According to a report in La Provence, Olympique de Marseille outcast Hatem Ben Arfa could be snapped up by Premier League giants Manchester United.

Ben Arfa has found pitch time very hard to come by with les Phoceens over the last year due to his inconsistent form. But Red Devils boss, Sir Alex Ferguson believes he can be the steadying hand to guide the former Olympique Lyonnais youth back on track.

Not considered a favourite of OM coach Didier Deschamps, there have been rumours for the last six months that the 22-year-old could leave the Stade Velodrome. Indeed, the Greek press appear convinced that the left-sided player could switch to Olympiacos this winter.

La Provence even stated that a meeting has taken place between Ben Arfa's representatives and the Red Devils, claims that the player's agent rejected in Saturday's L'Equipe.

"Regarding the future of Hatem, three people are involved. Hatem, Michael Ouazine and myself," explained Jean-Jacques Bertrand.

"For now, we have not established contact with any club. But do not rule out a move. Maybe OM have had contact with interested clubs."

Ferguson has long tracked the enfant terrible of the French game, echoing back to his surprising move for Girondins de Bordeaux youngster Gabriel Obertan.

Obertan seemed to stagnate in France, but his form has been rejuvenated since his move to Old Trafford. Should United swoop for Ben Arfa, their Scottish boss will hope for a similar success story.


TO ME HE IS A OTHER NANI!!!!!!

Ryan Giggs has claimed that he hasn’t “noticed much of a difference” since Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United.
The winger moved to Real Madrid in the summer, with some pundits claiming that United’s indifferent form is down to the absence of Ronaldo.
“Cristiano is one of the best players in the world but I have to be honest and say I haven’t noticed much of a difference since he left,” Giggs said in The People.
“We have never been a one-man team and we still have more or less the same group of players, with a couple of additions.
“We all knew Cristiano wanted to play for Madrid and when he got the chance he took it.
“He wasn’t a Manc and we knew one day he would leave, but there are no hard feelings - why should there be?
“He is one of the best I have ever played with and a really nice lad, but we knew Madrid was where he wanted to be one day and he got his wish, so good luck to him.”

Tottenham Hotspur's secretary John Alexander will take up the same position at Manchester United when Ken Ramsden retires at the end of the season.

Alexander, a former player with Millwall, Reading and Northampton, has been secretary at Spurs since 2000 having previously held the role at Watford. He will become only United's fifth post-war secretary once Ramsden ends his three-year tenure in May.

Alexander said: "I am honoured to be offered the chance to be the secretary at the world's biggest football club. I have a series of very hard acts to follow but I am looking forward to working with [the manager] Sir Alex [Ferguson], [the chief executive] David Gill and the team."

Gill added: "John is the perfect candidate to succeed Ken. He is a real football man with a wealth of experience in the g

Real Madrid are monitoring the development of Manchester United youngster Jonny Evans, and could be set to make a January move for the Northern Ireland international.

The 21-year old has acted as an able deputy to the first-choice duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and is highly regarded by boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

English publication The People reports that Los Blancos coach Manuel Pellegrini is looking to strengthen his central defence following a knee injury suffered by Portuguese defender Pepe, and comments that Evans is high on his list of potential replacements.

It is unlikely however that Ferguson would entertain allowing another of his first-team stars to depart for the Bernabeu, after losing the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and David Beckham in recent seasons.

Pellegrini may be forced to re-assess any move, with Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho also reported to be on the Spanish side’s transfer radar.

Carvalho made his 200th appearance for the London club yesterday, and speaking on their official website stated that he is enjoying life with the Premier League leaders.

Madrid themselves demolished Real Zaragoza 6-0 on Saturday evening, and started the match with the pairing of Ezequiel Garay and Raul Albiol in the centre of defence.


this better not be true

Football FanCast columnist Jez Howard wonders if Fergie would be wise to throw Gabriel Obertan into the 1st team on a regular basis.

You don’t need a weatherman to tell you when it is raining and you certainly don’t have to be brain of Britain to realise that tomorrow’s newspapers will be full of match reports pointing the finger at yet another United defeat and how once again the club is still suffering from the loss of our once talisman Cristiano Ronaldo.

We are not stupid as supporters and we are fully aware that the Portuguese winker has left a massive hole at the football club and not only have we missed his goals, but also the presence of a player that will put the opposition on the back foot. I think that is half the problem and teams are enjoying the opportunity to attack us and play their own game, without the fear of having to hang back. The likes of Rooney, Berbatov and Valencia are good players, but they don’t possess the same sort of threat that Ronaldo did.

That is the problem in my view and while we all hoped that this season the likes of Nani would step up and go some way to addressing the loss, he hasn’t managed to and although Giggs and Anderson have attempted to fill the slot, it is only Gabriel Obertan who has shown the signs that he is capable of causing problems down the left hand side and provide that bit of trickery and invention out wide to hurt the opposition.

I think Obertan has surprised us all this season and we didn’t expect to see the Frenchman hitting the ground running as smoothly as he actually has, therefore I ask the question as to why Fergie has resisted the temptation to start him regularly, as he certainly provides us with the midfield spark we have been desperately missing? Surely the presence of someone like Obertan who can make something out of nothing is exactly what we need at present, especially against the resolute hardworking teams like the Villa and Fulham’s of this world.

I know Fergie normally gets it right with young players and knows where and when to play them, but I think in Obertan’s case you have an exceptional talent, like the young Ronaldo was, and the way to bring the best out of him is to keep playing him and throwing him in at the deep end. This current United team is desperately craving that player in midfield that can take the game to the opposition and bring creativity and provide decent ammunition for the likes of Messrs Berbatov, Rooney and Owen. If I were Fergie I would put all my eggs in one basket with the Frenchman and see if he becomes they type of talisman that we really need at this juncture.

Should Fergie give Obertan a regular starting berth, or is Fergie right to take the softly approach with his development?