Keeper De Gea joins Manchester United

English champions Manchester United agreed a deal to sign highly-rated young goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, who helped Spain's under-21 team to win the European Championship title last weekend, passed a medical at Old Trafford on Monday and will join on a five-year contract. He follows England winger Ashley Young and under-21 defender Phil Jones in moving to the UEFA Champions League finalists in post-season transfers.

De Gea, who had long been linked with United as a replacement for the retired Edwin van der Sar, is likely to miss the start of the club's pre-season tour of the U.S. as he has been given an immediate vacation by boss Alex Ferguson. "The manager said that I should enjoy the holiday I've been afforded now, but of course I'm more excited about getting started in training and meeting my future teammates," De Gea told the club's television channel.

"Edwin has been the best goalkeeper in the world while here at United. I hope to emulate him and spend a great number of years here. Hopefully I will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution he made to the club."

De Gea is the second new goalkeeper brought in by Ferguson, with Denmark international Anders Lindegaard signing in the January transfer window. Their arrival casts some doubt on the United future of Poland international Tomasz Kuszczak, who was Dutchman van der Sar's understudy. "I am young but I'm coming here on the back of two full seasons in La Liga in Spain so I think I've got enough experience to contribute to such a big club," De Gea said. "When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you, it obviously makes you very happy. I saw their interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability."

De Gea's international teammate Thiago Alcantara, who scored Spain's second goal in the final against Switzerland, has signed a new two-year contract with European champions Barcelona. The 20-year-old is now tied to the Spanish league winners until mid-2015. Spanish club Racing Santander have appointed Hector Cuper as coach to replace Marcelino Garcia Toral, who left to join Sevilla last month. The 55-year-old Argentine has previously coached Valencia, guiding the La Liga club to Champions League finals in 2001 and 2001, and Italy's Inter Milan.

United's Premier League rivals Sunderland have signed England under-21 international striker Connor Wickham from second division club Ipswich for $12.8 million in a deal that could potentially be worth $19 million.

Wickham, 18, has agreed a four-year contract after being linked with moves to bigger clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. French champions Lille have signed defender David Rozehnal after the Czech Republic international impressed on loan from German side Hamburg last season.

Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has also joined on a three-year deal from Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv. Lille had already brought in strikers Dimitri Payet and Ronny Rodelin plus defender Marko Basa since winning a domestic double. Ivory Coast international center-back Abdoulaye Meite has joined promoted French club Dijon on a three-year contract after leaving English side West Brom.

On a busy day for French clubs, Toulouse signed Turkey international striker Umut Bulut on a three-year deal from Turkish club Trabzonspor, while Sochaux loaned defender Steven Mouyokolo from England's Wolverhampton. Italian club Fiorentina announced on Wednesday that Brazilian defender Romulo Caldeira will join once the 24-year-old has passed a medical, while Serbia under-21 defender Matija Nastasic is also expected to sign.

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Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier defends team selection: Ashley Young or Stewart Downing would not have prevented Manchester City’s first goal

Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier defended his team selection after seeing his side beaten 3-0 by Manchester City to exit the FA Cup. Villa started the game with Stewart Downing and Ashley Young both on the bench and several youngsters in the starting XI, but Houllier pointed to a number of international players to justify his selection.

“I started the game with three players up front, three internationals," Houllier told reporters. "Nathan Delfouneso is an international under-21 and he will probably play the tournament in June, Emile Heskey went to the World Cup, and he’s one of our top goalscorers when he was international until last summer and Gabriel Agbonlahor had been selected by Fabio Capello for the last game against Denmark.

The Frenchman also thought that his side played better than the 3-0 scoreline seemed to suggest, but pointed to City’s clinical finishing as the difference between the two sides.

“We have quality in the squad, we have an important game also against Bolton," Houllier added.

"But I don’t think it would have changed anything because we conceded a very cheap goal very quickly and after that for 15 minutes the team were a bit shaky, thinking about what happened last December here, but apart from the two goals I don’t think Brad Friedel had much work to do.

“We were beaten by a team that is better than us at the moment and was probably ruthless in terms of goal opportunities.”Houllier also suggested that more established first team stars may not have been able to overturn City, even if he thought the scoreline did flatter Roberto Mancini’s side slightly.

