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Manchester United will take Juventus midfielder Milos Krasic on-loan until the end of the season to ease the pressure on their injury hit squad, reports Italian football magazine, Calcio.

The 27 year-old Serb has grown out of favour under coach Antonio Conte this season, appearing in just 7 of the Turin giants games and will be granted permission to leave on loan in January with Manchester being his likely destination.

Several other top European clubs including AC Milan and Chelsea have been linked with a move for the right-sided midfielder but Sir Alex Ferguson has been told he can take Krasic on-loan for the remainder of the season if he steps up his interest.

Ferguson previously told of how his side wouldn’t be involved in any dealings in the January transfer window as value for money is hard to acquire when managing a big club. But following a spate of lengthy injuries to his first-team, the latest being Nemanja Vidic and Darren Fletcher , the United boss may be forced to enter the market to beef up his squad. Ferguson’s midfield has also come under fire this season for a lack of creativity and variation.

Krasic, who has a year and a half remaining on his current deal with the Old Lady, can provide United’s midfield with a different option and some added depth until the end of the season. His powerful dribbling and creative flair has led to the Serbian being compared with Juve legend Pavel Nedved.

Growing tired of warming the bench at Juve, Krasic is looking for a way out of Turin. His agent, Dejan Joksimovic, had this to say about his clients situation with the Serie A club a month ago, “His future depends on what happens at Juventus in the next months.

“If he starts playing regularly then he could stay in Italy. Otherwise, he will have to go.

Certainly he would move to a top division like the Bundesliga or the Premier League.”

Krasic’s position has failed to improve within the last month making his departure looking evermore likely. If Juve and United manage to come to a loan agreement in January, an option for a permanent deal will almost certainly be written into the contract with £15m being the expected buy-out fee.

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Article courtesy of Graham Duckworth of the Transfer Tavern

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It wasn’t until this week’s revelation that Roy Hodgson received compensation in the region of £7.3 million for being sacked by Liverpool’s new owners, Fenway Sports Group, that I acknowledged the level of expense Premier League chairmen have recently been prepared to outlay in order to remove their club’s manager. The contemporary trend of managerial pay-offs has been offset with a few cases where managers have maintained their terms of employment for longer than warranted because the price of relieving them of their position has been too costly. The benefits, other than those reaped by the deposed mangers, of this culture are not immediately obvious and despite a lack of public clarity in terms of football clubs finances, it is clear that managerial reparations have cost several fans the opportunity to enjoy new signings.

The financial damage caused by Hodgson’s departure implies that he earned £45,833 on each of his 192 days at Anfield and the former Fulham boss inflicted further pain on his old club by guiding West Brom to a 2-1 victory over Liverpool this weekend. However, Hodgson’s recently burgeoning bank account doesn’t represent the largest sum received by an ousted Premier League manager in the last three years. Chelsea parted with £12.6 million in order to jettison Luiz Felipe Scolari and his assistants in 2009, which was sandwiched in between the £3 million Sam Allardyce was awarded for leaving Newcastle in 2008 and Mark Hughes earned the same amount for being discarded by Manchester City.

In Fact, ‘Big Sam’ negotiated another £3 million pay-off when Blackburn announced his sacking last December and his aptitude for inducing widespread initial confidence and then forcing the need for an abrupt change worth millions highlights the inescapable incompetence affecting several Premier League chairmen. The evidence suggests some of the most successful managers of the current century have built their reputations on short stints at clubs and countries and the rewards they have delivered have far outweighed any subsequent negative influence.

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Jose Mourinho is generally considered to be the world’s most skilled at this type of managing and has never preserved his responsibilities at any club he has managed for longer than three years. Mourinho’s longest spell as manager was at Stamford Bridge where he guided Chelsea to 2 Premier Leagues, 2 League Cups and an FA Cup having previously led Porto to 2 Primeira Ligas, a UEFA Cup and a Champions League trophy during his two years at the Estadio do Dragao. Internazionale were the next club side to benefit from the Portugese’s charmed touch and achieved an unprecedented Italian Treble last season. Guus Hiddink embodies Mourinho’s international counterpart, having transformed the footballing foundations in Holland, South Korea, Australia and Russia with a four-month term at Chelsea yielding an FA Cup in 2009.

