Wayne Rooney may leave Old Trafford but Cristiano Ronaldo could return, says Mike Phelan

Phelan admitted that Rooney – who is attracted by a £20 million move to Chelsea – may be seeking for a fresh challenge away from Old Trafford.

However, in an interview with BBC Five Live, Phelan was also ­intriguingly non-committal when pressed on whether ex-manager Sir Alex ­Ferguson had left a deal in place to lure Ronaldo back to Manchester United from Real Madrid.

He offered only a “no comment” to the question, giving the firm impression that he was privy to information despite ending his ties with the club after the appointment of David Moyes.

The futures of Ronaldo and Rooney could dominate the next month of transfer activity, the England striker’s next destination the most pressing concern for new manager Moyes.

Phelan acknowledged the doubts as to whether the 27-year-old would remain with the champions. “He is still is at the greatest club he could be at, so why would you want to jeopardise that unless you want a fresh challenge and you don’t think that challenge is being met at Manchester United?” Phelan said.

“He might have hit a little bit of a blip in certain performances and then it’s easy to find fault with that, but he isn’t the first player to do that and he won’t be the last.

"You just have to nurse them through it and hopefully he responds to that little bit of nursing. But sometimes you have to crack the whip with him, because they’re men, not children.

“You have to get as much out of them as you can and I think Wayne has responded as well as he feels he can do for Manchester United.”

Phelan recognised the image of Rooney being constantly unsettled – United suggesting a second transfer request in three years was made (a claim disputed by Rooney) is not assisting his cause with the Old Trafford faithful.

“I think you can put your first one down to inexperience maybe, the second one is putting yourself right out there,” Phelan said. “Somewhere along the line there will, I would think, be some words said, there will be some meetings, and they’ll see if its still alive and worth going for or they’ll call time on it.”

Moyes and Rooney are expected to discuss their differences this week while Ronaldo is thought to be open to the possibility of returning to England.

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Wayne Rooney may leave Old Trafford, says former Manchester United manager Mike Phelan

Phelan admitted that Rooney – who is attracted by a £20 million move to Chelsea – may be seeking for a fresh challenge away from Old Trafford.

However, in an interview with BBC Five Live, Phelan was also ­intriguingly non-committal when pressed on whether ex-manager Sir Alex ­Ferguson had left a deal in place to lure Ronaldo back to Manchester United from Real Madrid.

He offered only a “no comment” to the question, giving the firm impression that he was privy to information despite ending his ties with the club after the appointment of David Moyes.

The futures of Ronaldo and Rooney could dominate the next month of transfer activity, the England striker’s next destination the most pressing concern for new manager Moyes.

Phelan acknowledged the doubts as to whether the 27-year-old would remain with the champions. “He is still is at the greatest club he could be at, so why would you want to jeopardise that unless you want a fresh challenge and you don’t think that challenge is being met at Manchester United?” Phelan said.

“He might have hit a little bit of a blip in certain performances and then it’s easy to find fault with that, but he isn’t the first player to do that and he won’t be the last.

"You just have to nurse them through it and hopefully he responds to that little bit of nursing. But sometimes you have to crack the whip with him, because they’re men, not children.

“You have to get as much out of them as you can and I think Wayne has responded as well as he feels he can do for Manchester United.”

Phelan recognised the image of Rooney being constantly unsettled – United suggesting a second transfer request in three years was made (a claim disputed by Rooney) is not assisting his cause with the Old Trafford faithful.

“I think you can put your first one down to inexperience maybe, the second one is putting yourself right out there,” Phelan said. “Somewhere along the line there will, I would think, be some words said, there will be some meetings, and they’ll see if its still alive and worth going for or they’ll call time on it.”

Moyes and Rooney are expected to discuss their differences this week while Ronaldo is thought to be open to the possibility of returning to England.

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Queens Park Rangers appoint Steve McClaren as part of Harry Redknapp's backroom staff

Redknapp made the approach to McClaren about assisting him during pre-season and in the early months of the new Championship campaign after Steve Cotterill left the club following QPR’s relegation.

McClaren is still keen to return to management in his own right and is interested in the new vacant position of England Under-21 manager following the departure of Stuart Pearce after the European Championship in Israel last month.

Out of work since he left FC Twente in Hollandin February, McClaren was also under consideration for the Wigan Athletic job before chairman Dave Whelan appointed Owen Coyle.

