Man Utd boss: I wanted Hargreaves in Ruud swap
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Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he would have liked Ruud van Nistelrooy to sign for Bayern Munich in order to secure a swap for Owen Hargreaves.
"We would have preferred Ruud to join Bayern because that might have helped with Owen's situation," admitted Ferguson.
"We have reached a bit of a deadlock but the boy wants to come to us, which helps and now we are trying to find a mechanism to get the deal done."
After watching Hargreaves star for England at Old Trafford in midweek, Ferguson added: "What we saw on Wednesday was not a surprise to me.
"We have known about Owen since we first came across him in Bayern's centenary match when he was only 18 or 19.
"On that night, he played on the right wing. When he played against us again he was at right-back. Now he is in a settled position, which he enjoys. He has started to mature and his performances in the World Cup emphasised that."
Although it is thought United would be willing to pay upwards of £15 million for Hargreaves, Ferguson expressed hope rather than confidence about the deal being done.
"We would have preferred Ruud to join Bayern because that might have helped with Owen's situation," admitted Ferguson.
"We have reached a bit of a deadlock but the boy wants to come to us, which helps and now we are trying to find a mechanism to get the deal done."
After watching Hargreaves star for England at Old Trafford in midweek, Ferguson added: "What we saw on Wednesday was not a surprise to me.
"We have known about Owen since we first came across him in Bayern's centenary match when he was only 18 or 19.
"On that night, he played on the right wing. When he played against us again he was at right-back. Now he is in a settled position, which he enjoys. He has started to mature and his performances in the World Cup emphasised that."
Although it is thought United would be willing to pay upwards of £15 million for Hargreaves, Ferguson expressed hope rather than confidence about the deal being done.
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