Transfer rumours are a dime a dozen. Very few have genuine substance so they should always be taken with a huge amount of cynicism. Yet they cannot be completely ignored in case there’s the slightest grain of truth in them. Some media outlets are obviously more reliable than others so Truly Reds is prepared to report the gossip and give a rating of 1 to 5 as to how believable it’s likely be. A rating of 1 can almost certainly be dismissed out of hand while a 5 may give the story some creedance. Have a look at the latest sports news and transfers being reported but be warned – only believe what you want.

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Amongst the large number of squad changes Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to make for Manchester United’s Carling Cup meeting with West Ham, nobody will be looking forward to the quarter final more than defender Wes Brown. First team appearances are few and far between these days making the veteran eager to get the most of the opportunities he gets before his advancing years catch up. Now past his 31st birthday and with his present contract due to expire at the end of next season, Brown is not sure how much time he has left at Old Trafford. There have even been suggestions that the former England international could be leaving United during one of the next two transfer windows.

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It’s a well known fact that newspapers are not exactly the bastions of truth but there are some which have proven to be more reliable than others, The Guardian is one of them. If you can believe what it is reporting, Manchester United is looking  for not one but TWO goalkeepers to replace veteran Edwin van der Sar when his imminent retirement is eventually announced. According to a report published on Thursday, United has “provisionally agreed a £3.5m deal to replace Edwin van der Sar with a goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has flatly described as not good enough to play for the club. Anders Lindegaard, the newly established Danish international, will move to Old Trafford in January but Schmeichel thinks Sir Alex Ferguson is making a serious error bringing in the 26 year old from the Norwegian club Aalesunds FK.

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When Manchester United made the trip to the Stadium of Light on Boxing Day 2007  Sunderland had gone through an up and down experience which would have turned anyone dizzy. Relegated in 1996-97, they were back among the big boys in 1999-2000, down again in 2002-03, back up for just the one season in 2005-06 then finally promoted to stay in season 2007-08.  United did not show any Christmas cheer to the Premier League newcomers that day but there’s little doubt that things will not turn out to be so one sided on Saturday.

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While Manchester United were cruising to a 5-2 defeat of  Scunthorpe with an entirely different starting line up to that used against Liverpool on Sunday, ten other Premier League clubs were dropping out of the Carling Cup. Manchester  City were knocked out by West Brom to miss out on their best chance of winning some sort of desperately desired silverware, Liverpool were determined to get to a Wembley final but could not even make it into the fourth round after going out to League Two Northampton at a half empty Anfield while Chelsea, Tottenham, Blackburn, Everton, Bolton, Fulham, Sunderland and Blackpool have  all been eliminated.

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When Manchester United, not unexpectedly, failed to retain a title which had been held for three successive seasons, the common expectation was that the time had finally come for Sir Alex Ferguson to blow the cobwebs off his cheque book and start spending much of the £80 that had been stashed away from the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid this time last year. Chief executive David Gill had after all repeatedly assured everyone that the cash was available for his manager to strengthen the squad in any way he saw fit.

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