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Rovers boss open to offers for Damien Duff
London, Apr 06: Blackburn Rovers boss Graeme Souness has admitted Damien Duff could leave Ewood Park this summer. The Republic of Ireland winger, who excelled at last year`s World Cup, has been repeatedly linked with Manchester United and Liverpool.
London, Apr 06: Blackburn Rovers boss Graeme Souness has admitted Damien Duff could leave Ewood Park this summer. The Republic of Ireland winger, who excelled at last year`s World Cup, has been repeatedly linked with Manchester United and Liverpool.
And Souness` latest comments will interest both Sir Alex Ferguson and Gerard Houllier. "As we speak we`ve had no offers for Damien and we don`t want any," said Souness. "But if someone came in and offered us ridiculous money we`d have to be realistic about it.
"On top of that, if the boy wanted to go, it would be very difficult for us to hold on to him. If he wanted to go and we got the right price, we`d have to be fair to him.
"Everyone wants to play at the top level and if he got the chance to play in the Champions League, it would be hard to say no," Souness told the Times newspaper.
But if Ferguson wants to buy Duff he will have to sell other players first. "It is fair to say that if Sir Alex wants to buy someone, he will have to sell someone else," Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon told BBC Radio Five Live.
"The reality is that you can only field 11 players at one time and we currently have 24 in our squad, which, along with some of our younger players, we feel is the right number.
"What we have consistently said is that we will not bring in players just to sit on the bench."
Duff`s arrival at Old Trafford could put pressure on current left-winger Ryan Giggs, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Internazionale. Turkish midfielder Nihat Kahveci is another player to have interested the Manchester club.
Former Red Devil Jordi Cruyff, now with Alaves, told the Manchester Evening News Kahveci had improved tremendously since John Toshack signed him from Turkish side Besiktas last season.
"He is unbelievably quick and shoots from everywhere. If he played alongside a big centre forward he is very good feeding off that type of player because he is so incredibly fast," said Cruyff.
Bureau Report
And Souness` latest comments will interest both Sir Alex Ferguson and Gerard Houllier. "As we speak we`ve had no offers for Damien and we don`t want any," said Souness. "But if someone came in and offered us ridiculous money we`d have to be realistic about it.
"On top of that, if the boy wanted to go, it would be very difficult for us to hold on to him. If he wanted to go and we got the right price, we`d have to be fair to him.
"Everyone wants to play at the top level and if he got the chance to play in the Champions League, it would be hard to say no," Souness told the Times newspaper.
But if Ferguson wants to buy Duff he will have to sell other players first. "It is fair to say that if Sir Alex wants to buy someone, he will have to sell someone else," Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon told BBC Radio Five Live.
"The reality is that you can only field 11 players at one time and we currently have 24 in our squad, which, along with some of our younger players, we feel is the right number.
"What we have consistently said is that we will not bring in players just to sit on the bench."
Duff`s arrival at Old Trafford could put pressure on current left-winger Ryan Giggs, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Internazionale. Turkish midfielder Nihat Kahveci is another player to have interested the Manchester club.
Former Red Devil Jordi Cruyff, now with Alaves, told the Manchester Evening News Kahveci had improved tremendously since John Toshack signed him from Turkish side Besiktas last season.
"He is unbelievably quick and shoots from everywhere. If he played alongside a big centre forward he is very good feeding off that type of player because he is so incredibly fast," said Cruyff.
Bureau Report