In my view, no manager should merit a contract any longer than two years for an international team because the nature of international competition dictates two-year schedules. Steve McClaren’s £2.5 million remuneration for failing to qualify England for Euro 2008 should have encouraged the FA to reassess their approach to managerial contracts but were unable to relieve Fabio Capello of his duties after last summer’s World Cup due to a clause inserted in his terms before the tournament invoking an immediate £6 million recompense for dismissal. If a manager’s performance is evaluated after every tournament then surely they should only be offered terms for the duration of the qualification period and the resulting competition?

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Club football provides a different framework and work-load but no chairman should feel compelled to place extortionate ‘confidence’ in a manager by offering them contracts lasting three, four or five years. It is always difficult to equate traditional employment conventions to those exercised in football but managers of any team in any league shouldn’t require more than two or three years to achieve the targets negotiated at the time of their appointment. The money Blackburn, Chelsea and Newcastle could have saved might have been used to reinvest in the playing staff – something all fans would favour. The Premier League’s wealth continues to grow in parallel to its chairmen’s incompetence but future managerial axe-wielders would do well to consider the true cost of impulsive confidence.

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To say the transfer window (so far) has been uneventful is tantamount to saying the Arctic is a bit nippy, as the majority of Premier League clubs are seemingly being careful with their finances. In some cases clubs simply have to sell before they can buy, much to the frustrations, no doubt, of many managers and supporters.

The lack of spending at the top of the Premier League has surprised many, especially given the open nature of last season’s title race. You would have thought the likes of United and Chelsea would have looked at a big outlay this summer, to ensure the also-rans remain at an arm’s length in their pursuits of the title. Only City have made substantial moves this summer, although you do feel that they may well struggle to strike a balance. This means this season’s race for the title, Champions League and Europa League places are very much as they were last year, unless we witness a major change in the transfer wind in the coming fortnight.

The media is predicting that a transfer storm is set to erupt, but it begs the question as to whether Liverpool really need to partake in some last minute shopping.

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Does Roy Hodgson really need to bring any players in before the transfer window shuts in 16 days time and if so who would you like to see him bring in?

After just two wins from 13 games and £25million worth of summer additions not making any impact on the Sunderland side, Steve Bruce was sacked by the Black Cats last week. Martin O’Neill was quickly appointed Bruce’s successor and there could be a huge change in the form at the Stadium of Light if O’Neill’s managerial history is anything to go by.

Sunderland sit just one point and one place above the relegation zone after another defeat on Sunday to relegation rivals Wolves. Bruce had failed to replace outgoing strikers Kenwyne Jones, Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan over the past year even though 12 new faces arrived at Wearside this summer. All areas of the team were added to but that failed to make a positive reaction in camp and a new era has now begun for the underachieving Black Cats.

New signings Nicklas Bendtner, Connor Wickham and Dong-Won Ji have failed to produce goals and Blackpool’s player of the year last season David Vaughan and former Birmingham City midfielder Craig Gardner have struggled to cement a place in the side. Defensively a group of Manchester United rejects seem to make up the back four and they have struggled to show any real defensive qualities up until now.

However, in O’Neill Sunderland have a top manager with an excellent record and I can see them climbing up the league significantly from now onwards. Some kind fixtures including games against Blackburn, QPR and Wigan on the horizon, I would fully expect possible maximum points from them key games.

O’Neill’s enthusiastic approach to the game and positive tactics, with out-and-out wingers and pacey strikers a tradition in his sides, along with big, powerful defences such as the one he left behind at Aston Villa.

The Black Cats’ bitter rivals Newcastle United enjoyed a superb start to their season under Alan Pardew and sat third just two weeks ago. A few bad, tough fixtures in a row and the Magpies have slipped to sixth after their 3-0 defeat at home to Chelsea on Saturday. They have scored one goal from open play in their last three games and have conceded seven. Yes they have had some tough games but there is now more pressure on them to break their winless streak at the weekend.

