Ferguson set for Duff swoop

Alex Ferguson will disembark from an uncomfortable 14-hour journey to the United States later this evening determined to wreck Damien Duff’s proposed move to Chelsea.

By the time Ferguson and his Manchester United squad land in the west coast city of Portland and make their way to the luxurious Nike training base which will be their home for the next week, word will have filtered through that their self-imposed deadline for the capture of Ronaldinho has passed without a reply.

Even worse, the Red Devils boss will learn that his major summer transfer target has flown to Barcelona in the hope of concluding a £20m move from Paris St Germain.

Having also missed out to Liverpool in the pursuit of Harry Kewell as he bids to fill the void left by David Beckham’s departure, Ferguson knows he must capture a big name to appease the fans and cannot afford to fail a third time.

And, with strong hints flying around that Duff would jump at the opportunity of an Old Trafford move, Ferguson is likely to step in and derail the Stamford Bridge switch.

That could mean Duff gets his trans-Atlantic flight after all, having been withdrawn from the Blackburn party currently training on the US east coast on Wednesday after Chelsea matched Rovers’ £17m valuation for the Irish international.

Having lodged their final bid for Ronaldinho yesterday morning, days after both Ferguson and chief executive Peter Kenyon expressed confidence that the protracted transfer saga would be completed this week, the United camp sensed all was not well when they arrived at Manchester Airport this morning.

Although no-one would talk publicly on the matter, Ferguson, Kenyon and managing director David Gill were involved in intense discussions in the departure lounge amid rumours that PSG were about to release a statement confirming the deal was dead.

That has so far not materialised and the Press Association understands PSG president Francis Graille wants to speak with Kenyon personally before his club make an official announcement.

However, that all seems irrelevant now as, with the United party in the air, Barcelona revealed that Ronaldinho will fly into the Catalan capital this evening, just one hour before the 6pm Irish time deadline the Red Devils had set for their offer to be accepted.

“We are finally in agreement and today we will close the contract with Ronaldinho’s brother,” said Juanho Castillo, press secretary to Barca vice-president Sandro Rosell.

“We are expecting the player to fly in later this evening. There will be a medical on Sunday and then the presentation on Monday.

“We are looking forward to having him here playing at the Nou Camp next season.

“His negotiators are very tough. but we are optimistic we’ll have him here. Just two days ago we thought our chances had gone.”

Ferguson will no doubt be furious that a player he had coveted so badly has spurned his advances, particularly when Graille only brought Barcelona back into the bidding in midweek when Kenyon came up with a written offer PSG say was £6m below a verbal deal which had earlier been agreed.

Even more galling is Barca’s inability to offer the 23-year-old Champions League football next term, having only scraped into the UEFA Cup following a disastrous campaign.

If that was not bad enough, Barca’s victory will be rammed down United’s throat on August 2, when the pair meet in the final game of the Old Trafford outfit’s tour in Philadelphia, a match which could prove to be one of Ronaldinho’s first for his new club.

Even if a bid for Duff succeeds, the spotlight will fall back on Juan Sebastian Veron, who will now be required to consistently reach top form as playmaker.

Talk earlier this week of a move to Chelsea has apparently been scuppered by the Argentinean’s massive wage demands and he was among the United party which is due to land at midnight BST ahead of their four-match tour.

Ferguson has named virtually a full squad for the two-week trip, which also includes sell-out clashes with Celtic, Mexican outfit Club America and Juventus.

The only absentees are French duo Fabien Barthez and Mikael Silvestre, plus new signing Eric Djemba Djemba, who have all been given extra time off following their Confederations Cup exertions last month and will link up with the United party when they head to Portugal for an August 6 friendly with Sporting Lisbon.

Wes Brown was the only injury-enforced absence as he continues his recovery from a second cruciate ligament operation, meaning Gary Neville (foot), Nicky Butt (ankle) and Rio Ferdinand (knee) had all recovered from surgery which prevented them joining the England squad at the end of last season.