Ferguson worry of Heinze boycott (6 Aug 2007 18:45 GMT)
Sir Alex Ferguson has expressed his misgivings that Gabriel Heinze may not report for pre-season training today as the Argentina international continues his aggressive pursuit of a move from Manchester United to Liverpool.
Heinze is due back from an extended break, having played in the Copa America earlier this summer, but Ferguson is not convinced the defender will turn up. He had concerns that Heinze was so unhappy about the club's refusal to sanction the transfer that the 29-year-old might stay away from what promises to be an awkward and bad-tempered reunion.
"You never know," he replied. "I hope he turns up. He has been instructed to turn up."
In an interview in Argentina over the weekend Heinze said he was willing to fly into England to face Ferguson at the club's training ground. However, it is a measure of how appalled Ferguson is with the player's conduct that the manager should even think there might be a non-appearance. If Ferguson's worst fears are confirmed, the Argentinian can expect to be heavily disciplined and the talks between manager and player are expected to be frosty, to say the least.
No player has moved from Old Trafford to Anfield since Phil Chisnall in 1964 and Heinze is so determined to get his way he has taken the extraordinary step of appointing Liverpool's own legal advisers, Hill Dickinson, to try to force United's hand. They, in turn, have made a formal objection to the Premier League about United's refusal to do business with Liverpool after receiving a bid of £6.8m - the amount that Heinze's advisers had been informed, via fax, would be accepted if a buyer could be found.
source : The Guardian