Pardew has some serious injury problems with Fabio Coloccini and Steven Taylor set for spells on the sidelines and Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tiote struggling to get back to full fitness. With goals perhaps drying up and defensive problems, could we see Newcastle take a tumble down the league ladder in the coming weeks.

A large, talented squad at Sunderland could start to pick up points on the road and at home with a new manager and a new mentality it seems Newcastle are unfortunate that injuries have hit at the wrong time. Sunderland’s season starts now in the eyes of O’Neill and they must begin five wins behind their rivals in the North East. Expect attendances to rise at the Stadium of Light and some positive signings in the January transfer window to affect the team immediately.

Can Sunderland catch Newcastle this season? Yes I think so, but Pardew’s team are in the driving seat. O’Neill will certainly be pushing his squad up the table but how far can they get?

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England’s international week was reasonably satisfactory. A comfortable 2-0 win against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in qualifying for Euro 2012 was followed up by a 1-1 draw with Ghana in an exciting friendly at Wembley. England manager Fabio Capello was once again making the headlines, this time the Italian responded to criticism aimed at him for his difficulty speaking English by saying “you speak about tactics, you don’t use a lot of words. I don’t have to speak about a lot of different things. Maximum 100 words.” Here is Capello at training talking to Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, Liverpool’s Andy Carroll, Manchester City’s Gareth Barry and Joleon Lescott, and Everton pair Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines. None of them look particularly enthralled, Baines in particular, but which of his 100 words of English is Capello using and what are the England players thinking?

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Aston Villa's caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald has warned Manchester City that James Milner could yet feature in his side's Europa League clash with Rapid Vienna on Thursday.

England international Milner scored in the 3-0 weekend win over West Ham and is being lined up for further Villa action, with his move to Eastlands still far from certain.

MacDonald told the Daily Mirror:"I won't be naming a Europa League squad until Tuesday or Wednesday. James is a top player and if he's available, I will consider him.

"If we were going to stop him playing then we should have stopped him playing in the Premier League.

"I think there's probably more chance of him getting an injury in a Premier League game because of the physical contact.

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"So I just think if James hasn't gone to Manchester City by the middle of the week, I'm sure he'll want to play, because he just loves playing football as you saw out there against West Ham."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is ready to take his place on the White Hart Lane bench, and looks set to return to football in his side’s game against Aston Villa on Monday.

The ageing coach underwent surgery to unblock two coronary arteries before the international break, and has not been present at Spurs’ last games against Rubin Kazan and Fulham.

However with Redknapp feeling better, first team coach Joe Jordan has admitted that the manager may be involved against Villa.

“It will depend on his conversation with the medical people, but he’s feeling good, he’s sounding good and I would think there’s a possibility he’ll be back for the Aston Villa game. Maybe he’ll pop in during the lead-up to that game, but that will depend on medical advice,” Jordan told The Telegraph.

“In our last game against Fulham I don’t think it will have done him good sitting there watching the television for the last 20 minutes.

“This time around I think he would like to be in the position where, if he’s at the stadium he will be on the bench making decisions and being involved. Against Fulham it would have been torture watching the game and not making substitutions or decisions. He will have suffered a lot more.

“He’s been in contact with people at the club, but with respect to what’s happened, we’ve left him alone and haven’t been on to him unless it was really important. The last thing he needs is for someone to be on the phone constantly so it has not been the case,” he concluded.

Tottenham will look to make it eight wins from nine games against Alex McLeish’s men, and will be buoyed on if Redknapp does return.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Paul Scholes are just an example of some of the fantastic players who have graduated through Manchester United’s terrific academy system. I wonder how the careers of the three players mentioned above would have turned out if Sir Alex Ferguson had relinquished their services at a young age. What’s your point, I hear you cry?

