Manchester United’s Park Ji-Sung offered two-year contract extension

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson is confident the midfielder will sign a new deal and insists Portugal international Nani remains part of his plans at Old Trafford ahead of the new season

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung has been offered a two-year contract extension, boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed.

The South Korean’s current deal expires at the end of the 2011-2012 campaign, and there had been speculation that the 30-year-old could leave the club. However, Park now looks set to commit his future to the current Premier League champions, with Sir Alex hailing the player’s professionalism and also signalling he is firmly part of his plans for this season.

Speaking to reporters on the club’s pre-season tour of the USA, the Scot said: “He’s been offered a new cntract, yes. I’m sure he’ll sign it. His career at United has been nothing but excellent. He’s a tremendous professional. “I’m sure he’ll accept a new offer and tie himself to the club for the next two years.”

Meanwhile, Sir Alex has moved to allay any fears over the departure of Portuguese winger Nani, whose position at the club has been drawn under scrutiny following the arrival of Ashley Young.

He added: "Nani is a good player and his personality is improving. We will be challenging next season and will play a lot of games. He did really well last season, but Valencia came back and his form was so good it was difficult to leave him out. Nani was unfortunate not to be picked for the Champions League final, but he is still young and he is maturing all the time."

The Scot also remains confident his compatriot Darren Fletcher will regain fitness in time for the new season. The 27-year-old has only played 106 minutes of first team football since March 6, having contracted a virus in February.

“Darren’s recovering from this virus he’s had for quite a few months,” he continued. “Sometimes viruses do take time. He’s been into Carrington for the last few days and he’s doing a weight programme at the moment. Hopefully by the time we get back he’ll be rejoining us.”

Rio Ferdinand warns Manchester United youngsters they will have to fight him for his place: I will prove I am hungrier than them

Defender insists the Red Devils' raft of starlets cannot afford to be overawed and has told those competing for his spot in the side that he will not give up easily



Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand insists he will not relinquish his place in the heart of defence too easily as he looks to fend off competition from the likes of Phil Jones and Chris Smalling.

The two youngsters joined up with the rest of the United players following their involvement in the European Under-21 Championship with England, and they look set to feature in Saturday’s match against Chicago Fire. Ferdinand acknowledges the defensive talent available to manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but the 32-year-old will not stand by and let the youngsters take his place without a fight.

"I remember what I was like when I was young," he told reporters. "I remember looking up at Slaven Bilic, Marc Rieper, Alvin Martin and Steve Potts at West Ham. "I was only a kid but I used to sit on the bench and think I should be playing. I am sure these guys think the same thing. If they have got anything about them they should. They are all talented footballers and, I believe, Manchester United players. At some point I am sure they will take over the reins. But I am competitive and I don't want to be giving up my position to anybody. My task is to prove I am hungrier than them."

Ferdinand also warned the youngsters rising through the ranks at Old Trafford that if they are intimidated by the senior stars they might be sold.

"They can't be in awe of me," he added. "If they are, they will get shipped out. That is the way it is. Your desire has to be to play. I understand and respect that. That is why they are here."

Ferdinand insists the pressure to perform still remains, but it is merely part of the job and something that marks Manchester United players out from others.

"Over the years this club has been very successful," he said. "In the last couple of years we have won trophies as well. It is great to see. But it does bring pressure. It is not overwhelming though. It is part of being a Manchester United player. You have to deal with all that stuff. It separates you from being a Manchester United player and not."

Injuries were unfortunately a frequent concern for Ferdinand last season, but the centre-back claims that his fitness is coming along nicely and he should be ready for the new campaign.

"My fitness is OK," he said. "I am nowhere near where I want to be yet but we have three weeks left. Last season, I had no problems with my back, which was a good thing, but I did pull my calf which kept me out for a chunk of the year. Hopefully this time around I won't have anything like that and I can continue to play a consistent amount of games."

United Jav a new look !!

JAVIER HERNANDEZ is cock-a-hoop over Manchester United's new away kit!

The Mexican striker shows off the strip inspired by the colours the team wore for the 1968 European Cup final win over Benfica.The shirt consists of a royal blue body and sleeves with darker hoops made up of 11 stripes to represent each member of the team. The pattern is modelled on a previous Red Devils away shirt, worn for seven seasons in the 1930s.

NEMANJA VIDIC believes the latest signings at Manchester United have brought a new hunger to the squad.

  Now captain Vidic is determined to get his teeth into the new season and help United grab a 20th league title and wreak European revenge on Barcelona.

Vidic, 29, said: "It is important to have new players to bring new energy and hunger, to fight for positions. We now have really healthy competition in the team. That is very important."

