Gothenburg trailing United's forgotten man

IFK Gothenburg are interested in taking Manchester United's forgotten man Jesper Blomqvist back to Sweden.

Roger Gustafsson, the Gothenburg coach, admitted he was very keen on signing the Swedish international.

Blomqvist, whose contract with the Premiership leaders expires at the end of June, is back in his home country for rehabilitation on a knee injury.

Gustafsson told Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet: "We are very interested, as Blomqvist's future at Manchester United is in doubt."

The 26-year-old left-sided midfielder joined the Premiership champions in 1998 after two seasons in Italy's Serie A with AC Milan and Parma.

Although he was effectively Ryan Giggs' deputy, Blomqvist made 24 league and seven Champions League appearances in United's 1999 treble-winning season but a knee injury has kept him out of the side since summer 1999.

"If he can't play before his contract expires then Manchester United will probably not extend it," said Gustafsson. "In which case obviously we're very interested.

"I think we're a very good alternative for him.

"I talk quite often to Jesper. He knows that we want him to come back to us when he returns to Sweden."

When asked if the move could become reality, Gustafsson added: "It's impossible to say. The most important thing for Jesper is that he gets back to fitness. Then he will decide."