Manchester United are still confident of landing the midfielder Michael Carrick despite the £14m valuation that Tottenham have placed on the player, but they are maintaining an interest in the Lyon midfielder Mahamadou Diarra and the Argentinian Aldo Duscher at Deportivo La Coruña.
United's strategy of recruiting two holding midfielders as a long-term replacement for Roy Keane appears to centre upon them bidding for Duscher to put pressure on Lyon and Tottenham to come to agreement. United would be happy with any two of the three but their first- choice pairing would be Carrick and Diarra.
Both players have been set at prohibitively high prices by their respective clubs with some sources even suggesting that
Diarra is highly prized but realistically would only be affordable to United, or Real Madrid, among those who have also shown an interest in him. United believe that they can buy him for much less than Lyon are asking, although bringing the French champions to the negotiating table is proving to be more difficult.
Duscher has been the subject of long-term interest from United. The Argentinian hardman attracted notoriety in
United hope to close a deal for Carrick this week. The 24-year-old has had plenty of time to discuss a move to Old Trafford with his United England team-mates this week and they are likely to have been most persuasive. He has two years left on his contract with Tottenham but is not likely to get the kind of deal his status now demands.