The transfer of an oft-injured back-up is not usually something that warrants its own space, but when two of the league’s elite are involved, it’s worth a note.

Mikael Silvestre was one of the longest tenured Red Devils, having been with the club since his move from Inter Milan almost ten years ago.  In recent years, the 31-year-old center/left back has been an infrequent contributor.  Injuries and the acquisition of players like Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra have cut into his playing time.  Though he saw some time at the end of last season, Silvestre was losing traction on United’s depth chart and looked unlikely to get playing time.

He had been rumored with moves all summer, but loan agreements with AS Roma and Bordeaux could not be worked out.  This week, it surfaced that Silvestre was on the verge of a move across town to Mancehster City.  Then Arsene Wenger swooped.  Arsenal hijacked Manchester City’s target, wtih Silvestre having to call City to apologize for being so close to a deal yet having to withdraw his interest in the face of an opportunity to join Arsenal.

It did not take long for Wenger and Alex Ferguson to work out a rare transfer.  Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996, and this is his first deal with United.  Ferguson joined United in 1986. and this is his first deal with Arsenal.  The last deal between the two clubs was in 1974!

Silvestre’s role with Arsenal is unclear, though with the Gunners slightly less set in the middle of their defence than United, Silvestre may see a few more games in London than at Old Trafford.  With these two clubs unlikely to do business again anytime soon, Silvestre will not have to play to become the new answer to a trivia question.

One of the stranger transfers of recent memory?  Tell us your thoughts.  Gunners fans:  where does Silvestre fit in?

Manchester United fans may want to bemoan their club’s inability to get three points in their opener at Old Trafford, but solace can be found 930 miles to the southeast, where another storied European club was held to a tie in the home opener of their title defense.

Without three of their best players, FC Bayern Munich held on for a 2-2 victory over Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga opener on Friday,. Munich was playing without leading scorer Luca Toni, German Footballer of the Year Franck Ribery, or their best defender, Martin Demichelis. In other words: It happens.

The Red Devils got the benefit of Newcastle playing without their captain, Michael Owen, but Manchester United were still without Cristiano Ronaldo (injury, long-term), Carlos Tevez (bereavement), Nani (suspension), Anderson (Olympics), and Owen Hargreaves (injury) - all players that would have been expected to contribute in attack. That they were still able to create more and better opportunities throughout the match should be encouraging to Alex Ferguson and his supporters.

The lack of a cutting edge was, however, noticeable. Wayne Rooney played the whole match, whereas he was once thought to be out recovering from an illness acquired in Africa, but he lacked his world-class form, and it was evident when he was unable to make himself dangerous with the ball at his feet around the box. Frazier Campbell had three strong chances and should have had a goal early, but Manchester United’s only goal came when Darren Fletcher, two minutes after Newcastle went ahead off an Obafemi Martins header, guided a Ryan Giggs cross into the net. It was Fletcher’s way of evening the scales after he left Martins alone for a goal off a Magpies’ corner. After twenty-four minutes, the match had it final score.

Giggs was United’s best player during his sixty minutes on the pitch, a good news-bad news proposition for the Devils. The good news is the legendary left winger, who is thought to be in his final season at Old Trafford, looks able to contribute, where many had wondered what he had left in the tank. The bad news for Manchester United is that he was their best player, something (at best) peculiar for a European championship team. It was one example of how Manchester United’s injuries and absences had taken a toll on the pitch.

The injuries for the champions were not limited to before the match. Michael Carrick, who had been named to Fabio Capello’s England national team for Wednesday’s friendly against the Czech Republic, left with an ankle injury and will be out for three weeks. He has been replaced by Tottenham’s Jermaine Jenas for Wednesday, but with Owen Hargreaves still suffering from knee problems, it’s unclear Ferguson will be able to replace his holding midfielder as easily.

Ryan Giggs was not substituted because of age, form or fatigue; rather, he also suffered an injury and had to be removed. At the 2/3 mark of the match, Giggs left the match with a right hamstring injury which will also see him sidelined around three weeks. Late in the second half, center back Nemanja Vidic injured his knee with a supreme effort to get his head on a corner kick. The ball ended up going off the crossbar, and Vidic finished with a noticeable limp after hurting his right knee.

At the end of the match, names like Campbell, Rafael de Silva, and Rodrigo Possebon joined reserves like Fletcher and John O’Shea in United’s side, and while it was a team that was still able to trouble a Newcastle side that played over the last fifteen minutes as if to preserve their point, it was not enough to get a second goal. Newcastle’s two Argentinian imports saw to that.

The Magpies came into the season as the Premiership’s worst returning defense, but summer acquisitions Jonas Gutierrez (right midfield) and Fabricio Coloccini (center back) had a huge impact in preventing the champions’ a second goal. Gutierrez was the match’s best player, having a unparalleled activity rate between the boxes, an adept defensive sense that broke up many Red Devil attacks, and a couple of moments in attack that made him mildly dangerous. Coloccini was active in the middle of the back line - a rangy, physical presence who was frequently finding ways to disrupt the home side’s attack. Those two additions made a profound difference between the Newcastle that finished last season and the team that took a point from Olf Stafford on Sunday.

For Manchester United, the draw stings only because of what happened earlier in the day at Stamford Bridge. In isolation, the draw is defensible, but on the same day that Chelsea put up a 4-0 domination of Portsmouth, the draw becomes a source of worry. Again here, United can look to Germany, where Munich’s draw against Hamburg was made the more worrisome when Schalke 04, the Bundesliga’s third place team last season, dominated Hannover on Saturday. From a distance, it is difficult to convince the casual Bundesliga fan that Munich’s fortunes changed so much after two matches. With the distance of a couple of rounds of the Premiership going by, we will probably be looking on Sunday’s results with the same refrain.