“I’m delighted to take up this position offered to me by Harry and QPR,” said McClaren. “Whilst it still remains my ambition to manage again this gives me an ideal opportunity to stay involved and work on the field with one of the top managers in this country and a very ambitious club.

“Rest assured, I’ll be doing all I can for Harry, the club and the fans to help QPR return to the Premier League.”

Clever move by Harry Redknapp bringing in Steve Maclaren as coach-outstanding coach on the training ground, players will love his training!

— phil neville18 (@fizzer18) July 2, 2013

Redknapp is already assisted by Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan but has always valued having plenty of experience in his backroom team.

“Everyone in the game knows what a top coach he is and he’ll add something different to the group, regardless of how long he is with us for,” said Redknapp.

“I wanted to look at freshening up the whole place, not just the playing side. I want new ideas, different opinions and another experienced head to speak to. That’s what Steve brings.”

“I’ve got a brilliant backroom team and their input is going to be so important for me this season. Steve adds to the excellent staff I already have here.”

The “freshening up” process also extends to the squad, with QPR yesterday agreeing a £12?million deal to sell defender Chris Samba back to Anzhi Makhachkala.

Although QPR chairman Tony Fernandes had expected to keep Samba, the bid from Anzhi has allowed the club to significantly ease their wage bill and recoup the fee they paid for the player in January. Esteban Granero, Jose Bosingwa and Julio Cesar are all also expected to leave.

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Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore denies top flight is to blame for England's failings

Chief executive Scudamore was also unapologetic over the league’s refusal to grant Hodgson’s request to schedule no high-profile matches before England's World Cup qualifiers in September and October in next season’s fixture list.

England’s dismal displays this summer, from senior level down to under-19s, have sparked a national debate, with just one win recorded in 11 competitive and friendly matches since the season ended.

The senior side are also struggling to qualify for the World Cup finals next summer and manager Hodgson complained in April that he did not have enough Premier League players to choose from.

However, asked if there were too many foreigners in the competition, Scudamore said: “That’s nonsense, absolute nonsense. There were 210 players qualified to play for England playing in the Premier League last year, and – by the way – they’re all playing in the Premier League.

“And we ought to be able to find 11 to take the field to do well. Those players are playing week in, week out against the world’s best talent. There are other factors at play, which are not our responsibility.”

Scudamore admitted that the Premier League now had to take some responsibility for the development of young players through its Elite Player Performance Plan, which he insisted was already paying dividends.

But he would not countenance any suggestion that England’s hopes of reaching the World Cup had been hurt by the Premier League’s refusal to engineer the fixture list to suit Hodgson.

Scudamore blamed Fifa and Uefa’s calendars for creating a bloated schedule, insisting the Premier League had cut its number of teams since its inception.

“We started with 22, we’re now down to 20, and that’s been the same for 19 years,” he said.

“It’s our international confederations that have squeezed the calendar, not us. So we really get quite bristly at the idea that, with the fixture calendar, it’s somehow us being the awkward ones.”

Scudamore was speaking as the Premier League and Sport England committed £16.8 million to help recruit youngsters into 12 Olympic and Paralympic Sports through the ‘Premier League 4 Sport’ and ‘Kickz’ programmes.

Challenged over whether that represented “small beer” in comparison to the billions now swirling around the top flight, Scudamore said: “It’s huge beer. There is no other company in this country that gives away more than we give away.

“We will give away, next year, more than £260 million. We will give away £50m just in raw charitable causes. There is no other business you can point me to, anywhere in the UK, that gives away more than us.”

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Aston Villa freeze out Darren Bent and leave former England striker to ponder his future

Bent has been told to move out of the first-team dressing room at the training ground and ordered to train in a small group of outcasts alongside Stephen Ireland and Alan Hutton.

He has also been informed he will not be considered for selection for any of the club’s pre-season friendlies and will not be included in any squads should he remain at Villa after the close of the summer transfer window.

It is a painful fall from grace for Bent, who moved to Villa in January 2011 in order to strengthen his hold on a place in the England squad, but who spent most of last season on the bench.

The 29-year-old, who has not played for the national team in almost two years, is on £65,000 a week at Villa and Lambert appears desperate to get him off the wage bill in order to give him more flexibility in his recruitment in this window.

