Alex Ferguson has made a personal inquiry to Bayern Munich about the availability of Owen Hargreaves. Ferguson is aware that the England fringe player, who is out of contract in 18 months, wants to play in the Premiership.
Although United have not made what constitutes an official approach, Ferguson has spoken directly to the Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as well as the director Uli Hoeness. The Bundesliga club would be reluctant to lose one of their most reliable players but they are aware of the 23-year-old midfielder's desire to join an English club and will not stand in his way, provided a fee can be agreed.
Ferguson is under pressure to sell players before bringing anyone else in, although it is understood the United board will be flexible. The club will try to offload Kleberson in January as it has become increasingly obvious that the £5.9 million Brazilian World Cup winner will go down as one of Ferguson's more expensive mistakes in the transfer market.
United will also make Eric Djemba-Djemba available for transfer and Ferguson is looking for a defensive midfielder who could eventually succeed Roy Keane. United have been disappointed with Liam Miller's progress since he joined from Celtic in the summer.
Hargreaves, who can also play as full-back or in a wide midfield role, has all the necessary attributes even if he has seen other players move ahead of him in terms of playing for the national team. His weekly salary in Munich is around £45,000, which was a major factor in the collapse of his proposed move to Tottenham earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Darren Fletcher is determined to show Ferguson he is worthy of a place in the United first team. The midfielder has forced his way into the side on a regular basis again, and his introduction has coincided with United's current four-match winning streak.
"It's hard when you are not involved. All you can do is maintain a belief in your own ability, be patient and wait for your chance," said the 20-year-old. "I have done that; now I have to keep performing to stay in the side and hope to push on a little bit."
