United tracking Ben Arfa

22 December 2009 09:10
SIR Alex Ferguson will not throw money at United's defensive crisis with the manager insisting he is not in the market for any defenders when the transfer window reopens next month. But Ferguson is still expected to be active in January, with long-term target Hatem Ben Arfa once again linked with a move to Old Trafford. Ferguson still has the majority of the £80m Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo burning a hole in his pocket and has kept close tabs on a host of stars across the continent. Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko and Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer are two names he has paid particularly close attention to, while Valencia's David Villa and David Silva have been continually linked with moves to the Premier League champions. Ben Arfa, 22, has emerged as something of a surprise target after Ferguson appeared to cool on the Tunisian-born winger when he left Lyon for Marseille last year. Now he is thought to have had a change of heart after Ben Arfa fell out with Marseille coach Didier Deschamps, meaning he could be available on the cheap, at around £8m. But United's principal concern right now is the injury crisis at the back, which is threatening to derail their hopes of a fourth successive title. Defeat at Fulham was their fifth in the league this season and leaves them four points adrift of leaders Chelsea. Defensive crisis With Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Gary Neville all out of action, Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher have had to operate as emergency defenders in a run that has seen United lose two of their last three matches. The crisis has been so devastating that Ferguson was linked with a shock move for Sol Campbell, while former United academy graduate, Ryan Shawcross, at Stoke, has been identified as another possible target. But Ferguson insists he will not race into the transfer market to solve the problem. "That has not come on to the agenda," he said. "We hope that Wes Brown will be back in a week or 10 days' time, Rio Ferdinand is improving, Gary Neville is getting there and Rafael Da Silva has now started training. "We are not so bad and we are not looking at signing players." Defenders were not seen as a priority this season until United's rearguard began to drop like flies over the past two months. Instead Ferguson has been linked with goalkeepers, such as Neuer, Igor Akinfeev of CSKA Moscow and now Sebastien Frey of Fiorentina. He is also still to fill the goal-scoring void left by Ronaldo, to ease the burden on Wayne Rooney, which is why he has watched Dzeko and Villa with such interest. Who would you like to see United go for? Have your say.

Source: Manchester_EveningNews