Sir Alex Ferguson has told Jose Mourinho that no amount of money will persuade him to sell Javier Hernandez to Real Madrid.
It is understood that Mourinho is so keen to take Manchester United’s goalscoring sensation to Spain that he has personally told his friend and rival Ferguson to name his price.
However, such has been the 23-year-old Mexican’s impact at Old Trafford in his debut season that Ferguson has instructed his board to dismiss any offer from a club that has developed a habit over the last decade of coveting United’s best players.
In demand: Javier Hernandez (left) had a sensational first season at United
With Hernandez scoring 20 times during a campaign that ended with a starting berth in the Champions League Final against Barcelona at Wembley, it is no surprise that Europe’s biggest clubs are looking at a player who signed for United on relatively modest £40,000-a-week terms last summer.
It is understood that Mourinho told Ferguson he could have the likes of French forward Karim Benzema - a player the United boss has bid for in the past - or Argentinean striker Gonzalo Higuain in part-exchange for Hernandez.
Ferguson knocked the offers back flat, though, and it is likely now that United will attempt to offer Hernandez a pay hike reflective of his increased standing in the game, even though the Mexican is only a year in to his contract at Old Trafford.
On target: Hernandez scores from the spot as a hat-trick from the Mexican eased his country to a 5-0 Gold Cup win over El Salvador
As well as his stunning impact on the field, Hernandez is also proving a remarkably effective marketing tool for United. This is something else that attracts Madrid, given the signficant Latin-American contingent that follow the club.
Shirts carrying Hernandez’s nickname ‘Chicharito’ have sold more than any other in United stores around the world over the last nine months, while he is understandably doing much for the club’s profile in Central America.
Sources at United have indicated that they see the striker’s profile increasing still further in recent years while Ferguson himself simply believes that his partnership with Wayne Rooney can form the basis of his team’s attacking thrust for the years to come.
Meanwhile, so impressed has Ferguson been with Hernandez that he si also showing interest in another player from his former club Chiva, 18-year-old forward Erick Torres.
The teenager has just finished his debut season in Mexico, scoring six goals in 20 game.
No comments:
Post a Comment