Mind Transferral

Mostly Phil Jones related stories today.

I thought I'd done quite a good job of avoiding Ryan Giggs related stories.  I've done this by avoiding the front pages of newspapers and sticking to the sports sections.  Today though, step forward The Telegraph, who have this story in their sports pages (it is on the website anyway) - "Ryan Giggs spent £30,000 on baldness treatment" Football news? Rly?  That's what I expect from The Daily Mail.

Daniel Taylor sums up the logic of the Phil Jones signing here:

At Manchester United they saw something different: someone with such a rare talent they could not allow him to join one of their rivals – even though the timing did not entirely suit.

Sir Alex Ferguson had been leaning towards waiting a year before it became apparent he could not delay any longer. Jones was already mulling over offers from Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur by the time United moved in and triggered the £16m release clause to gazump everyone.

And it annoys Liverpool and forces them to pay over the odds for Sunderland's Henderson, according to The Guardian:

The fee was one that Manchester United, Henderson's suitors when a fine start to the season earned him a place in the England team against France in November, were not prepared to pay. But Liverpool had to, as United have demonstrated by beating them to the signature of two of Kenny Dalglish and Comolli's other targets, Phil Jones and, probably, Ashley Young.

Which is always a bonus. The Telegraph spells it out a bit more, or rubs it in a bit more if you like:

Despite Liverpool manager Dalglish having a firm interest in Jones, the Anfield hierarchy’s attempt to sign the player by quietly making moves behind the scenes – designed to outfox United – proved unsuccessful with the Premier League champions able to offer Champions League football and the opportunity to work alongside Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

 The Mirror can't do the math as they speculate that the arrival of Jones means trouble for 4 players...

There seems to be some confusion over the Sunderland bid for Gibson, Brown and O'Shea with The Mirror saying the bid is only "planned" while The Independent claim the bid has been accepted:

United accepted a £12m bid – which Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has been anticipating for weeks – to part company with the three players, who include two of the longest-serving members of his squad. Ferguson's £17m move for Aston Villa's Ashley Young was also understood to be moving close to fruition late last night.

Though Brown and Gibson were ready for the move away – Brown started only four league games last season and Gibson's torrid relationship with fans forced him to remove a Twitter account he established in April – O'Shea is more reluctant and is understood to be dragging his heels. O'Shea, a far more integral part of the United set-up, started 18 Premier League games last season and may hanker for a better move. But Ferguson, who has already furnished Bruce's side with Fraizer Campbell, Kieran Richardson and Phil Bardsley, may ensure that all three of these United players depart for Wearside.

Mark Ogden in The Telegraph goes the whole hog and heralds the signing of Jones as the beginning of Sir Alex building a final great team:

...the team of 2015 is taking shape. Jones and Chris Smalling have the youth and potential to emulate the Bruce-Pallister axis of the early-1990s, De Gea could play for a decade and more, as could the Da Silva twins at full-back.

Rooney, Hernandez and Darren Fletcher still have their best years ahead of them, while Anderson now has the opportunity to live up to the hype, four years after arriving from Porto.

Antonio Valencia can look to secure the right-wing berth ahead of the unsettled Nani, whileYoung has the ability to claim the left-wing role unfilled at United since age forced Giggs to move into the centre of midfield.

By common consensus, Ferguson has already built three great teams at Old Trafford. He might have left the stage by the time his fourth emulates its glorious predecessors, but the legacy appears to have been secured.