Veron is back on wish list

Abramovich and his advisers feel that Veron has never been given an opportunity to express his talents at Old Trafford and are confident that he can be their playmaker-Veron is with United on their U.S. tour, but the Old Trafford club have been discreetly touting him to other clubs all summer and are delighted at Chelsea's interest.

Sir Alex Ferguson claimed yesterday he had the strongest midfield of his time at the club yet, tellingly, did not mention Veron when running through a list of those who allow him to make such a boast.

While the Veron deal appears close, Chelsea were swift to deny that they had shifted their attention away from Vieri as they seek to strengthen their strike force.

Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri believes the club must keep on buying if they are to fulfil Abramovich's ambition of becoming a match for Europe's elite. He said: 'We have signed very good players, but we need something more to compete with teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus and Real Madrid. When I made the list, I just put the names. For me, signing the right players is more important than the cost and, of course, the big champions cost a lot.'

Blackburn boss Graeme Souness is already planning how to spend the £17m the club received for Duff, some of which is earmarked to reduce the club's overdraft. He has agreed a fee of £2m to sign Duff's Republic of Ireland team-mate Steven Reid from Millwall and also expects to complete a £2m deal for Sunderland's Claudio Reyna.