Man Utd must pay £55m for Aguero

Manchester United have emerged as the prime pursuers of Atletico Madrid's Argentinean wunderkind Sergio Aguero, but they have been warned that the player - dubbed the new Maradona in his homeland - will cost them at least £55m in all, according to the Daily Mail. Although that is comfortably within Sir Alex Ferguson's post-Ronaldo transfer budget, the Old Trafford hierarchy will want to knock at least £10m off the asking price for the 21-year-old striker. Chelsea had also been interested in signing Aguero...

Two of Chelsea's prime targets for summer transfers have snubbed the Londoners and are staying on the continent, reports the Daily Telegraph. Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich's wantaway French midfielder said yesterday through his agent that he wants to sign for Real Madrid, after being wooed by the club's sporting advisor and Gallic football hero Zinedine Zidane. Meanwhile Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato of AC Milan has turned down the opportunity to follow his former manager Carlo Ancelotti to west London, and has committed himself to the Italians...

Another Premier League manager has come in for free agent Michael Owen, and while Stoke may not be the most glamorous of locations, the former England player isn't fighting off the offers at the moment, reveals the Guardian. Tony Pulis, Stoke's manager, said: "I'm not sure whether Michael would want to come here right now but that situation could always change for him. I imagine there will be bigger clubs taking an interest in his availability and I can't say I have received a copy of his dossier, but that doesn't mean he will end up signing for them necessarily. It could be a deal that comes on to our radar in time and one we would be silly to turn our back on"...

Barcelona's untouchable Argentinean Lionel Messi has pleaded with his compatriot Javier Mascherano to join the European champions, despite Liverpool's unwillingness to part with the player, even for £50m they claim. "I would like him to join, who would not want to play with great players like Javier? I hope he can come here," the 22-year-old told the Sun. Messi also had a pop at La Liga rivals Real Madrid's transfer splurge in the last few weeks: "It seems that Real Madrid are building a good team - but we already have one and will see if we can continue"... ·