Well, I can reveal rumours are circulating that current United starlet Danny Welbeck has had his future cast into doubt in some of the Sunday morning papers after being linked in a potential part exchange deal with Everton’s midfield dynamo Jack Rodwell. Welbeck, who is currently on loan at The Stadium of Light, has produced some fine form for the Wearside club this season, including a goal in the 3-0 whitewash they handed out to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Would Sir Alex be willing to part company with a product of United’s renowned youth development set up at such a tender age?

Let’s not forget Sir Alex is a managerial great, and he has not got to where he is today by dispensing of talented young players who have been nurtured in harmony with the club’s ethos. However, if he sees an opportunity to capture someone of Rodwell’s ability, whom David Moyes has previously denied Everton had any intention of selling, would Fergie be willing to sacrifice Welbeck to bring Rodwell to Old Trafford?

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In an ideal world I’m sure Manchester United would like to retain the services of Welbeck, and snare the signature of Rodwell without having to yield Welbeck as a deal clincher. Furthermore, David Moyes is blessed with a great deal of experience in the transfer market and if he wanted to deter Manchester United’s pursuit of Rodwell, throwing Welbeck’s name into the equation may do the trick!

Clearly there will be divided opinion among many United fans as to whether a deal for Rodwell at the expense of Welbeck is justified. There will be those fans who don’t think Welbeck is good enough to play in Manchester United’s attack in place of Berbatov, Rooney or Hernandez. Alternatively, some fans will see a bright future for Welbeck in the famous red shirt.

Welbeck himself may have a part to play in any potential deal – if he thinks his future is going to be restricted to substitute appearances, maybe a move to Everton could be just what he feels his career needs? The other side of the coin is would Rodwell, a boyhood Everton fan, want to leave the club he evidently holds dear to his heart? That question is one only Rodwell himself can answer, but the lure of Champions League football year after year, and the exposure it would bring would be hard to resist, as Wayne Rooney’s transfer proved.

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I personally feel it will come down, as it often does in football, to a question of money. If United are set on Rodwell as a future signing they more often than not get their man. Maybe initially Everton will resist the advances towards their player, but eventually the bids will increase and so to will the pressure on Everton to sell. In addition, if United are insistent that Welbeck will not be part of the deal I would imagine they will get their way…..  after all, we are talking about a world super power within football.

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Manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that Fernando Torres is yet to pledge his future to Liverpool.

The Spain striker, who has been strongly linked with a £50million move to Chelsea this summer, has held talks with club chief executive Christian Purslow following his involvement in Spain's World Cup success.

However, new Reds boss Hodgson has yet to talk to Torres and therefore cannot categorically rule out the chance of him leaving Anfield ahead of the new season.

In recent days club captain Steven Gerrard pledged his own future, while Hodgson also completed the signing of England midfielder Joe Cole.

"Christian Purslow has been talking to Fernando Torres for the last two days so there have been lots of words. But I haven't spoken to him, no," revealed Hodgson.

"I was confident Steven Gerrard would stay with Liverpool because he is the heart and soul of the club.

"It would have been a major blow to lose him. Steven Gerrard has pretty much said he's staying and that's a big boost.

"It was a major day yesterday with the signing of Joe Cole in tandem with Gerrard saying he is staying.

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"Hopefully he will soon be followed by Fernando Torres.

"On Monday most if not all of our players who were at the World Cup will return to training and we can start getting down to some serious work."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Southampton had a brush with relegation this season, and for weeks it looked as though the coastal club would be dropping into the Championship.

However, the arrival of Mark Hughes in March made a difference as the former Stoke City boss managed to guide the team out of the bottom three.

The fixture against fellow relegation battlers Swansea City turned out to be the decider, and it was Manolo Gabbiadini who nabbed the one and only goal of the game to all but secure safety for the Saints.

In the end, the club finished the campaign just three points above the bottom three.

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The club will be hopeful that they do not see a repeat of that in the upcoming season, and some fans are already looking ahead to who their team will go up against.

Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City have already earned promotion to the top flight via the automatic spots in the second tier.

The remaining place up for grabs will be taken by either Aston Villa or Fulham, who will go head to head in the playoff final this weekend.

On Reddit, Southampton fans have been discussing who they would prefer to come into the Premier League.

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