No Veron deal yet as Fergie stalls

13 April 2012

Manchester United appear to be playing a game of brinkmanship over Juan Veron as they suggested he will be in their team to face Juventus in New Jersey tonight.

Chelsea appeared to be on the brink of sealing a £15million move for the Argentine midfielder, but his agent Fernando Hidalgo claimed Veron would be content to stay at United.

If Sir Alex Ferguson is to be believed, that is what will happen. Ferguson said: "Seba is a terrific player and I want him to stay. He is a mature man, very experienced and he knows what he wants.

"If there was a situation arising I'm sure he would talk to me but my impression was he had settled down and there was no problem.

"It is difficult for a deal to be done today. He will be playing."

Chelsea have made an approach to United but have not agreed on his £95,000-a-week wage demands. Hidalgo added: "Chelsea recently made an offer to United and when it was put to us we were willing to accept it, providing the personal terms were what we requested.

"Seba would be equally happy to remain in Manchester."

Meanwhile, Chelsea will not have to play in Israel in the Champions League. Claudio Ranieri's team could face Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third qualifying round next month, but UEFA have decided matches involving Israeli sides must continue to be played at neutral venues.

Last night Maccabi lost 1-0 in Slovakia to SK Zilina in the first leg of their second round tie.

UEFA's decision was met with anger from Israeli FA chief Gavri Levi, who said: "The English team put non-stop pressure on UEFA to postpone the decision."

Two years ago, Chelsea crashed out of the UEFA Cup to Hapoel Tel Aviv, 3-1 on aggregate, after six players refused to travel for the away leg because of safety fears.

A Chelsea spokesperson denied putting pressure on Uefa. He said: "We were the last overseas team to play in Israel. All that matters to us is qualifying for the Champions League and we will play wherever we are asked to. We will abide by any decisions that UEFA make."

Nevertheless, UEFA's decision will be a relief to Chelsea. A victory in the Champions League qualifier guarantees the side a place in the group stages, which will bring the club around £10m.

UEFA said they wanted more time to consider the security situation in Israel before making a decision to lift the ban.

A spokesperson said: "Matches involving clubs from Israel must be played at neutral venues outside Israel, until at-least mid-August, when the decision will be given further consideration."

Chelsea have joined forces with Auckland club Football Kingz in a deal aimed at giving the bigspending Barclaycard Premiership giants direct access to some of the best rising talent in Oceania.

The Kingz, from New Zealand but playing in Australia's National Soccer League, will also give playing chances to Chelsea youngsters.

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No Veron deal yet as Fergie stalls

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