Van Nistelrooy - Diarra switch on the cards?
Mahamadou Diarra could be on his way to Manchester United in a part exchange deal with Ruud Van Nistelrooy, according to sportime.gr. The 25-year Mali international, who began his European career with OFI of Crete as a 16 year old before moving to Vitesse Arnhem in Holland and then Lyon, is seen by Sir Alex Ferguson as the perfect replacement for United legend Roy Keane, now at Celtic.
Sportime reports that the French champions are willing to let Diarra go for €38 million but that United believe the price to be too high and so are prepared to offer Van Nistelrooy, who has scored 150 goals for United and finished second to Thierry Henry in this year’s Premiership scoring charts, in part-exchange after his recent falling out with Ferguson. Lyon have been on the lookout for a top class forward and have been heavily linked with a bid for Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.
Bernard Lacombe, who is responsible for the majority of Lyon’s transfer activity said:
“It’s true that Lyon is interested in Van Nistelrooy. We haven’t yet contacted the United board to initiate formal talks. The financial side of the deal will be complicated unless we agree to swap some players.”
Watch this space..
