PAVEL NEDVED
Lazio midfielder Pavel Nedved has agreed to sign for Manchester United, reports the Sunday Mirror
Nedved has signed a four-year contract, according to his agent Mino Raiola, and will cost the champions a club record £18million.

"I believe United have reached an agreement with Lazio and all being well Pavel will be joining them at the end of the season," Raiola told the newspaper.

"The decision rested with the player because Lazio were always aware that Pavel would probably look for a new challenge at the end of the season."

"He has been inundated with offers, but if he does leave Lazio he has set his heart on joining United because they have made it clear they wanted to sign him," said Raiola.

Czech Republic international regular Nedved was quoted as saying: "While I have been quite settled in Rome and enjoy my football here, the challenge of playing for a club like United is far too great to turn down."

Nedved, who scored for Lazio against Arsenal in the Champions League in October, was a crucial memeber of the Lazio side that won Serie A last season under Sven Goran Eriksson.

The fee would smash the current record which is the £12.6m paid for Dwight Yorke to Aston Villa in August 1998.

RECORD BREAKING DEALS
Manchester United will be able to offer their players record-breaking wages of up to £80,000 per week from money gained from selling merchandise to the Far East.
The Sun reports that Manchester United Chief executive Peter Kenyon is spearheading a drive in China, where the Red Devils are already hugely popular, in a bid to raise extra money.

That will be used to finance deals for United’s stars, starting with Andy Cole, who will sign a new four-year deal next month.

He will be offered a basic wage of £52,000, equalling that of captain Roy Keane, but money from image rights, will push it up to a record level. Kenyon said: "Cole will be the first of five players we hope to finalise new contracts with.

"We aim to have his deal done by the end of January. A couple of the others may well be sorted out in February with the rest completed at the end of the season.

"One thing we do not want to do is allow the negotiations to get in the way of the most important part of the season in March and April. But there will be a ceiling to the wages, which we will not break. We are not going to be giving away the crown jewels."

Following Cole's negotiations, David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Dwight Yorke are expected to be offered huge new deals to keep them at Old Trafford for the rest of their careers.




www.manutd.com REWARD VETERAN DUO, URGES FERGIE

by David Allen
Sir Alex Ferguson has urged Manchester United to reward veteran stars Teddy Sheringham and Denis Irwin with extensions to their current contracts, which expire at the end of the season.

Irwin, 35, and Sheringham, a year his junior, will both be offered new contracts after enjoying Indian summers this year, with the latter pitching in with 15 goals already this season.

Ferguson is now hoping that the duo will be offered one-year contracts for next season, which will be the manager's last in charge of The Red Devils.

"I'd like them to stay on," Ferguson admitted. "I want them to stay for the experience they give us. They have got that in abundance and both have kept themselves in great physical shape.

"Fitness-wise they are both looking good and their performance levels are also good. You have to be at peak fitness to cope with the level we are playing at and the number of games we play.

"You need to be in good order and that's the case with both of them. We all know about their ability but the other things allow them to stay on longer than any other players in football.

"Time does catch up on footballers but they are both doing terrifically," added Ferguson. "I just wish they were 29!"



www.mufc.org
ALEX FERGUSON PLAYER MANAGER 2001 REVIEW


Sir Alex Ferguson, in conjunction with Anco software, has launched his own football management game for the PlayStation. Before he hid himself away with his console to plan his strategy for the next few months, the Gaffer let us have a go ourselves. As with Fergie himself, it's a stern taskmaster, but give it time and you'll be up there gripping the European Cup next to the Boss!
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