"I don't think Ashley Young or Stuart Downing would have avoided the first goal, which was very unfortunate," Houllier insisted. "After being down to 1-0 it was difficult.""I don't think we had a bad game. "I admit that we didn't hurt them enough [but] the score is very flattering for them."

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Mick McCarthy hopes win over Manchester United will silence survival doubters

Mick McCarthy is full of pride after his side’s heroics in sending Manchester United crashing to their first defeat of the season and the Wolves boss insists his side's place in the Premier League does not reflect their performances.

Suffering a last-gasp defeat at Bolton in midweek, McCarthy was left fielding questions on how he would raise his shattered side for the visit of a side yet to taste defeat.

McCarthy told the club’s official website: "I am very proud of the lads but I always am for the way they go about their job. "I was on Wednesday night as well even though we made a rick which cost us the game.
"I get a little bit tired of people asking about team spirit and morale and having to lift them up but again this performance shows everyone the character in the squad.

"My teams are built on team spirit but we've a bit more quality than just that.”In his 100th game as a Premier League manager, McCarthy watched his side fall behind to an early Nani strike before stunning United with two goals before the interval.

"We'd started great and with a good tempo and could have been 1-0 up but then Nani showed a bit of brilliance,” he added. "I guess a lot of teams may have capitulated especially after the disappointment in the week but it speaks volumes for the players to be honest."

George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle both headed home from set-pieces prior to the interval and set up a second-half in which Wolves defended doggedly to clinch their first win in four and their first victory over United since 2004.

"We've played well this season and perhaps not had the results we deserve,” added McCarthy.

"I always thought it was going to be a season of trials and tribulations and never for one minute thought it would be plain sailing and happy every weekend.

"But Saturdays like this make up for the disappointment from Wednesday."McCarthy who is 52 on Monday, also moved to praise defender Ronald Zubar who came under-fire on Wednesday for a poorly hit back pass which gifted Daniel Sturridge a debut goal and Bolton a 94th minute victory.

"I trusted him and picked him because I know what he is all about," said McCarthy. "You have to show faith in players and don't just leave him out for one aberration. "And what a terrific response from him after - I'm thrilled for him - we all love him and he's a terrific guy.”

Wolves now face a trip to the Emirates next week but will have one eye on tomorrow’s relegation six-pointer between West Ham and Birmingham, sides who accompany Wolves in the dreaded drop zone.

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Manchester United’s Amos Hoping For Carling Cup Chance

Twenty-year-old Ben Amos is hoping for another chance between the sticks as Manchester United take on West Ham at Upton Park on Tuesday. The Cheshire-born stopper made his first appearance of the season – and his second for United in competitive games – when he played in goal for the Red Devils in their 3-2 win over Wolves in the Carling Cup fourth round last month. Amos spent some time on loan at Molde in the Norwegian League over the summer, making eight appearances, and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared at the start of the season that he would be the side’s third-choice keeper after Edwin van der Sar and Tomas Kuszczak. But while he admits that he looks on enviously at players younger than him playing more regularly in the first-team he says he realises that he needs to be patient.

“The next game is always a target for me,” he told the club’s official website. “They don’t come round too often being the number three keeper, so I’ve just got to make sure I’m ready and I’m peaking when those games come around.

“The patience helps when you know goalkeepers have a longer career; look at Edwin and how he’s still playing now.”Amos admits that training with someone much older than himself like the 40-year-old van der Sar was rather like training with your father although he admits the Dutchman is always keen to pass on advice.

“I’ve said a few times that it is a little bit like training with your dad, yeah. I don’t think he’ll appreciate that, but he’s great. I’m chewing at his ear all the time, trying to get bits of advice. He’s very open and he says what he thinks, so it’s great.

“He’s a good role model because of his presence.”Amos is hoping to make an appearance in tonight’s game at Upton Park but says he isn’t phased by the prospect of playing away in a hostile atmosphere. “Any game in the first team is a game in the first team, so that’s how I approach it. Whether it’s Old Trafford or not, it’s not really an issue. The atmosphere is something you’ve got to handle. I can’t see it being a problem to me personally at all.”

