In an off guard moment at Manchester United's Carrington training complex this morning, Sir Alex Ferguson refused to deny that he had an eye on Everton strikers Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling, who played major roles in destroying United at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Everton, and specifically manager David Moyes are determined that the two young stars should remain with the Blues and not go the way of Wayne Rooney, who once notoriously was a blue for life, yet seems now to be forever a red.
Moyes remains convinced that Rodwell and Gosling have a bright future at Goodison, where the youngsters would have the opportunity to flourish without getting lost in a complex rotation system, such as that adopted by Ferguson.
But the canny Scot looks unlikely to be deterred in his pursuit of the Everton pair as Manchester further consolidates its grip on the English game, with Manchester City poised to pounce with a mega-bid for Liverpool pair Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
Our contact in the Dog And Partridge pub on Chester Road told us that United's debt repayments and the precarious position of the Glazer family would be irrelevant in a proposed bid for Rodwell and Gosling.
"They'll borrow the cash off City. No probs," he said.
More as we get it.
