The Times:
Sir Alex Ferguson will spend the final three days of the transfer window looking for a striker to cure a sudden shortage of firepower at Manchester United, but is increasingly resigned to having to wait until January in his search for reinforcements.
Since adding Carlos Tévez to his forward line this month, Ferguson has sold Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi to Newcastle United and Villarreal respectively, while yesterday brought confirmation of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's retirement after a lengthy battle with a knee injury and the prospect of Tévez making a 21,000-mile round trip to Melbourne to play in a friendly for Argentina against Australia on September 11, four days before a Barclays Premier League match away to Everton.
With Wayne Rooney sidelined by a fractured foot and Louis Saha exercising caution in his recovery from a summer knee operation, Tévez is the only fit striker at Old Trafford.
Ferguson was concerned by a potential lack of attacking personnel even before Solskjaer's announcement yesterday, having put out feelers last week through a handful of trusted agents, with Dimitar Berbatov, of Tottenham Hotspur, his principal target.
United are aware that Nicolas Anelka could be available from Bolton Wanderers for about £8 million and that there is a chance of luring either Obafemi Martins or, intriguingly, Michael Owen from Newcastle United. All three have been discussed at Old Trafford during the summer, with Anelka the subject of a tentative and informal inquiry to Bolton in May, but Ferguson and Carlos Queiroz, his assistant, are not convinced of the merits of signing any of them.
Other potential targets would be David Trezeguet, the Juventus forward, or Adriano, of Inter Milan, with the latter the subject of a firm bid from West Ham United after being offered to a number of English clubs over the past week. Both were the subject of interest from United last year and either would provide a physical presence to complement the skills of Rooney, Tévez or Saha, but Ferguson is far from certain to pursue that option.
The Mirror:
Manchester United and Manchester City are locked in a fierce battle to sign Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka before Friday's transfer deadline.
Sir Alex Ferguson wants £12million Anelka to solve his striker crisis at United, while City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is keen to bring the Frenchman back to his former club to inject some quality into his front line. With Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha injured and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer having announced his retirement, Carlos Tevez is the only fit recognised striker United boss Fergie currently has at his disposal.
Fergie had hoped to sign Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov, but Spurs have refused to sell their £25mrated star and the United boss has been forced to turn his attention to the brooding Anelka.