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Rangers v Manchester United: Dimitar Berbatov's lack of goals is my fault, says Sir Alex Ferguson

United’s £30.75 million record buy hasn’t scored since a hat-trick against Liverpool in September, and he was dropped for last Saturday’s Premier League match against Wigan. However, Berbatov is likely to start up front with Rooney against Rangers at Ibrox tonight, and Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News: "In fairness to Dimitar’s situation we have been changing the strikers quite a lot recently. I think I have to accept the responsibility for changing it too much. "Now we are going to have to be looking at getting consistency of performance.

"We have a lot of good young striker options who have played in a lot of games recently, but hopefully we can get Wayne back to his best and Dimitar is suited to playing with Wayne."Ferguson wants Rooney to treat his return to the United starting line-up tonight in the Champions League just like his first game of the season.

Aside from a couple of decent performances for England, Rooney endured a tepid start to the campaign, failing to score a goal in open play in a period that included some lurid allegations about his private life. Then came the mad week when it appeared the 25 year-old was intent on leaving Old Trafford before eventually signing a five-year deal, having been cut down by an ankle injury in the middle of all the furore.

Now, after a brief break in Dubai, another week's intensive conditioning work in Oregon and some time spent working at the Carrington training ground, Rooney is ready to face Rangers and show the world all his talent still remains. "Absolutely," agreed Ferguson, when asked if Rooney should regard it as a fresh start. "There is no question about that. "His fitness is good and maybe it will take two or three games but they will help to get him back as quick as we can. "But this is a high profile match, on a terrific pitch, in a great stadium with a terrific atmosphere. All the signs are plus ones, particularly for a player of Wayne's ability."

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Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester City will continue to splash the cash in the transfer market until they secure some silverware

The Eastlands outfit have invested vast sums in an attempt to bring success ever since Sheikh Mansour completed his takeover of the club in the summer of 2008. And while their star-studded squad is the envy of many in the Premier League, both Mark Hughes and Roberto Mancini have, as yet, been unable to secure any tangible reward despite the massive outlay.

The last piece of major silverware lifted by the blue half of Manchester was the 1976 League Cup, a fact which United supporters take great delight in reminding their rivals of, particularly with one famous banner at Old Trafford. United make the trip across Manchester to Eastlands on Wednesday evening trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by two points after an unconvincing but unbeaten season, with Mancini's men three further back having snapped a two-game losing run.
Edge

And while Ferguson believes having their neighbours in the title race adds greater spice to an already fiery fixture, he feels that the thirst for success may add to the pressure on City's shoulders. "[City's good start this season] does put an edge on [the game]," the Reds boss told Inside United. "I don't believe there's any question about that.

"We know the kind of money they're spending - they've bought another five or six players in the summer - and they'll keep doing that until they win something. "You know that's going to be the way it is and you have to deal with it as it comes along. "They're up there [challenging for the title], and you can't wait until tomorrow when there's something there today. I'm sure they're thinking that way themselves."

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Wayne Rooney contract talks to be stepped up by Manchester United as court case ends

Rooney, currently on holiday following his participation at the World Cup with England, was instead ordered to pay a 'restititional remedy' of £90,475.25 to Proactive, who had sued for unpaid commission, by Judge Brendan Hegarty QC at a hearing at Manchester Mercantile Court on Thursday.

The conclusion of the court case has removed a significant obstacle preventing United from thrashing out a new long-term contract for the 24 year-old, whose £90,000-a-week deal expires in June 2012. Although United are confident that negotiations with the player and his advisers will pass smoothly, securing last season's 34-goal top scorer to a long-term deal is regarded as crucial by manager.

Sir Alex Ferguson and the club's owners, the Glazer family. Rooney's disappointing performances at the World Cup have done little to dent his reputation as one of Europe's leading players and Ferguson expects him to rediscover his best form at Old Trafford.

Ferguson said: "I don't expect a hangover, but I think there'll still be disappointment in the lad. I think all the players coming back from the World Cup who didn't do well, who didn't reach their expectations may feel that they've missed something. But that's because the World Cup's only once every four years."

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United linked with Balotelli

The talented but temperamental teenager has been linked with a move to the Premier League this summer with City reported to have had an initial offer rejected. Inter president Massimo Moratti insisted earlier this week that Balotelli would remain at Giuseppe Meazza under new manager Rafa Benitez.

