Man United fear Van Persie will cost 30m as Fergie rivals City and Juventus for star
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UPDATED:
22:03 GMT, 20 July 2012
Manchester United fear it could take as much as 30million to prise Robin van Persie away from Arsenal.
Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he has made a bid for Van Persie, with United ready to battle rivals Manchester City and Juventus for the 29-year-old Holland striker.
But club sources believe United will have to raise their opening offer to close to the record 30.75m it took to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham four years ago, and there is also concern that Ferguson’s chequered history with Arsene Wenger could also be a major stumbling block in any deal.
Speaking to the club’s in-house television station MUTV, Ferguson said: ‘Obviously Arsenal have given out the fact that we’ve made a bid for him. We try to keep business as close as possible to us until the moment we conclude a deal. There’s no point talking about something that might not happen.
Interest: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson arrives in Cape Town on Friday
‘There are other clubs interested in the player. We’ve shown an interest and that’s where we’re at at the moment.’
When asked about it later on Friday evening, Ferguson initially denied talking about Van Persie.
But after being informed that his comments were already on the club website he said: ‘I think Arsenal came out with a statement saying we made a bid. You know we try to do business before we announce anything and that’s what we’re going.'
Arsenal have sparked a three-way bidding war but are determined to play hardball before losing their best player.
The Dutchman’s career at Arsenal is all but over after it emerged he would not be flying out with the squad on the pre-season tour of south east Asia on Saturday.
Sportsmail understands three separate offers for Van Persie were submitted on Tuesday, with United offering in the region of 8million, Juventus 10m and City 12m — but all three offers were turned down by Arsenal chiefs, who want at least 20m for last season’s Footballer of the Year.
Which was it out Robin van Persie chats to Theo Walcott on Friday
On his way: Van Persie was all smiles in training amid his exit plans
After Van Persie’s talks with manager
Arsene Wenger broke down, Arsenal want his exit completed as quickly as
possible to give the manager enough time to bolster his strikeforce
before the transfer window shuts next month and Van Persie’s suitors are
expected to return with renewed bids in the coming days.
However, there is now serious doubt
over whether United have a realistic chance of landing the striker.
Sources close to the deal claim Ferguson is only willing to stretch to
15million – way short of Arsenal’s minimum asking price.
United feel anything over 15m would
not represent value for money, considering Van Persie turns 29 next
month, his injury record and the fact he has less than 12 months to run
on his current deal.
Juventus seem more determined to land
the striker – an option Arsenal are likely to prefer such is their
reluctance to sell their prized-asset to a Premier League rival.
The Serie A side are trying to
offload Alessandro Matri to AC Milan for around 12million to help fund
Van Persie’s arrival, while they are also using the fact Arsenal would
face a fans backlash if they were to sell to City or United as one of
their key bargaining tools.
Furthermore, as Sportsmail reported
on July 6, Juve are also willing to make Van Persie the best paid player
in their history, with a deal worth 180,000-per-week – plus a huge
signing on fee.
New man: Olivier Giroud trained with Arsenal on Friday as he settles in at the club
City manager Roberto Mancini has made
Van Persie his top summer target but despite their riches, like United,
the Etihad Stadium club are unsure about forking out 20million for Van
Persie.
Wenger is expected to speak about the
decision to omit Van Persie from the travelling squad, with the
Frenchman likely to blame the fact the forward is not fit enough to play
games after his involvement at Euro 2012.
However, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,
Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott – who all spent longer at the tournament
- are all expected to travel.
There was a a mixture of shock and inevitability within the Arsenal hierarchy yesterday as news broke of Van Persie.
Certain club staff felt Van Persie’s
recent statement confirming his intention not to sign a new contract was
merely a ploy designed by the Dutchman’s agent, Kees Vos, to prompt the
Gunners into improving their original offer of a three-year deal worth
130,000-per-week.
Wish you were here Arsenal target Fernando Llorente and his girlfriend in Ibiza
And those staff members were
yesterday coming to terms with the prospect of appearing to have lost
the battle to keep their star striker at the Emirates Stadium.
However, a number of Van Persie’s
team-mates were said to be unruffled by the news that Van Persie would
miss the trip to Asia, knowing full well the striker has every intention
of leaving the capital this summer.
It is also understood that Nicklas
Bendtner, who has been linked with Malaga, will also miss the tour as he
looks to secure his move away from the club.
Meanwhile, there is better news for Wenger with key defender Laurent Koscielny set to sign a new five year contract next week.
The France international became a key
component in the heart of the Gunners defence last season, earning him a
Euro 2012 call-up.
