STAR WAR

It is now accepted by those close to this in both Norway and England that it is "extremely unlikely" the player will ever wear a United shirt and that Chelsea's skulduggery will triumph.

United will be making a strong defence of their conduct, possibly via Gill himself, through club channels later today. There is a signed valid contract with the player and United have - for once - behaved properly throughout.

Unfortunately, the episode is likely to demonstrate once again that football contracts are not worth the paper they are written on.