The new boys include Ashley Young, Phil Jones and keeper David De Gea with the possible arrival of Wesley Sneijder to come.

Vidic said: "From the first day I came to this club to the present day, the players and the coaches push you forward to improve. They always bring something new, whether that is in the facilities, in the training. That is the great thing about this club. We have improved every year. This is why we won the title four times in the last five years and made the Champions League final three times in the last four."

Friendly Match Vs Seattle Sounders | 7-0

 Club Friendlies  

Seattle Sounders 0 - 7  Manchester United 

                                          

                                         Michael Owen 15′ 

                                                Mame Biram Diouf 49′ 

                                          Wayne Rooney 52′ 

                                          Wayne Rooney 69′ 

                                       Ji-Sung Park 71′  

                                          Wayne Rooney 72′ 

                                           Gabriel Obertan 89′ 

Manchester United continue their impressive pre-season tour of North America as they rout Seattle 7-0 in an exhibition match. Six goals of the seven came in the second half vs Seattle.

Friendly Match Vs New England Revolution

 

New England Revolution 1-4 Manchester United: Macheda, Owen & Park give Ashley Young a victory to savour on his debut

Winger's first game for the Red Devils ended on a positive note as they managed to put four past their opponents and register a victory in their first game of pre-season 

 The game was the first of the 2011 World Football Challenge, which also features Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus and Manchester City among other teams.

The match at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, saw Ashley Young make his first appearance for his new club since moving to Old Trafford from Aston Villa. The Red Devils managed to begin the game by dominating possession, with the hosts seeing very little of the ball during the first 10 minutes. But as time passed, the American side managed to slowly settle down and keep Sir Alex Ferguson's men from taking the lead. With a little over 20 minutes having been played, Pat Phelan's effort from outside the box was saved at the bottom left corner. And at the other end, Dimitar Berbatov fired a shot off target.

The visitors were putting in a strong performance and creating enough chances, but were having trouble in the attacking third of the pitch as they were unable to put the ball in the net. Berbatov, Fabio, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick all saw their shots go wide of the mark within a span of seven minutes.The two teams went into the break level, and Sir Alex brought on Owen and Macheda for Rooney and Berbatov for the second half.Owen managed to give his side the lead within a matter of minutes, as he converted an assist from Carrick to send the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the net. Less than five minutes had passed when Macheda joined in on the action, as he capitalised on another good pass from Carrick to put the ball past the goalkeeper. It was beginning to rain goals at the Gillette Stadium as a free kick from Benny Feilhaber took a wild deflection from Mansally to give Steve Nicol's charges something to cheer about.

A little past the hour mark, Rafael sent in a cross that took a deflection and fell into the path of Macheda, and the Italian hitman had no trouble letting loose a left-footed shot to put his side 3-1 up. The 19-year-old had a chance to net a hat-trick as Young sent in a cross, but the final effort was found wanting as the shot was off target. As if to showcase their experience, Ryan Giggs and Park combined superbly as the South Korean added another goal to make the inevitable victory all the more emphatic.

As the referee brought the game to a halt, United had entertained over 50,000 fans and managed to get a good start to their pre-season.

Brown and O'Shea join Black Cats

     Sunderland have signed Manchester United defenders Wes Brown and John O'Shea on four-year deals.    

Brown, 31 has joined the Black Cats for an undisclosed fee, understood to be in the region of £1m.

Manager Steve Bruce said:

"We are delighted to welcome a player of Wes' ability, experience and character to the club."He has been a fantastic professional for Manchester United through the years and not only will he strengthen our defensive options, he will also bring with him a winning mentality and level of maturity which can only be positive for the players around him."

The defender made 361 senior appearances for United over 15 years as a professional having joined the club as a 12-year-old, and has five Premier League winners' medals. Brown won 23 England caps before announcing his retirement from the international game last summer. He will bring a welcome versatility and vast experience to the Stadium of Light, where his arrival will go some of the way to making up for the loss of loan signings Nedum Onuoha and John Mensah.

Ostensibly a central defender, he can also play at right-back and with O'Shea, equally comfortable across the back four as well as in midfield, Bruce could have healthy options at the back next season.Bruce said of O'Shea, who also joins for an undisclosed fee: "John has been a solid, consistent part of Manchester United's squad for well over a decade which goes to show the fantastic pedigree of player we have signed.

"He is a wonderful professional both on and off the field and his wealth of experience and versatility will be great attributes for us. I'm delighted with the players we've been able to secure ahead of the new season."

O'Shea said: "Once I'd heard reports about the club and the people here, the ambitions and what the manager was all about it was the only place I was going to come to."