SAHA WILL STAY

Last updated : 05 July 2005 By editor

“After the reassurances from Mr Ferguson it is 90 percent sure that Saha will stay in Manchester,” his agent told Sky Sports. “It is also his wish to try to prove himself. The only option under which we would press for his leaving would be if Manchester buys another world class attacker.

“Michael Owen for example and in the same time van Nistelrooy stays at the club. Then, with Rooney in the team, Saha stands as a fourth option - which is unacceptable for us. But before Saha left on a vacation we had a meeting with Mr Ferguson concerning his future plans. As he told us, he values him very much and would like Saha to stay at Manchester - underlining that he is still very much in his plans for next season.

Stojic continued to confirm that a quartet of clubs had enquired about Saha's services - including two from The Premiership.

“It is true that there was big interest from several clubs for Saha. 'Everton, Newcastle, I got calls from Monaco, Marseille but my answer is no - he stays at Manchester. The most important thing for him is the meeting with Ferguson. He has extremely good relations with him and Alex likes Saha as his son.

“Their relationship is very sincere, so Alex would certainly have told us, 'look, I cannot guarantee that you will play much next season.' Saha trusts Alex very much. So our decision is based on that very constructive meeting with Ferguson. The only thing that would make us change that decision is if as previously mentioned a world class attacker comes and van Nistelrooy stays.”