Hargreaves to complete £18m Scum switch

[Rigadon]

Both Carrick and Hargreaves are decent players but not worth £33m between them.

In fact the combined current cost of Alonso, Gerrard, Sissoko and Mascherano is £16 million, puts it into context, even wigth Mascher at £10m for arguments sake, it still shows what a waste of money they are in terms of how much was paid.

Winning the Premiership? Waste of money?

[Red Chilli]

I thought Aldo was 750k?

[Shaggy]

England midfielder Owen Hargreaves is set to complete a move to Manchester United after Bayern Munich agreed a deal, according to reports in Germany.

Hargreaves's move to the Premiership champions has been agreed according to the website of German magazine Spiegel.

The deal, believed to be worth £17million, would go through once Hargreaves signs a four-year contract.

Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer has previously admitted that the player could be sold if the price was right.

The Bundesliga giants have so far refused to grant the 26-year-old's wish to leave for Old Trafford.

And Hargreaves refused to comment on the report following the conclusion of the German Bundesliga season.

He missed Bayern's 5-2 win over Energie Cottbus because of a knee injury which means he could have already played his last game for the club after 10 years.

He has played a total of 145 league games won the Champions League with the Bavarian side in 2001.

Beckenbauer, speaking recently on German television, said: "If it is right there is an offer of 25-30m euros (£17-20m), then I would seriously consider it.

"I think the board also think this way to satisfy the needs of the player."

Hargreaves has been a long-standing United target and the player has expressed a desire to play in England.

[dww]

I think that Carrick - Hargreaves will be a great partnership in the future. Carrick was always the long term replacement for Scholes, not identical but these things rarely are. He is very capable of driving a game forward and has a good eye for a pass over the top.

Hargreaves will come in and give them a bit of bite but probably more importantly the ability to read a game at European level and to keep the ball with neat short passes.

[Joe Le Toff]

It doesnt matter who the replacement is, the day that Scholes walks out of there for good will be a devastating loss to them, and neither Carrick or Hargreaves are close to being in Scholes league.

[lfcruleus]

It doesnt matter who the replacement is, the day that Scholes walks out of there for good will be a devastating loss to them, and neither Carrick or Hargreaves are close to being in Scholes league.

Agreed, they will never score the goals scholes has over the years, I cant wait for the ginger little **** to retire, the difference between Utd this year and last year wasnt Ronaldo it was Scholes coming back.

[Shaggy]

It's £18m according to the updated report on the BBC


Manchester United are closing in on Bayern Munich's England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, BBC Sport understands.

Sources in Germany confirmed reports in a German magazine that claim a deal is "close to being done".

United will pay £18m for Hargreaves, 26, and set a record fee for a player from the Bundesliga.

Hargreaves, a long-standing target of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, will sign a four-year deal with the newly-crowned Premiership champions.

Bayern have promised to spend big following their failure to qualify for next season's Champions League, with chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ready to carry out "brutal and ruthless" changes to the team.

The German giants have struggled to keep pace with the spending power of Europe's elite, and Rummenigge and advisory board chairman Franz Beckenbauer hinted the sale of players like Hargreaves would fund their rebuilding process.

Beckenbauer said: "We'll have to invest a lot of money if we want to be at the top next year and succeed at home and abroad.

Rummenigge added: "All I can say is that there will be changes in every area of the team, some players will come and some players will go."

According to reports, Bayern will use the proceeds of Hargreaves' sale to fund a bid for Chelsea winger Arjen Robben.

Hargreaves missed Bayern's 5-2 win over Mainz because of a knee injury which means he could have already played his last game for the club after 10 years.

He has played a total of 145 league games and won the Champions League with the Bavarian side in 2001.

Beckenbauer, speaking recently on German television, said: "If it is right there is an offer of 25-30m euros (£17-20m), then I would seriously consider it.

"I think the board also think this way to satisfy the needs of the player."

Hargreaves has been a long-standing United target and the player has expressed a desire to play in England.

[Kaip]

The cost does'nt really come into it..............He's the type of player the mancs have needed the most

[wavydavy]

Hargreaves was never the terrible player he was made out to be. But it just shows how powerful the media can be when you consider that just because he was half decent in the World Cup against some pretty average opposition he was suddenly elevated into the world class bracket. I think he's ok in a Sissoko type of way but like Momo he's EXTREMELY limited as a footballer. 8 mill tops.

[tomasjj]

Is he the English Djemba Djemba?

[Rich]

Hargreaves is also going to be very important to them in Europe; it's a great addition to a very strong squad.

[wavydavy]

Is he the English Djemba Djemba?

So good they named him twice!

[der_Fuchs]

He's not a bad player, but not worth £18M. That said, every time he kicks a ball Sky TV will tell you that he is worth every penny.

[Owen20]

He's not a bad player, but not worth £18M. That said, every time he kicks a ball Sky TV will tell you that he is worth every penny.

[andyinswinton]

£18 million scares the life out of me really.

If a player like Hargreaves goes for that kinda cash, what could we end up having to stump up for Mascherano?

I do think though that this kind of improvment in the team by buying a couple of players for big money is the way forward instead of buying 5 or 6 players for comparable amounts of cash. There is no doubt that Hargreaves is too much money but Carrick was too much last season and that lot ended up with the Premiership.