Hargreaves ponders Premiership move

Owen Hargreaves has admitted the possibility of a move to the Premiership has been weighing on his mind for a while.

The 25-year-old is seeking talks over his future with current club Bayern Munich amid intense speculation Manchester United are about to launch a big-money bid for the midfielder.

Both before and after this week’s England win over Greece, Hargreaves pointedly refused to commit his future to the Bundesliga outfit, insisting he was happy to see how his career panned out ahead of the August 31 transfer deadline.

However, while the Canadian-born star is not getting too worked up about his situation, he has acknowledged it would probably be better if his future was sorted out quickly so he could concentrate fully on his performances on the pitch.

“It has been on my mind for quite some time, but I am just trying to do the job that is being asked of me and focus on that,” he said. “The other things are not really down to me.

“On the one side, you would like to have it sorted, but so far I’m playing good football and that is the main thing.”

Hargreaves certainly did not appear too badly affected as he turned in a man-of-the-match display against the European champions, further enhancing his status as one of the key men in Steve McClaren’s squad.

It is a remarkable transformation from the days just before the World Cup, when some pundits were cruelly asking, ‘What is the point of Owen Hargreaves’.

The player, who is likely to cost United in excess of £15m (€22m) should Bayern relent from their present implacable stance that Hargreaves is not for sale, believes most of the negativity surrounding him came because he is rarely exposed to English audiences.

And, while he can understand why that should be the case, it is probably one of the factors fuelling his desire for a Premiership switch.

“You cannot please everyone in life,” he reflected. “I can understand where some people are coming from and why they have a perception about me. But a lot of people have never seen me play or know me at all.

“I just want to get my head down, work very hard and take my chance when it comes. That is what has happened to me in the past and I just hope to get a few more opportunities.”