Fergie wants to pair Rooney with Ruud

by MATT LAWTON, Daily Mail

Last updated at 12:02 02 July 2004

Manchester United are poised to pair England sensation Wayne Rooney with Ruud van Nistelrooy in a dazzling strike partnership next season.

The club deposed by Arsenal as champions believe they can raise the cash for an audacious bid for Everton's Rooney and at the same time resist any offer for Van Nistelrooy.

That would be the dream ticket for Sir Alex Ferguson who, apart from fielding two of the leading scorers from Euro 2004, would also have Louis Saha and Alan Smith up his sleeve as he mounts an all-out assault on the Champions League and Premiership.

While it was thought Ferguson would have to sell Holland striker Van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid to finance a move for the Everton teenager, Sportsmail understands that the best-run club in world football have the financial capacity to accommodate both players.

Ferguson will still need to convince the club's plc board that Rooney is, in the words of one United source, "not another Paul Gascoigne", and the United hierarchy will not be prepared to offer whatever it takes to sign the 18-year-old England star.

An initial bid would probably be nearer £20million than £30m, not least because United also plan to fund another extension to Old Trafford.

Everton's dilemma

Such an offer might not be acceptable to Everton, especially when figures of more than £40m were being mentioned by senior Goodison Park officials during Rooney's scoring run at the European Championship.

But United have been made aware that Rooney would be very interested in a move to Manchester and now it is simply up to the respective officials to agree a deal.

However successful those negotiations prove, Van Nistelrooy now looks likely to honour the remaining four years of his contract.

He announced his desire to remain part of Ferguson's plans after leading the Dutch attack in their European Championship semi-final defeat by Portugal on Wednesday night.

In the past season or so Ferguson has employed a 4-2-3-1 formation in Europe, and while it would be impossible to accommodate all four of his strikers when he also has to find room for naturally attacking players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, there would be no shortage of excitement.

Centre-half signs

United signed Gerard Pique, a 17-year-old centre half from Barcelona, yesterday and, although he is one for the future, that adds strength to another area that will boosted by the return of Rio Ferdinand in September and last month's recruitment of Gabriel Heinze from Paris Saint-Germain for £6m.