The move to ostracise Bent is a risky one given nobody has been willing to match Villa’s £8 million valuation.

Newcastle are understood to have had discussions with Villa over a potential deal for Bent, who could return to the North East, 2½ years after he quit Sunderland to sign for Villa. Newcastle are likely to open their bidding at just £5 million.

Bent, though, has been unnerved by the doubts surrounding Alan Pardew’s future following Joe Kinnear’s arrival as director of football.

Bent played for Pardew at Charlton and the Newcastle manager has been the main driving force behind the interest in him.

Pardew asked Kinnear to make the signing of Bent a priority when they met to discuss transfer targets almost a fortnight ago, but Newcastle have been pursuing another long-standing target, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

But with the Gabon international looking set for a move to Borussia Dortmund rather than Tyneside, Bent looks an increasingly attractive proposition for Newcastle given his proven goalscoring ability in the Premier League.

The only complication is that he may be too similar to play alongside Papiss Demba Cissé and Newcastle’s owner, Mike Ashley, has previously opposed the signing of players as old as Bent as they have no resale value.

Fulham have also expressed an interest in Bent, but like Newcastle believe he is not worth the £8 million Villa are looking for in the current circumstances. Villa had hoped to start a bidding war for the striker, but it now looks certain they will have to lower their asking price.

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Liverpool agree fee of £6m for midfielder Jonjo Shelvey with Swansea City

The 21-year-old now looks set to move to Wales in pursuit of more regular football.

A deal could go through by the weekend, recouping further funds for Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Shelvey was a regular starter early last season but featured far less after January, particularly as Jordan Henderson regained some form.

A member of the England Under 21 squad and former Arsenal and West Ham trainee, Shelvey joined Liverpool from Charlton in 2010 and was called up by Roy Hodgson for full international honours last season.

Michael Laudrup has now identified his potential as he seeks to build on his excellent first season at The Liberty Stadium.

With Liverpool returning to pre-season on Tuesday, it was made clear to Shelvey the club would not stand in his way if the right bid came in offering an opportunity to develop his career elsewhere.

Norwich and Crystal Palace have also shown interest in the midfielder whose opportunities at Anfield are sure to be affected by the recent arrival of Iago Aspas and Luis Alberto from La Liga.

The lack of European football at Anfield this season means, barring injuries, only the League Cup offers an obvious starting opportunity for fringe players and even that competition will be taken more seriously by Rodgers this year given fewer early season commitments.

Swansea, in contrast, are in Europe and need to enhance their squad numbers.

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins confirmed Shelvey was a target.

"There is an interest there and we are talking to Liverpool," he said.

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League Two Summer Transfers 2013

Burton Albion
In: Phil Edwards (Rochdale, Free), Chris Hussey (AFC Wimbledon, Free), Alex McDonald (Burnley, Free), Adam Reed (Sunderland, Free), Ian Sharps (Rotherham, Free), Michael Symes (Leyton Orient, Free).
Out: Devarn Green (Blackburn, Undisclosed), Jacques Maghoma (Sheffield Wednesday, Free), Adi Yussuf (Lincoln C, Free), Calvin Zola (Aberdeen, Free).
Released: Evan Garnett, Jack Green, John McGrath, Nathan Stanton, Cleveland Taylor, Aaron Webster.
Retired: Andy Corbett.

Bury
In: Nathan Cameron (Coventry, Free), Ashley Grimes (Rochdale, Free), Greg McDermott (Stockport, Free), Andy Procter (Preston, Free), Gareth Roberts (Derby, Free).
Out: Steven Schumacher (Fleetwood, Undisclosed), David Worrall (Rotherham, Undisclosed), Marcus Marshall (Morecambe, Free), Joe Skarz (Rotherham, Free), Efe Sodje (Macclesfield, Free).
Released: Cameron Belford, Mark Carrington, Christian Dibble, Craig Fagan, Ben Futcher, Max Harrop, David Healy, Euan Holden, Mark Hughes, Dalton McLaughlin, Jordan Melia, Valery Mézague, Carl Regan, Tom Soares.

Cheltenham Town
In: Troy Brown (Aldershot, Free), Jamie Cureton (Exeter, Free).
Out: Harry Hooman (Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Free), Kaid Mohamed (Port Vale, Free), Chris Zebroski (Newport County, Free).
Released: Darren Carter, Darryl Duffy, Bagasan Graham.

