Two other points. Ferguson insisted it was his decision not to spend heavily – nothing to do with the huge debts incurred by the club’s American owner

As uncertainty mounts on FC Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o, Goal.com's Subhankar Mondal says that Manchester United would do themselves a huge favour by signing the Cameroonian international this summer.....

Before this radically becomes a discussion of who between David Villa and Samuel Eto'o is the better striker, let's acknowledge that both are world class strikers, two of the best in the business and both are natural goalscorers.

Goalscorers, that's the keyword. Whatever Samuel Eto'o may or may not be, he is a natural goalscorer. For whichever club he has played, under whatever circumstances, the Cameroonian international striker has always scored. Even when he has been injured or been playing for modest Real Mallorca, the art of scoring has never deserted the 28-year-old.

Detractors suggest that Eto'o could score as many goals as he did at Barcelona because he played for two of the best Barca sides in history, first getting the supplies from Deco and Ronaldinho and now getting at the end of Thierry Henry, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi's passes. Of course, playing as the central and main striker in a 4-3-3 formation helps and so does the 'feeding' by top class attacking players, but to denigrate Eto'o as simply the obtrusive beneficiary of others' hard work would be to suggest that during your schooldays you had the easiest task in the world of only studying while your parents did everything else for you.

Just like last summer, Barcelona have cast the Cameroonian into the basket labeled ‘unwantables’. 30 Liga goals and 4 Champions League hits have apparently failed to endear Eto'o to coach Pep Guardiola, who is interested in getting on board Eto'o's perfect replacement David Villa. The three times African Player of the Year has been linked with a host of clubs but still nothing concrete has been established yet.

Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester United are the clubs Eto'o has been linked with, and while City have officially shunned their interest in the player eventually losing their patience in the protracted transfer saga that was going pretty much nowhere, Milan cannot afford Eto'o's wages and Inter have decided not to go for a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-Samuel Eto’o swap, Manchester United have emerged as the most likely club to take on board the star striker in recent weeks.

Usually, one club's loss is another club's gain but in this case Barcelona's loss of Samuel Eto’o would be theirs (but only if they can secure the signature of Villa) as well as Manchester United's gain.

For one, Manchester United have never really replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy since he was sold to Real Madrid in the 2006 summer. In the Dutchman, United had probably the most clinical goalscorer in the world best defined as a one-shot-one-goal striker who remains United's all-time leading marksman in Europe. True, after he left, the reigning Premier League champions didn't struggle for goals as a certain Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to become as much a creator of goals as a scorer of them, setting a new landmark in the 2007-2008 season when he hit no fewer than 42 goals in all competitions, but bar the Portuguese there was no one who could really score goals frequently.

Now that Ronaldo, so often played as a striker, has been sold to the same Real Madrid whom Sir Alex insisted he wouldn't even sell a virus to, the question is: who will score the goals for Sir Alex's side?

Dimitar Berbatov, as excellent a player he is, couldn't get into double figures in the league last season, Wayne Rooney's best strength doesn't lie in scoring goals, Michael Owen is a gamble whose goals have dried up and Carlos Tevez has left. Admitted, the way that United play, Ji-Sung Park, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic all get goals but who will score 20-25 goals in the league for United?

Enter Samuel Eto'o, goalscorer supreme and two times Champions League winner.

The 28-year-old is a legendary goalscorer who will hit 20 league goals in a season with ease. And if the service is great, as was at Barcelona last season, he can add 10 more to his tally. Eto'o's technical ability might be inferior to that of David Villa and he doesn't necessary make football a showboating stuff but if Eto'o is anything, then he's an athlete.

The Cameroonian's direct run at defenders, delicately ruthless inter-play with his teammates and ability to generate moves that would lead to his side scoring are facets that would suit Manchester United greatly. Then of course, there is Eto'o's keen eye for goal as he can score from anywhere and with any part of his body: left foot, right foot and head. A marvelous player who might miss a chance or two at times, Eto'o guarantees goals and lots of them.

Which is why Manchester United could do themselves a huge favour by signing Samuel Eto'o. They have been linked with a number of other top class strikers but Eto'o answers their call like no other. Sergio Aguero, defined by many as the 'closest thing to a Romario', won't probably leave Atletico Madrid this summer and neither would Zlatan Ibrahimovic leave Inter Milan (at least for Old Trafford); Luis Fabiano is a brilliant targetman but not an ‘A class’ striker, Klass-Jan Huntelaar has Van Nistelrooy-esque accuracy but would rely heavily on service. Eto'o appears to be the best striker available in the market for United; his mobility would be a boon to their gameplan.

Eto'o's personality, as everyone knows, is tenacious but in Sir Alex he would meet arguably the best man-manager in the English game who in his time has worked with more difficult and high profile characters. Personal terms and weekly wage might be a concern but United are one of the richest clubs in the world and surely they can afford to pay the salary of one of the two best strikers in the world.

But whether they do so or not remains to be seen.

