United to screen home matches live at Bury

Manchester United have asked the Premier League's permission to beam live home matches to a big screen at Bury's Gigg Lane ground.

The Premiership champions are keen to give the thousands of supporters who cannot get tickets for games at their 55,000-capacity Old Trafford another option to see the action as it happens.

United have applied to the Premier League for permission to screen their first five home games at Gigg Lane and if the deal is a success, they will look to extend it further.

"The plan is to set the screen up at one end of the ground and we estimate a maximum of 7,000 fans will be able to watch," United spokesman Ken Ramsden said.

"We have asked the Premier League for permission and we hope there will be no objections. The only problem we can see is from clubs who are playing on the same day, but we would then ask why fans of other clubs would want to pay to watch us on a big screen at Gigg Lane.

"We are looking to set it up for our first five home games, beginning with Southampton next Wednesday. We will then review the situation and, if it proves to be a success, then we may look to extend it further."

Reading have paid a club record fee of pounds 800,000 for 24-year-old Brentford striker Carl Asaba. It takes the First Division club's spending on new players to pounds 1.3m in 10 days following the signing of Linvoy Primus and Lee Hodges from Barnet. Asaba scored 26 goals in 67 appearances for Brentford and two in 12 games on loan at Colchester.