NO SURPRISES

The Times reports that Ferguson is ready to stick with his current squad.

Sir Alex Ferguson has told his frustrated fringe players to forget any idea of leaving during the January transfer window, with the Manchester United manager eager to preserve a squad battling on three fronts.

Wes Brown, Gabriel Heinze, Mikaël Silvestre, Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith are attracting interest from other clubs, having featured intermittently in United's starting line-up this season. Brown has attracted serious interest from Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur, while Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus have expressed interest in Heinze since he lost his first-team place to Patrice Evra.

Ferguson, though, maintains that none of them will be sold. With the arrival of Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich unlikely to happen before the summer, the manager is seemingly content with a squad that was reinforced this month by the loan signing of Henrik Larsson from Helsingborg and the return of Giuseppe Rossi and Danny Simpson after spells on loan to Newcastle United and Royal Antwerp respectively.

The one possible exception is Smith, who has not made a league appearance since breaking a leg and ankle joint last February. The forward is struggling to gain full fitness and may be allowed to depart on loan to regain confidence. As many as 15 Barclays Premiership clubs are said to have expressed interest.