Gossip: Is It Ivanovic?
Independent: The £10m rated Serbian full-back Branislav Ivanovic has emerged as a contender for the left-back berth which Sir Alex Ferguson has indicated he might want to fill in the transfer window
The United manager disclosed this week that left-back may be the only position he seeks cover for in January and sources in Serbia suggested yesterday that the presence of Nemanja Vidic in the United defence might be an enticement for his compatriot. Ivanovic has also reportedly attracted the interest of Chelsea with his performances for the Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow.
Vidic and Ivanovic have played together in the Serbia national side, though while the Lokomotiv man has played for the full side nine times, he remains a fixture as captain of the Under-21 team.
The player’s agent Marco Naletilic indicated that Ivanovic would prefer to play in England, though Internazionale, Milan and Juventus are also interested.
The 23-year-old was outstanding in this summer’s Under-21 European Championships in the Netherlands and has indicated that he might be prepared to leave Moscow. “If I were to leave Lokomotiv, I would want to join one of the biggest sides in Europe – either a team in Italy, England or Spain,” Ivanovic said this week.
Chelsea might also hold attractions for Ivanovic. Sources in Serbia also suggested that a bid from Roman Abramovich’s club for Ivanovic and his midfield team-mate Diniyar Bilyaletdinov might be on the cards. Ivanovic has a contract in Moscow that runs until 2011, so he will not come cheap, but his last contract is believed to have a release clause in it, which allows him to go for a determined price.
United have been given dispensation by the Premier League to wear a 1950s retro kit, free of logos, for what promises to be a highly emotional Manchester derby on 9 February, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.
By sheer coincidence, Manchester City’s arrival at the stadium comes three days after the anniversary of the night, on 6 February 1958, when 22 people perished as the legendary Busby Babes side returned from the second leg of their European Cup quarter-final against Red Star Belgrade.
United sought permission from the Premier League several months ago to wear a 1950s kit, with numbers 1 to 11, and have been given approval under Section F of its rules governing player identification and strip.
The kit, a one-off tribute to the Busby Babes, will not be available for purchase and is not, as yet, being revealed – a move that will remove any suspicions of commercialism from the project .
The side wore the classic red tops, white shorts and black socks for the Belgrade match, with the relatively new V-neck collar that replaced the button-up shirt worn for the first half of the decade.
United also confirmed yesterday that the centrepiece of the Munich commemorations will be a free, permanent exhibition in the South Stand tunnel at the stadium telling the story of the Babes. The tunnel will be renamed the Munich Tunnel.
United, whose working panel for Munich commemorations has included chief executive David Gill, the long-serving secretary Ken Ramsden and journalist David Meek, who worked as the United correspondent on the Manchester Evening News from 1958 to 1995, will also stage a memorial service involving survivors and relatives of those who died to coincide with the moment of the crash: 3.04pm.
Gill yesterday described the crash as Manchester’s “Kennedy moment” , which united the city in grief. “Everyone knows where they were when the terrible news came through,” he said.