Technical director Marco Branca backed the stance of the Nerazzurri supremo, but revealed that the interest from former Inter boss Roberto Mancini was being matched from across Manchester.

Branca is quoted in The Sun as saying: "We are fortunate to have good players so it's normal big teams in Europe are thinking about them. "There is interest from Manchester United and from Manchester City in Balotelli. "But it is very early to say if there will be any business done. "Inter are in first position and we have to think about our future."

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World Cup 2010: Wayne Rooney was crushed by burden of expectation

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney's poor performance at the World Cup was principally down to the weight of expectation on the striker. The 24-year-old failed to score in four matches for England, who were eliminated in the second round after a heavy defeat by Germany.

Rooney had been widely expected to demonstrate the form for England which brought him 34 goals for Manchester United this season but never looked at his best. Ferguson has denied that Rooney was hampered by an ankle injury suffered during the run-in with United but has admitted that pressure played a part.

"There was such expectation," United's manager said. "There was talk that he was going to be the player of the tournament. Don't forget, that was the prelude to the whole thing. He was going to be the star, he was going to outshine them all: [Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo. So that level of expectation comes into it. And he's not got great experience of the World Cup really. You wait, though. In four years' time you will see a different player."

Ferguson was so concerned about Rooney's state of mind after England's dismal goalless draw with Algeria that he broke off from a holiday in France to call his player. He encouraged the striker not to be affected by a "debilitating" atmosphere in the squad and to relax. Rooney had reacted to the booing that greeted England's performance against Algeria by criticising the fans, though he swiftly apologised.

Ferguson believes the troubles afflicting Rooney were a problem for the other members of Fabio Capello's team, who reached the tournament with nine wins from 10 qualifiers. "I watched England's games and I was baffled by what I saw, too, but I wasn't totally surprised," he told SunTalk Radio. "There are a lot of factors – the burden of expectation, the fact they have been away a long time and the hard English season.

"They had an easy passage to South Africa. They qualified from a group which you'd have to say was a million to one that they wouldn't qualify ... Maybe it would have been better if England had been in a tougher group. Their build-up was huge. I feel for them because it was a burden."

Ferguson said Germany had an edge over England because of the Bundesliga's winter break and the country's tradition of success in international tournments.

"The history they've got is quite incredible," he said. "That organised mentality they have, the belief in themselves, it carries them a long way. None of the English team have any experience of playing in a semi-final at a World Cup. The German mentality is 'we are always in the semi-finals'.

"Plus the fact they get a month's rest in January, it must help. All the England team are playing in [the Premier League] so they're all affected." Ferguson is tipping Holland to win the World Cup. "They haven't played at their best yet and are in the semi-finals."

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Evans key to Manchester United's future, says Owen

Michael Owen last night tipped Jonny Evans to be a cornerstone of the Manchester United defence for years to come.

United striker Owen, battling to be fit for the new season, sees the Northern Ireland defender.

As the obvious choice to eventually succeed Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic. Evans (22) has been steadily establishing himself at Old Trafford since making his debut less.

Than three years ago. “Jonny is the future of Manchester United. Obviously Rio is in his 30s now and has.

A good few years left but Jonny has the potential to be every bit as good and commanding as Rio,” stated Owen.

“Jonny could play a full season at United and not look out of place but if he keeps improving he can be one of the key players at United for years to come.

“Jonny’s a very good player who has come up through the ranks and has been held in high regard his whole career.

“Ferdinand and Vidic are obviously top class centre halves so it says a lot for Jonny that he comes in when one of those guys is out and does so well.

“Last season we had quite a lot of injuries at centre half — we even played Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher there,” he added.

Owen made his name as a teen sensation with Liverpool and England, and is well placed to assess Roy Hodgson’s appointment as the new Anfield boss.

“Roy Hodgson has got a big job to do at Anfield but he’s been around a long time and I think he’s the right man for the job,” he said. “He will need to steady the ship as there will have been a big clear-out of staff at Anfield after Rafa Benitez’s departure.”

In recent years, Owen’s career has been blighted by injury and there were a few raised eyebrows when Sir Alex Ferguson took a punt on the striker by bringing him to Old Trafford last year.

But the 30-year-old is hoping to be fit for the start of the season after his recent setback.

