Magpies slap £25m price tag on Dyer
Reports over the weekend claimed that the Blues' billionaire owner Roman Abramovich has sanctioned a move for Dyer or team-mate Jermaine Jenas, and with Alex Ferguson looking to replace David Beckham, the Magpies are bracing themselves.
It is understood that the Magpies have little intention of selling Dyer and none at all of allowing any club to prise Jenas, a £5m signing from Nottingham Forest as an 18-year-old, from their grasp. However, in the current climate, every player has his price, and if either Chelsea or the Premiership champions even want to get to the point of talking to Dyer, they will have to start at £25m.
"We don't want to sell Kieron Dyer and we don't have to sell him," a United source in Malaysia, where the club is taking part in the inagural FA Premier League Asia Cup, said. "But every player has his price.
"That price for Kieron Dyer is £25m, and it is only right that both Chelsea and Manchester United should know."
Dyer was among the Newcastle party which flew out to the Far East on Sunday, and they will be joined in Kuala Lumpur today by the men from Stamford Bridge.
Indeed, the Londoners will arrive to find they are staying in the same luxury hotel as United chairman Freddy Shepherd and his deputy Douglas Hall.
The Blues have been linked with a bewildering and growing number of transfer targets at increasingly astronomical fees ever since the billionaire clinched his takeover, with Glen Johnson and Geremi already on board and Damien Duff and Wayne Bridge in talks.
United are having to look elsewhere after being beaten to Ronaldinho's signature by Barcelona and have previously expressed an interest in Dyer, although the £20m-plus price they were quoted then demonstrated Newcastle's determination not to sell.
Alex Ferguson has confirmed he will look outside Old Trafford for his new assistant.
The Manchester United boss is facing the prospect of starting the season without a recognised number two following Carlos Queiroz's shock move to Real Madrid.
Mike Phelan has been operating in the role on a temporary basis, and it had been thought the former Red Devils midfielder could take the job permanently.
But Ferguson, who sprung a surprise by appointing Queiroz and his predecessor Steve McClaren when both were relatively unknown to English pundits, has indicated the candidate he is searching for is outside United's hallowed walls.
"We will bring somebody in," Ferguson said.
"I don't know how long it will take, but we are not in a hurry. Taking time has always worked in the past."
Ferguson will discuss the issue with chief executive Peter Kenyon over the next few days before the distractions of a new campaign start to take hold.
It won't be easy to find a replacement, given Queiroz was largely credited for the work he did on United's previously leaky defence which conceded just 34 goals on the club's way to an eighth Premiership title last May.
"Carlos going was a shock but he could not turn the job down," said Ferguson.
"I got on really well with him and I have to say he was up front about the whole Real Madrid thing." Whoever does get the job will be becoming Ferguson's fifth permanent assistant during his 17-year stint at United following on from Archie Knox, Brian Kidd, McClaren and Queiroz.
There have been calls for Kidd to get his old job back after he was dumped by Leeds although given Ferguson's withering condemnation of the former Blackburn manager in his autobiography, this seems extremely unlikely.
In the meantime, Ferguson will continue to have a more hands-on role including a heavy involvement in his side's training schedule on their current four-match tour of the United States.
With their opening clash against Celtic looming tomorrow morning and then encounters with Club America, Juventus and Barcelona to come before they head to Portugal, Cardiff and Stoke for the remainder of the pre-season programme, Ferguson admits the schedule is more hectic than usual.
"It is not normal for us to have these kind of matches at this stage," he said.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
