Manchester United Transfer Rumours - Sneijder, Berbatov, Barton and Jones

Manchester United have, reportedly, made a formal offer for Wesley Sneijder and the Dutchman has one week to decide whether he wants to take a massive pay-cut and move to Old Trafford.

A report in the Daily Mirror suggests that a deal could be agreed over the weekend, after Inter Milan held talks with United and only the finer terms are yet to be finalized.

Sneijder is currently in China for Inter Milan's pre-season preparations. Inter are prepared to let the player go and the decision remains with the 27-year-old on whether he is willing to take a pay-cut and move to England.

Due to his tax-free salary in Italy, the world Cup finalist has presented Ferguson with complicated financial hurdles to cross. However, some within Old Trafford are confident of a sealing a deal based on incentives for the playmaker as Manchester United can afford to pay heavy image rights due to their huge fan-base across the world.

Elsewhere, reports on Tuesday suggested that Dimitar Berbatov could be the subject of a bid from French newly-rich side Paris Saint Germain. The figure being reported was around £ 18 million, which is a huge sum for a player who is in the final year of his contract at Old Trafford.

Javier Hernandez, Park Ji-Sung and Antonio Valencia are all poised to sign a new deal Old Trafford but it is not the case with Berbatov. The Bulgarian will be the only player into the final year of his contract at United this season, and with Paris Saint Germain ready to offer such a huge sum, United could be tempted to sell their top scorer last season.

It has now emerged that Ferguson would be willing to sell Berbatov. A report in The Guardian quotes United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as saying, "Yes, Absolutely. No problem," to a question querying whether Berbatov could play with Paris Saint Germain.

With PSG willing to pay £18-£20m, it could help United recoup some of the £50m they have spent so far on Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones while also aiding their signing of Sneijder.

It seems as though money has tempted a twist in United as they had maintained, all through the summer, that Berbatov wouldn't be sold. In fact, they had stated so as recently as the weekend when United chief executive David Gill said, "Everyone has been talking about Berbatov from the outside, saying he wants to leave or that we want him to leave, but we don't want him to go. We want him to stay. He scored 20 goals last season, so there is no desire on our behalf to see him go."

Gill had also said that there was nothing to be read into the fact that Berbatov was the only player at the club in the final year of his contract.

"People keep telling me he's in the final year of his contract but there is an option on the club's side to extend Dimitar's contract by another year. We can do it whenever we want, there are no conditions around it and that means, in effect, he has two years to go."

Joey Barton's outspokenness on Twitter has resulted in Newcastle United placing the midfielder on a free transfer and United are one of the top clubs reportedly attempting to lure him.

Barton accused Newscastle's board of penny-pinching recently, and made no attempt at secrecy while speaking his mind. The Magpies shockingly placed the player on a free transfer after seemingly getting tired of his outburst.

Early on Monday, Barton tweeted saying he would make an announcement on future at 16:00. However, before the 28-year-old could make his statement, Newcastle stated that they had placed the player on a free transfer.

"Newcastle United can confirm that Joey Barton has been placed on the transfer list today (Monday). The player has been advised he can leave the club on a free transfer." - their statement read.

It has led to Manchester United being linked to the player, along with Arsenal and Tottenham, as leading clubs are facing a scramble in a bid to have talks with the player and convince him to join.

Finally, Sir Alex has warned Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic that new-signing Phil Jones would be competing with them for their first team places.

When he was signed, it was believed that Jones was one for the future. However, Ferguson has revealed that England Under-21 captain is ready for first team action.

"You think he might not play, but the ability he's got and the determination he's got, he could quite easily play. There's no question about that. He's the future, obviously, but he could certainly come in right away."