“I got injured just before the end of the season and I’ve had an operation to try and fix the problem plus a bit of rehab. It looks as though I’m going to miss the first little bit of pre-season.

“I would like to think that about half way through pre-season I would be ready to play but I should be joining the rest of the team in training in the next couple of weeks. So I should be fit to start the season,” he said.

Owen, who scored that wonder goal for England against Argentina as an 18-year-old in the 1998 World Cup, was baffled by his country’s failure in South Africa, particularly Wayne Rooney’s lacklustre displays.

“I think Wayne would admit that he wasn’t at the top of his game. But as a striker you need plenty of the ball and you need good service to play well. Wayne didn’t get enough of that.

“However he got enough of the ball to play a bit better than he did but there were circumstances that meant England didn’t play well as a team. Maybe Wayne was tired or England were tired as a group, or it was down to formations, whatever.

We could look at quite a few of the players and say they didn’t perform to the best of their ability. They are top players who show that every week so we need to get to the bottom of how we can make them play as well for England as they do for their clubs,” he explained. And Owen is demanding that goalline technology be introduced in the wake of Frank Lampard’s ‘goal’ against Germany.

He added: “It’s not a question of if technology should be brought, it’s a question of when, certainly in terms of goalline technology. “Then you’d look at the (Thierry) Henry handball against the Republic of Ireland and the (Carlos) Tevez goal against Mexico and decide if we should use technology for that as well.”

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Manchester City Sign Spain’s Winger Midfielder David Silva, Yaya Toure Next

Manchester City’s buying spree just does not seem to end. They spent millions last season and brought in some big names such as Adebayor from Arsenal, Carlos Tevez from Manchester United, Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers, Kolo Toure from Arsenal, Patrick Vieira from Inter Milan and plenty more, but money does not guarantee success, atleast not instant success. That was proven when Man City could not end the season 4th, which was their target at the start.

This season, they have once again started splashing the cash and started their summer shopping with the big name signing of Spanish left winger David Silva. The Valencia man was on the radar of a number of big European clubs and no less than Man City’s neighbours and old rivals Manchester United.

Silva was an integral part of the Spain side that won the Euro Championship in 2008, but has had just one appearance in the World Cup so far. However, he is not bothered as he is excited to join Manchester City, after agreeing to a 25 million pound move from Valencia.

The left sided midfielder has signed a 5 year deal with Man City and will be heading to England once he is done with the World Cup. The deal is believed to be about 160,000 pounds worth. It certainly is a big signing for Roberto Mancini, the Man City manager, as Silva had not only been pursued by Manchester United, but Real Madrid and Chelsea were also showing immense interest in the 24 year old.

Silva, who was visibly very pleased with the move, said that first of all he is very thankful to his former club Valencia, the club’s millions of fans, and of course his teammates and team staff, as they always stood by him and helped him grow as a player and a person. He said he has enjoyed 6 fantastic years at Valencia, and will never forget the fact that Valencia discovered him as a footballer and made him into the player he is today.

He added that the time had come for him to seek a new challenge, and at Manchester City he can be part of something fantastic, as he believes that the club is on its way up and will certainly be challenging the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in the coming seasons. He said he will play for Man City with utmost commitment and determination as he has done for Valencia over the years, and will do all he can to bring trophies to the club.

He went on to say that there had been number of speculations surrounding his transfer in the British and English media, but now that he has joined Man City, all that would finally be put to rest and he would be able to concentrate on performing his best for Spain in the World Cup.

Silva’s new manager Mancini said that he has no doubt that Silva is one of the best midfielders in Europe, and would add a lot of quality and depth to his side. Mancini added that a signing like Silva would show the rest of the clubs that Man City has the power to attract big players, and it would attract further such names to the club.

The signing of Silva is expected to be followed by another big name, Yaya Toure from Barcelona, as Man City continues to splash the cash, while Jerome Boateng has already put pen to paper after agreeing to a transfer from Hamburg believed to be worth 11 million pounds.

On the other hand, Valencia would be making plans of making a few buys of their own in the transfer window. Following David Villa’s move to Barcelona, this is the 2nd big exit for them, and even though these two will leave a big void, the amount of cash they have gathered from the transfer may help them get some big names from Europe.