Chesterfield
In: Aaron Chapman (Belper T, Free), Eoin Doyle (Hibernian, Free), Sam Morsy (Port Vale, Free), Gary Roberts (Swindon, Free), Jimmy Ryan (Scunthorpe, Free).
Out: Richard Brindley (Rotherham, Free), Craig Clay (York, Free).
Released: Scott Boden, Richard O’Donnell, Mark Randall, Neal Trotman, Jack Waddle, Jonathan Wafula, Danny Whitaker.
Retired: Jack Lester.

Dagenham & Redbridge
In: None.
Out: Soloman Taiwo (Luton, Free).
Released: Andy Burns, Tom Davie, Ian Gayle, Dominic Green, Kevin Maher, Alex Osborn, Duran Reynolds, Sam Williams

Exeter City
In: Doug Bergqvist (Aldershot, Free).
Out: Jamie Cureton (Cheltenham, Free).
Released: Kevin Amankwaah, Guillem Bauza, Rhys Evans, Elliott Frear, Mark Molesley, Matt Oakley.

Fleetwood Town
In: Anton Sarcevic (Chester, Undisclosed), Steven Schumacher (Bury, Undisclosed), Matty Blair (York, Free), Leam Hogan (FC Halifax, Free), Jeff Hughes (Notts Co, Free), Stewart Murdoch (Falkirk, Free).
Out: Anthony Barry (Forest Green, Free), Kieran Charnock (Stockport County, Free), Andy Mangan (Forest Green, Free), Jamie McGuire (Mansfield, Free), Jamie Milligan (Southport), Daniel Rose (Oxford U, Free).
Released: Richie Allen, Rob Atkinson, Gareth Evans, Mozesh Gyorio, Youl Mawene, Barry Nicholson, Daniel Rowe, Liam Wynn.

Hartlepool United
In: Jack Compton (Colchester, Free).
Out: Paul Johnson (Celtic Nation).
Released: Nathan Buddle, Evan Horwood, Ritchie Humphreys, Nathan Luscombe, Adam McHugh, Colin Nish.

Mansfield Town
In: Sam Clucas (Hereford, Triubnal), Paul Black (Tranmere, Free), Jamie Maguire (Fleetwood, Free), John McCombe (Port Vale, Free), Keiran Murtagh (Macclesfield, Free), Martin Riley (Wrexham).
Out: Luke Jones (Stevenage, Free), Andy Owens (AFC Telford United, Free), Jamie Tolley (Kidderminster, Free).
Released: Jamie Hand, Andy Owens, Shane Redmond, Gary Roberts, Jamie Tolley, Nick Wright. Retired: John Thompson.

Morecambe
In: Tony Diagne (Macclesfield, Undisclosed), Alex Kenyon (Stockport, Compensation), Marcus Marshall (Bury, Free), Jack Sampson (Bolton, Free).
Out: Lewis Alessandra (Plymouth, Free), Jordan Burrow (Stevenage, Free).
Released: Daniel Carlton, Nick Fenton, Will Haining, Christopher Holroyd, Gary McDonald, Daniel Parkinson, Shane Routledge, James Short.

Newport County
In: Adam Chapman (Oxford United, Free), Harry Worley (Oxford U, Free), Chris Zebroski (Cheltenham, Free).
Out: Alan Julian (Dartford, Free).
Released: Michael Boateng, Will Evans, Jake Harris, Joe Parry.

Northampton Town
In: Matt Duke (Bradford City, Free), Ian Morris (Torquay, Free).
Out: Adebayo Akinfenwa (Gillingham, Free), George Craddock (Margate), Louis Moult (Nuneaton, Free).
Released: Luke Guttridge, Ben Harding, John Johnson, Nana, Jake Robinson, Paul Turnbull, Lewis Wilson.
Retired: Clarke Carlisle

Oxford United
In: Dave Kitson (Sheffield United, Free), Jonathan Meades (Bournemouth, Free), David Hunt (Crawley, Free), Daniel Rose (Fleetwood, Free), Josh Shama (Reading, Free).
Out: Adam Chapman (Newport County, Free), Tom Craddock (Portsmouth, Free), Simon Heslop (Stevenage, Free), Luke McCormick (Plymouth, Free), Luke O’Brien (Gateshead, Free), Jon-Paul Pittman (Wycombe, Free), Justin Richards (Tamworth, Free), Harry Worley (Newport Co, Free).
Released: Damian Batt, Tony Capaldi, Liam Davis, Michael Duberry, Peter Leven, Josh Parker.