Samuel Eto’o optimistic about move to Manchester United

Even though his deal with Manchester City fell through, Samuel Eto’o is anticipating a bid from Manchester United that would move him to the Premiere League.

After becoming frustrated, Manchester City officially ended their talks with Eto’o on Friday. They had offered up a staggering £25.5 million deal for Eto’o and were waiting for an answer when negotiations collapsed. It looks like Manchester City will now pursue a deal with Carlos Tevez instead.

United may be able to get a bargain on Eto’o. Rumor has it that an offer may come in at around £18 million, but Sir Alex Ferguson who is a big fan of the striker, may be prepared to offer even more. Apparently Eto’o is holding out for a four-year contract, which may turn out to be a problem.

As the drama plays out, Eto’o’s relationship with Barcelona is rapidly going downhill. After rejecting a contract extension, Eto’o left no doubt about his desire to leave the club. Joan Laporta, president of Barcelona, allegedly made some comments about Eto’o which angered the striker.

Eto’o’s actions however, have left him in a poor negotiating position. AC Milan, who was previously interested in Eto’o has decided to go after Luis Fabiano instead. Chelsea and Inter Milan aren’t interested anymore either. So, it would appear that Eto’o’s options are limited.

If Barcelona doesn’t sell Eto’o this season, with one year left on his contract, they’ll wind up losing him next summer for nothing in return.

Manchester United To Offer Barcelona €29m For Samuel Eto’o

The Barca striker's future could be about to be resolved, with the British press reporting that the Red Devils are poised with an offer.

Manchester United are reportedly closing in on a deal for Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o as they prepare to bid €29 million for the Cameroon international.

The News of the World claims that the English champions will offer Eto’o a four-year deal, worth £150,000 a week, in order to secure their man.

Neighbours Manchester City had looked favourites to sign the 28-year-old, but Mark Hughes’ side bowed out of the race on Friday, leaving the path clear for United.

The report goes on to say that Eto’o has already informed Barcelona president Joan Laporta that he will leave the Catalan outfit this summer, with Old Trafford now appearing to be his most likely destination.

The player’s agent, Jose Maria Masalles, also insisted that money was not the striker’s main motivation and that the prospect of claiming silverware was more attractive.

“At 28 he wants to join a club which will give him another chance of winning trophies,” he said.

“It can't be just about money. It has to be about the sporting project.”

Having watched Eto’o seemingly stall in his negotiations with both Barca and Man City, Sir Alex Ferguson's men have made it clear that this is their sole offer and that a swift answer is needed if the deal is to go ahead.

Gill Clark, Goal.com

Barcelona president Joan Laporta claims he is having trouble getting in contact with Samuel Eto'o to resolve his future.

Eto'o has only one year left on his existing contract with Barca and where he will be plying his trade next season has been the subject of intense speculation over the last few weeks.

Barca insist they are keen to keep the prolific hitman and have offered him a two-year deal, but the 28-year-old has also attracted interest from elsewhere with Laporta revealing last month that Manchester City had made a "stratospheric" contract offer to the player.

There has been no recent news on Eto'o's situation though, and Laporta claims he has not been able to speak to the former Real Mallorca and Real Madrid striker.

"I've called him a couple of times, but he hasn't picked up the phone. I don't know if he has changed his number or what," Laporta was quoted as saying on TVE's '59 segundos' programme late last night.

"The situation has saddened me because we've always had a clear and direct relationship. We offered him two years and we're waiting for his answer. I would like to be able to talk to him calmly."

Meanwhile, Laporta insisted his side's lack of transfer activity so far this summer is nothing to panic about.

While arch rivals Real Madrid have already splashed out close to £200million on Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema and Raul Albiol, things have been much quieter at the Nou Camp.

Although they have been linked with a host of players, including David Villa, Franck Ribery, Javier Mascherano and Filipe Luis, Barca have yet to dip into the transfer market.

Laporta confirmed they are looking at strengthening the squad that won the treble last season but insists he is "calm" about the lack of new faces so far.

"We need a few small finishing touches: a left-back, a centre-back, a midfielder and a striker," he said.

"We already have a very competitive team, young and of high quality."

Two of the biggest names that Barca are looking at are Valencia hitman Villa and Bayern Munich winger Ribery, although neither player will come cheap.

On Villa, Laporta said: "He is a player who interests us, for whom we have made an offer. The offer is very good, but it's not for 50 or 60milllion euros, it's closer to 40."

Regarding Ribery, who Bayern have reportedly slapped an 80million euros price tag on, Laporta said: "He is a player who interests us at a logical price. Bayern do not want to sell him, although they already know to let us know if they do think about selling him."

Laporta was also asked about Madrid's world-record £80million signing Cristiano Ronaldo, to which the Barca president insisted he would rather have Lionel Messi.

"(Ronaldo) is a great professional and, but me I like Messi more," he said.

"I'm convinced he (Messi) is the best player ever. He is very happy at Barca, he is the emblem of the club and it's natural leader. We are delighted with him. He is incredible, great...priceless."