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Manchester United Vow to Keep Bulgarian Striker Berbatov

The chief executive of Manchester United, David Gill assured the club does not plan to sell Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov over the summer. Gill said in an interview for the British “The Independent” that keeping Berbatov, who had been the subject of many transfer speculations, is also the personal desire of the Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Gill's expectation of the summer was that "some will leave, some will come in" and "there won't be any major players leaving". Whether the definition of "major" includes the out-of-favor Michael Carrick or Luis Anderson can be debated but Gill does not envisage the club selling Berbatov, who has not fulfilled the expectations of him when he joined from Tottenham, The Independent writes.

"He (Berbatov) has three years left on his contract. It is two years plus an option for us. We spent a lot of money on him. We have no real desire to sell him. He will be there next season and Alex has been clear on that. He gets a bit of a difficult press in some respects," Gill is quoted saying.

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Pienaar alerts Manchester United and Tottenham by rejecting Everton deal

The 28-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and unless he signs a contract extension for David Moyes' side, the South African international will soon be available for free. Should Everton choose to cash in, Tottenham and Manchester United are said to be leading the chase.

Moyes is keen to keep his side together and tie down players like Pienaar to Goodison Park. However, the Daily Mail reports that Pienaar rejected an offer from Everton two weeks ago and has not heard from the club since.

Talking to the South Afircan media, he said, "Yes, I'd say the spirit of discussions was very good, but we have differing valuations, so my future isn't clear. I don't know. Everton may keep me for the last year of my deal. But they could sell me too. If they decide to sell, and the move is correct for my career, then I'll consider it. Hopefully this hasn't been my last season at Goodison. But in football, who knows?"

According to media reports earlier this month, Tottenham officials have already contacted Everton officials regarding Pienaar, while Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is said to be an admirer of the midfielder. Either side would have to part with an estimated £18 million for Pienaar's signature, according to the Daily Mail.

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Foster expected to complete £6m Birmingham switch

Ben Foster is expected to complete a £6 million move from Manchester United to Birmingham on Wednesday. A fee was agreed between the two clubs last week and Foster is expected in the Midlands on Tuesday for a medical that will seal his Old Trafford exit.

Although he began last term with high hopes of ousting Edwin van der Sar from his status as United's first-choice keeper, Foster's chance disappeared with high-profile mistakes against Manchester City and Sunderland during a two-month period at the start of the campaign when the veteran Dutchman was missing through injury.

Despite these blunders, Foster was handed successive England starts, against Belarus and Brazil, leading to an expectation he would claim a place in Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.

Instead, Ferguson kept him on the sidelines for almost the entire remainder of the season, meaning the 27-year-old was not one of the men in Capello's provisional squad when he named it last week.

After five years at United, two of which were spent on loan at Watford, Foster had accepted there was no future for him at the club, especially as Sir Alex Ferguson persuaded Van der Sar to sign another year's contract extension.As Birmingham needed a keeper once Joe Hart returned to Manchester City following his season-long loan, Blues boss Alex McLeish wasted no time in stepping in to make Foster his first signing of the summer.

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Manchester United Striker Wayne Rooney: Injury Is Frustrating, But I'll Be Fresher For The World Cup With England

Being unavailable to help Manchester United in the final stretch of their Premier League push might be frustrating, but Wayne Rooney is trying to focus on the positives primarily that he'll be fit and fresh to help England in this summer's World Cup.

The recently-crowned PFA Player of the Year has struggled for fitness since falling in a crumpled heap in the first leg of United's ultimately disappointing Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich last month, and now hopes to be back for his side's final game of the season.

The 24-year-old admits it has been a disappointing conclusion to a great season, where he has notched 34 goals in all competitions."I'm pleased to have done well in a World Cup year but it's been a difficult last couple of months injury-wise," Rooney told reporters. "I'm disappointed to have missed a couple of games over the last few weeks.

"No one likes watching football if you're a player, it's difficult knowing you can't influence the game. It's frustrating "But if there's any consolation I'll probably be fresher for the World Cup, which will be good for me." Rooney believes Fabio Capello has a good squad available to him, and hopes with the Italian's expert guidance the Three Lions can overcome the pressure and expectations in South Africa. "We have a lot of world-class players in the team and a great manager," he said. "If I get injured then so be it, there are other players there to do the job. There's a lot of hype but that's something you must live with.

