Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to make Mesut Ozil’s dream come true.
The Manchester United boss, having arrived back from the club’s tour of North America, will sit down with chief executive David Gill this week to finalise his transfer plans.
And he does so with Germany’s World Cup midfielder admitting he wants to play for United or Chelsea.
“There are four or five clubs in Europe that you would have to say as a player would be a dream to play for,” said the Werder Bremen star. “United and Chelsea are very much two of them.
“When you are looking at moving clubs, it’s impossible not to pay attention to United and Chelsea. I am a winner and, when I am looking for a new club, I simply look at where I can be the most successful and where I can win the most trophies.
“If you look at the recent history of United and Chelsea then it’s clear that a player can be very successful there.”
Ozil has said he wants to stay at Werder until his contract expires at the end of this season, but the German club are keen to cash in now, fearing they will lose him for nothing, and are preparing themselves for an official bid from United.
Gill has made it clear money is available for a top-class signing and Ozil, who would cost around £12m, fits the bill perfectly. And the Reds’ chief is expecting plenty of movement in the transfer market before the window shuts at the end of the month.
“With the World Cup being on, not a lot happened in June, but I think there will be more movement in August as clubs look at their squads, and I think there will be some trimming because of the squad limits being introduced,” said Gill.
“We have to name at least eight ‘home-grown’ players in a squad of 25 by September 1. It’s something we need to consider from now on when we’re looking at new players to see how they will affect the squad balance.”
Meanwhile, reports in Spain claim United could resurrect their interest in Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra after Sami Khedira’s move to the Bernabeu. The player is available for around £20m.
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