-kick or deliver a set-piece will be a bonus for us.'[LNB]Michael Owen is on course to be fit to face former club Liverpool at Anfield on Oct 25 after Ferguson confirmed that initial fears of a three-week groin injury lay-off proved misplaced.[LNB]He said: 'Michael's injury is not as bad we first thought. I don't think it's a three-week job or anything like that, so we expect him to be available for the Bolton game [Oct 17].[LNB]'We are pleased with that. The precaution [in taking him off against Wolfsburg] was understandable given Michael's history with the problem, but we are quite comfortable with it.'[LNB]United have secured the registration of Italian teenager Michele Fornasier. Fiorentina had lodged a complaint to Fifa over United's signing of the 16 year-old, but Fornasier was registered as a United player on Tuesday after Fifa rejected the Italian club's case. [LNB]EmailPrint .at15t_email {display:none !important;}Share|tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6256063/Manchester-United-facing-20m-fee-for-Boltons-Gary-Cahill.html';tweetmeme_style = 'compact';tweetmeme_source = 'TelegraphNews';Email|Printhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6256063/Manchester-United-facing-20m-fee-for-Boltons-Gary-Cahill.htmlTelegraphNews Man Utd 

Source: Telegraph