"Success in South Africa would be to win the trophy. We've definitely got a good enough squad to do that. "In the qualifying games we played extremely well and were disappointed to not win all the games. "We'll prepare well for the finals and hopefully we can bring the trophy back home."

For now, the United No.10 is focusing on his side's title challenge. Chelsea lie one point ahead in the table with two games remaining, and Rooney urged United's arch-rivals Liverpool to do them a favour when they play Carlo Ancelotti's side next weekend. "I'm enjoying the title race. We need Chelsea to slip up now so hopefully Liverpool or Wigan can do us a favour," he said.

"Liverpool are a proud club with a lot of history and I'm sure they'll want to win that game as they're fighting for the Europa League. "We just have to try and win our last two games. If Liverpool or Wigan can help us out we'll be happy."

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Chelsea needs one win for title

The Premier League title will be decided on the final day after Chelsea won 2-0 at Liverpool and Manchester United defeated Sunderland 1-0 on Sunday to keep the gap between the top two to a point.

Chelsea struck first as an awful Steven Gerrard blunder set them on their way to an ultimately comfortable Anfield win that took them to 83 points and also ended Liverpool’s outside hopes of finishing fourth.

United responded as Nani’s first-half goal proved enough to get past Sunderland and take them to 82. In next Sunday’s final round of fixtures Chelsea host Wigan Athletic, who beat them last September, while United are at home to Stoke City. Chelsea’s superior goal difference of nine means that for United to retain their title they must win and hope the Londoners lose or draw.

Although Chelsea will look back on Sunday’s game as an unexpectedly easy victory, Liverpool were on top for the first half hour as Alberto Aquilani went close twice. Chelsea had shown almost nothing in attack but were then gifted a goal by Gerrard.

The England midfielder, who was on the brink of moving to Chelsea five years ago delivered a totally unnecessary long-distance back-pass that was easily intercepted by Didier Drogba. He rounded Pepe Reina with ease and rolled the ball into the empty net after 33 minutes.

The goal changed the whole atmosphere of the match and within nine minutes of the restart it was 2-0 as Frank Lampard swept in his remarkable 21st league goal of the season. Liverpool’s extra-time exertions on Thursday against Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final then kicked in as what had appeared an immensely dangerous penultimate fence for Chelsea was eventually cleared while barely breaking stride.

It was Chelsea’s first league win at Anfield since 2005 and leaves them firmly on course for the League and Cup double. They face Portsmouth at Wembley on May 15 in the final.

“We deserved to win. We did a fantastic job because there was a lot of pressure on us in this game,” said coach Carlo Ancelotti, who is set to win silverware in his first season in charge.

“Now the team is fit and in good physical condition, good mentality ahead of next week’s game. I always said the title would be decided at the end of the season.”

Lampard added: “We were at a bit of a low point a couple of months ago but we dug ourselves out of it and pushed on to be on the brink of doing the double.”

United, who had not lost to Sunderland in the league for 13 years, took a while to subdue them on Sunday before Nani drove in a nicely-angled shot after 28 minutes.

Dimitar Berbatov disappointed again, missing two great chances, while Michael Carrick had a shot cleared off the line, leaving United to survive a nervy second half as Sunderland probed for an equalizer, although without really threatening to find one.

“We missed an awful lot of chances, 1-0 is not a healthy score away from home,” United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports. “They probably felt they were comfortable but we got there though, that’s the important thing.”

Looking ahead to next Sunday and United’s bid for an unprecedented fourth successive title he added: “All we can do is win our game in front of our fans. Wigan will have a go and you never know what happens in football, it’s a crazy game. “We are clutching straws a bit but the important thing is to win our game and enjoy it in front of our fans. “If it were to happen it would be an incredible achievement, I think it won’t be done again, four in a row.”

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Wayne Rooney voted England's top player

England striker Wayne Rooney insisted he will be fit for the World Cup after being voted player of the season Sunday by his English league peers.

The Professional Footballers' Association award came a day after Manchester United manager.

Alex Ferguson said Rooney would miss the final two matches of the Premier League title run-in because of a groin injury, having just recovered from an ankle problem.

But Rooney hopes to play in the last match against Stoke, with United just a point behind leader Chelsea and the 24-year-old forward maintains he will not miss England's World Cup opener against the United States on June 12.