Plymouth Argyle
In: Lewis Alessandra (Morecambe, Free), Dominic Blizzard (Yeovil, Free), Luke McCormick (Oxford U, Free).
Out: Paris Cowan-Hall (Wycombe, Undisclosed), Anthony Charles (Luton, Free), Ollie Chenoweth, Jared Sims (both Truro City, Free).
Released: Warren Feeney, Jamie Lowry.

Portsmouth
In: Patrick Agyemang (Stevenage, Free), Andy Barcham (Scunthorpe, Free), Sonny Bradley (Hull, Free), Tom Craddock (Oxford U, Free), Joe Devera (Swindon, Free), Danny East (Hull, Free), Ricky Holmes (Barnet, Free), Romain Padovani (Monaco, Free), John Sullivan (Charlton, Free).
Out: Simon Eastwood (Blackburn, Free), Alex Grant (Stoke, Free).
Released: George Colson, Dan Thompson, Elliot Wheeler.

Rochdale
In: Bastien Hery (Sheffield Wednesday, Free), Andy Eastham (Blackpool, Free), Andy Haworth (Notts County, Free), Scott Hogan (Hyde, Free), Olly Lancashire (Aldershot), Matthew Lund (Rochdale, Free), Peter Vicenti (Aldershot, Free).
Out: Neill Byrne (AFC Telford Utd, Free), Craig Curran (Limerick, Free), Phil Edwards (Burton, Free), Ashley Grimes (Bury, Free), Jason Kennedy (Bradford C, Free), Kevin McIntrye (Chester, Free).
Released: Dele Adebola, Peter Cavanagh, Matt Edwards, Terry Gornell, Ritchie Jones, Sam Minihan, Matt Pearson, Luke Watson.

Scunthorpe United
In: Terry Hawkridge, Luke Waterfall (both Gainsborough, Undisclosed), Andy Dawson (Hull), Chris Iwelumo (Watford, Free), Matt Sparrow (Crawley, Free), Andy Welsh (Carlisle, Free).
Out: Andy Barcham (Portsmouth, Free), Jimmy Ryan (Chesterfield, Free).
Released: Robbie Gibbons, Karl Hawley, Damien Mozika, Tom Newey, Paul Reid, Akpo Sodje, Josh Walker.

Southend United
In: John White (Colchester, Free).
Out: Elliot Benyon (Torquay, Free), Shamir Mullings (Bromley, Free), Gavin Tomlin (Port Vale, Free).
Released: Graham Coughlan, Bilel Mohsni, Mickey Spillane, John Spicer, Alex Woodyard.

Torquay United
In: Elliot Benyon (Southend, Free), Dale Tonge (Rotherham, Free).
Out: Liam Prynn (Aston Villa, £50,000), Ryan Jarvis (York, Free), Nick Milton (Bideford, Free), Ian Morris (Northampton, Free).
Released: Karl Baker, Craig Easton, Saul Halpin, David Leadbitter, Lloyd Macklin, Joe Oastler, Danny Stevens.

Wycombe Wanderers
In: Paris Cowan-Hall (Wycombe, Undisclosed), Charlie Horlock (Stevenage, Free), Jon-Paul Pittman (Oxford U, Free), Nick Arnold (Reading, Loan).
Out: None.
Released: Georges Ehui, Emmanuel Ighorae, Leon Johnson, Oliver Taylor.
Retired: Gareth Ainsworth.

York City
In: Ryan Bowman (Hereford, Undisclosed), Craig Clay (Chesterfield, Free), Wes Fletcher (Blackpool, Free), Ryan Jarvis (Torquay, Free), Lewis Montrose (Gillingham, Free), Sander Puri (St Mirren, Free), Chris Kettings (Blackpool, Loan).
Out: Matty Blair (Fleetwood, Free), Jamie Ible (Guiseley, Free), Scott Kerr (Grimsby, Free), Paddy McLaughlin (Grimsby, Free).
Released: Lee Bullock, Jon Challinor, Chris Doig, Ben Everson, Michael Potts, Jamie Reed, Jason Walker.

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