PSG line up £5m bid for Patrice Evra as Manchester United eye Everton's Leighton Baines

Defender tempted by a return to France which would open way for Baines to join United

Manchester United are set to be tempted by a £5m bid from Paris St-Germain for Patrice Evra, which would allow them to recoup virtually their entire outlay on a defender who is no longer reaching the heights of previous seasons.

Evra, a PSG supporter, is understood to be keen on the idea of playing for the club. He has always said that it is his aspiration to conclude his career at his hometown side, who gave him the big break in 1997 which he was unable to take. The 31-year-old eventually sought a route into football through Italy after several months' work at PSG's Camp des Loges training complex came to nothing.

A left-back is one of PSG's three primary targets for January and Evra could see his £90,000-a-week salary increase by joining the club that is now funded by the Qatar Investment Authority.

The Parisians, who may also be entertaining the idea of a move for Manchester City's Gaël Clichy if the Evra move fails, would need to make their offer to United's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, an attractive one because the club have not found an adequate replacement for Evra. Fabio da Silva, currently on loan at Queen's Park Rangers, has not demonstrated that he is ready to return to Old Trafford and step up. Neither has Alex Buttner suggested that he is anything more than back-up for Evra. United's decision to pay £4m to Vitesse Arnhem for the 23-year-old, who did not set the world alight in his three years there, has puzzled some observers in the Netherlands.

United would have to buy a straight replacement for Evra, who has two years still to run on the contract he renewed in 2010, and that means the PSG price would have to be right. The poor relationship between Ferguson and the Everton chairman Bill Kenwright could be an impediment to United signing Leighton Baines as a replacement – a move that fell through this summer. The two clubs have done business recently, though, in the sale of Darron Gibson to Goodison last January. Suggestions that United might be interested in Chelsea's Ashley Cole, who has also been strongly linked with PSG, are understood to be wide of the mark.

Ferguson may be tempted to seek a like-for-like replacement if Evra wants to leave. The United manager considers the dire standard of his side's defending in last season's 4-4 draw with Everton to have been key to the side losing the title and Evra was a prime culprit, allowing the Everton right-back Tony Hibbert space to cross for the visitors' first and second goals.

Evra currently has the prestige of the United captaincy, though that is only temporary, with Nemanja Vidic possibly back in United's side for Sunderland's visit a week tomorrow. With the 32-year-old, long-serving Sylvain Armand and the Brazilian Maxwell, 31, having shared the left-back duties at the Parc des Princes this season, their manager, Carlo Ancelotti, has identified a replacement as a priority for January – along with a proven goalscorer to supplement Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

After what was initially to have been a quiet window for PSG, it seems they will also seek to prise the dynamic midfielder Marek Hamsik away from Napoli.

Ferguson said this week, "God knows what's going to happen to us" against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday if a United defence which has conceded 32 goals in all competitions this season do not improve on the 4-3 win at Reading last weekend.

Rafael was unhappy to have been substituted after a mere 31 minutes of that game and, though Ferguson claimed he was injured, the Brazilian was on the bench for United's Champions League defeat to Cluj on Wednesday night.

Rafael laughed nervously when it was suggested he was unhappy to have been taken off again. "I don't know why we have had problems defending this season," he said. "Sometimes we have conceded and we need to work on this.

"Yes, if we defend like we have in some games we will be in real trouble against a team like City. That's 100 per cent sure. They have a very good attack with quality strikers. This will be our biggest test of the season."

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

iBet: Back Spain to shut out Tahiti

The spread betting firms are very slow about pricing up this game and you can understand why. All th...

by Gareth Purnell

iBet: Look To The Lady In The Prince Of Wales

The Prince of Wales Stakes today is regarded by many as the No1 race of the Royal Ascot meeting and ...

by Gareth Purnell

iBet: Favourites have a good record in the Coventry stakes

Today’s St James Palace looks a cracker and there has been sustained money for Dawn Approach since t...

by Gareth Purnell

       
 

Day In a Page

Babies behind bars: A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail

Babies behind bars

A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail
Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm for under 25s

Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm

Is Mosquito, the alarm only under-25s can hear, a blessing or a bane?
The art of living in small spaces: Architects are learning how to make less, more

The art of living in small spaces

Space in cities at a premium so architects are learning how to make less, more...
Special report: The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

After four 'nice' years as Governor of Bank of England, things turned decisively nasty
Zombie nation: Our enduring fascination with a world full of death and destruction

Zombie nation: Our fascination with death and destruction

A new season of shows on Radio 4 is inspired by dark tales of future dystopias. Meanwhile, zombies are marauding in the multiplexes...
Martin Stephen: 'Ofsted says comprehensives are failing the most able but teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

'Teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

It doesn't take a selective system to nurture the best minds, says a former head of St Paul's boys' school.
The retail empires strike back: Can new technology lure us back to the high street?

Can technology lure us back to the high street?

The high street has been bruised and battered by online firms but in-store technology is helping to enliven the retail experience...
The 10 Best new smartphones

The 10 Best new smartphones

Photos, films, music, apps and browsing - the latest mobiles can do it all
Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

McLaren man admits 'failed gamble' with car has left him pinning hopes on 2014 campaign
James Lawton: Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe

James Lawton

Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe
'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over