Manchester United line up bids for Samuel Eto'o and Antonio Valencia

Manchester United are lining up a move to take Samuel Eto’o to Old Trafford as they prepare to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s impending departure.
Sir Alex Ferguson is eager to find a replacement for the Portugal forward as soon as possible and has made a firm inquiry about Eto’o. The United manager is confident of getting the Barcelona forward and knows that he needs to bolster his roster of strikers if Carlos Tévez leaves the club this summer.
Eto’o is one of Manchester City’s leading summer transfer targets, but United look like beating their rivals to the Cameroon player’s signature.
A £17 million deal for Antonio Valencia, the Wigan Athletic and Ecuador winger, is also in place and should be concluded shortly.
Eto’o, aged 28, had a fine season at Barcelona, scoring 34 goals to help his team to an unprecedented Spanish league, cup and Champions League treble. He was on target in the 2-0 victory over United in the Champions League final in Rome last month.
He has only a year remaining on his contract, but while Barcelona would like to keep him, they would prefer to cash in now rather than lose him for nothing at the end of next season.
City had offered up to £25 million for Eto’o and were prepared to make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League, but United would hope to secure a deal for less.
Ferguson’s interest in Valencia was confirmed yesterday by Dave Whelan, the Wigan owner, who said that United had monitored the player throughout the season.
The price would leave Ferguson with £63 million left over from the £80 million transfer fee paid by Real Madrid for Ronaldo, which is being delivered in annual instalments of £20 million. A spokesman for the Glazer family, United’s owners, implied yesterday that the Scot would be free to spend that money on any new players he wishes to sign.
Whelan did not speak like a man who would be obstructive in negotiations over Valencia either. “United have been in touch over Antonio for the past two or three months, actually putting cash on the table,” he said. “I think they were waiting to see if Ronaldo went to Real, which has happened, so we will sit down now.”
The sale of Ronaldo was Ferguson’s decision and not a result of the club’s enormous debt, according to a spokesman for the Glazer family. “The idea that Manchester United are motivated by a debt burden is just not true,” he said. “Cristiano Ronaldo decided, after six years, it was time to move on and the manager said, ‘OK.’ Sir Alex Ferguson is in total control of his squad. He is empowered to make whatever decisions he thinks are in the best interests of Manchester United.
“Only the paranoia of some supporters would lead you to believe the owners are not going to continue investing in the team. A substantial number of world-class players have been brought to the club in the past few years and that will still be the case.”
United, whose attacking strength could shrink farther given the uncertainty over Tévez’s future, have also been linked with Franck Ribéry and Karim Benzema, but their respective clubs are standing firm.
Uli Hoeness, the Bayern Munich general manager, says that only a “crazy” offer would tempt them to sell Ribéry, the France playmaker, while Jean-Michel Aulas, the Lyons president, claims that Benzema, the France striker, will stay at the club at least until next summer.
“We spoke a lot and it’s true that there are many clubs after him,” Aulas said. “We interrogated his agent and are not under the impression that he will leave in the short term.”
Gordon Taylor, the Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive, suggested that United might have made more effort to retain Wayne Rooney had he been in Ronaldo’s position.
“As an Englishman, if I was asked to make a choice I would have Wayne,” he said. “Although Ronaldo has become more of a team player, there was a significant individual element to the way he played. Wayne has not been far away from being one of the best players in the world for a long time.”
Source:The times