“The groin will be fine for the World Cup, there are no worries about that,” Rooney said. “I'm hoping to play for United in the last game of the season.”

Rooney, the first Englishman to win the PFA award since Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard in 2006, has dazzled this season after being deployed in a more central role since Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Real Madrid last June.

“It's a great feeling to win the player of the year award because it's voted for by the players,” Rooney said. “I remember coming here in 2005 and 2006 to win the young player of the year. I saw the players winning the main one and it's something I've aimed for since.”

Rooney also was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year this year, but that award went to Aston Villa midfielder James Milner. Milner has put himself in contention for England's World Cup squad with a string of strong performances as Villa stays in the hunt for the fourth Champions.

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Dimitar Berbatov Is Not Interested In Leaving Manchester United For Serie A Agent

Following recent reports suggesting Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov could be set to swap the Premier League for Serie A this summer, the player’s agent has publicly denied suggestions his client is looking for a move away from Old Trafford. “I can say that my client will remain in England with Manchester United into the next season," Emil Dantchev told Fcinternews.

Reports in Italy have suggested both Milan clubs are interested in the Bulgarian international, with Inter ready to accept a Berbatov-plus-cash offer for teenage misfit Mario Balotelli while AC Milan are ready to throw out-of-favour Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar into the bargain.

Berbatov has had to endure some heavy criticism since making his £30.5 million move from Tottenham Hotspur but despite interest from Serie A and, reportedly, Bayern Munich, the 29-year-old appears set to stay in Manchester for the time being. “Dimitar has a contract to be complied with at Manchester United and he has no reason to consider transfers to other teams. He is happy at United," Dantchev confirmed.

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Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov won't be leaving Old Trafford this summer

Dimitar Berbatov's agent insists the Manchester United striker will be staying at Old Trafford. The Bulgaria international, a £30million arrival from Tottenham two years ago, has been in Wayne Rooney's shadow for most of the season and has failed to make his mark during the England striker's absence through injury.

Berbatov, 29, has scored 12 goals this season and divides opinion among team-mates and supporters alike with some unable to see past his lack of work-rate. Others point out his touch, close control and ability to bring others into the game.

There has been talk of Berbatov heading for the exit this summer but Emil Danchev, who represents the Bulgarian, said: 'Sir Alex Ferguson has already made his opinion known on this. I do not think he has to re-affirm his confidence in him every other day. I prefer to trust Ferguson.'

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Manchester City v Manchester United: Wayne Rooney winning race to be fit for derby

Rooney surprisingly started last Wednesday's 3-2 second leg win against the Bundesliga leaders, but was removed after 53 minutes after appearing to suffer an injury to the same ankle which resulted in him hobbling away from the Allianz Arena after the first leg of the tie the previous week.

That gave rise to concerns that Rooney's rapid return to action had exacerbated the problem, a fear hardly helped by his absence from the United team for last Sunday's goalless draw at Blackburn. The England international, though, attended a light, individually-tailored session at United's Carrington training base on Monday and is being carefully monitored by the club's medical staff, but the player is thought to be confident he will be fit enough to return for the trip to Eastlands to face Roberto Mancini's in-form Manchester City.

United will be further boosted by the news that Ryan Giggs, who appeared to strain his hamstring at Ewood Park, also expects to be fit for a game Ferguson's side must win if they are to have any hope of reeling in league leaders Chelsea, though captain Rio Ferdinand, victim of a groin injury in the same game, remains a doubt after undergoing a scan on the problem yesterday.

Should Rooney suffer a setback this week, Ferguson will once again turn to the much-maligned Dimitar Berbatov to lead his line despite. It was suggested yesterday that the Scot may be prepared to draw a close to the £30.75 million signing's Old Trafford career this summer as he seeks to rebuild his side, but the Bulgarian international's agent, Emil Danchev has insisted his client's future remains very much at Old Trafford.

"There is no objective reason for his transfer other than these media attacks," said Danchev. "I neither know of any interest from any other club, nor has Manchester United said anything in that sense.

"Sir Alex has already made his opinion known on this issue. I do not think that he has to re-affirm his confidence in Mitko [Berbatov] every other day. I prefer to trust Ferguson."

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