United could sell Giggs to Milan in swap deal for Adriano

CLOUDS still remain over Ryan Giggs’ Old Trafford future despite the tantalising reminder of his undoubted talent in the Stadio delle Alpi.

The Welshman's 40-minute cameo against Juventus included the kind of goal guaranteed to attract attention throughout the four corners of Europe.

But it is in the blue half of Milan and the red half of Manchester that the major discussions will take place and the outcome will determine whether Giggs is still with United next season.

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has already declared his intention to bid for the 29-year-old winger in the summer and Red Devils chief executive Peter Kenyon has refused to state whether any bid would be dismissed out of hand.

Rumours of a potential swap-deal involving highly-rated Brazilian striker Adriano have now surfaced and the speculation seems sure to persist until the summer, probably because Sir Alex Ferguson has yet to decide how important Giggs is to Old Trafford.

Giggs has already admitted to suffering the longest form dip of his career and before last night's stunning effort, a sizeable section of United's support was becoming increasingly frustrated at his glaring inconsistency, highlighted by the terrible FA Cup miss against Arsenal when he showed exceptional skill to beat two Gunners defenders, only to blaze his shot over when faced with an empty net.

Ferguson is never going to willingly play the media game and, so far, discussion on the possibility of Giggs leaving his only professional club has been non-existent.

However, even the manager's public comments of praise for last night's effort - "European nights have never been a problem for Ryan" raises a question mark over Ferguson's contentment with domestic nights in league and cup.

Having admonished virtually his entire squad for a collective loss of appetite after last season's barren campaign, failure to land the Premiership trophy or the Champions League will leave Ferguson with little alternative other than to administer major corrective surgery on the basis that harsh words have had little effect.

One of United's major established stars would be almost certain to depart and while recent history suggests Ferguson's relationship with David Beckham remains fractious at best, the England skipper's performances suggest he plays a more vital role than Giggs.

Then it would be down to Inter financing the right deal. For all their wealth, United are acutely aware of the downturn in transfer values and they certainly will not want a repeat of the farce which the Jaap Stam deal has become and are likely to seek a hefty up-front payment to conclude any move to an Italian side.