In other words: it happens.

The opening of Manchester United’s Premiership title defense was already going to be tough, with Cristiano Ronaldo out until at least October. Now, the Red Devils face the prospect of an opening fixture with Newcastle United where they will be without another main scoring threat.

Forward Wayne Rooney is unlikely to be fit for their August 17 match against the Magpies. The 22-year-old striker contracted a virus when Manchester United was in Nigeria to play Portsmouth. Rooney has not trained since, and manager Alex Ferguson says he does not expect his star striker to be ready for the club’s league opener.

“I doubt Wayne will be fit for the start of the season,” Ferguson said today. “It’s a virus he picked up in Nigeria and it’s not a nice one. He’s not been back in training yet.

“The players had malaria tablets and injections before we went to Africa, but Wayne has come back and it has knocked him sideways.”

Though Manchester United have played a one striker formation before, this leaves the club which normally plays two up top with only Carlos Tevez are a returning regular from last season. Also on the roster are 20-year-old Frazier Campbell and the oft-injured Frenchman Louis Saha.

Both forwards have been rumored for loan stints. In recent days Ferguson has said his is likely to keep Campbell this season after loaning him out to Hull City last year. Louis Saha, however, has been linked with Sunderland to help the Black Cats fill the hole created by Kenwyne Jones’s injury.

Further hampering Manchester United’s plans is the absence of winger Nani and central midfielder Anderson for the opener.

“It’s all been about injuries and viruses at the moment and I’m wondering if I am going to have a team to start the season,” Ferguson explained. “Apart from Wayne, Nani is suspended and Anderson is off to the Olympics.”

Anderson is representing Brazil in Beijing while Nani is serving a suspension incurred after receiving a red card in the final match of last season.

As of now, it looks like Frazier Campbell, who Ferguson has favored in the preseason, is likely to start up top with Carlos Tevez. Campbell has only one previous league appearance for United. Should Saha see action, it would be his first appearance for United since March 19.

Last season, Rooney missed 10 Premiership matches, mostly due to a foot injury suffered in last season’s opening match against Reading. He would go on to score 12 goals in his 28 appearances in league. His all competition totals were 18 goals in 43 appearances.

Carlos Tevez integrated beautifully into Manchester United’s attack last season and was one of the reasons United was able to make the jump from Premiership winners to champions of Europe. Though overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, the 24-year-old striker was instrumental in what was arguably the best attack in the club world, scoring 19 goals in 48 appearances. His assimilation into the attack was so seamless that it was easy to forget Tevez was merely on loan - not a full member of the Red Devils. Today that loan came closer to ending, with the Argentine striker moving close to a  permanent deal with the club.

Manchester United has agreed to a deal with management company MSI that will transfer Tevez’s rights to the club for £32 million.  MSI, the management agency owned by Iranian agent Kia Joorabchian, still owns the rights to Tevez.  The agency  also held the rights to midfielder Javier Mascherano before he completed a permanent move to Liverpool.  Tevez’s move to United would see the Premiership champions pay the transfer fee to the third party as opposed to the club from whom Tevez is technically on loan, West Ham United.

The fee sets a British record, breaking the mark Chelsea set in purchasing Andriy Shevchenko from AC Milan two years ago. Roman Abramovich purchased the Russian striker for £30.8 million pounds.

The only remaining issue in completing the transfer is United agreeing to a long-term contract with the Argentine striker, something that could be done over the next couple of months.  In January, Tevez would be free to start negotiation a pre-contract agreement with other clubs.

The prognosis on Cristiano Ronaldo’s return from ankle surgery has him out three months, putting him on the sidelines until October, or at least five weeks of the Premiership campaign. While Manchester United and their backers have had to deal with a summer of mental preparation for their leading goal scorer to be out on a permanent basis, now that some time out-of-the-team has been made official, we can start discussing in a meaningful way: How much of an effect will Ronaldo’s absence have on United’s lineup and prospects?

The clearest effect on United’s lineup will be the difference between Nani and Ronaldo. Nani is most likely to be slotted into Ronaldo’s spot, as his game and abilities most readily fit that role. The difference between the two is huge. Luis Nani is what Cristiano Ronaldo was four or five years ago, the difference between a talented and erratic player and somebody who is amongst the best in the world. For a team that won the league by only two points last season, it’s a difference that will have drastic implications. Chelsea was that runner-up, and Arsenal was only two points further back.

Over five weeks, could the difference between Ronaldo and Nani be four points? Normally I would say no, but in this case I think it might, considering the five weeks we are talking about. Manchester United’s schedule is a bit front-loaded. They open the season at home against Newcastle, a dangerous match but one I expect them to win regardless of Ronaldo’s availability. After that, they are on the road for three straight weeks against teams playing in Europe: Portsmorth; Chelsea; Liverpool. A team like Manchester United should be expected to get points in all those matches, but without Ronaldo it is going to take a supreme effort.

United schedule evens out over September and October. Ronaldo should be back for the club’s next big match at Arsenal on November 8. The condition he will be in at that time will be worth watching, but with him out of the lineup and that stretch of matches, it’s not difficult to argue that a stretch in which United would have gotten six or seven points could now yield only two or three (if that).

Ronaldo’s absence could cost them the league, especially if he is out for more than the first five weeks of the season. United may want to shift their focus this season towards Champions League, where the meaningful matches will come after the turn of the calendar.

While it does not affect United’s prospects for the season, there is an implicit fallacy in the reasoning above. In asking what the difference will be between Ronaldo and Nani, there was the assumption that Ronaldo would yield a performance comparable to last season’s. That would be a difficult feat were he healthy, and even if he were healthy, you have to wonder about his motivation in returning to a team where he does not want to play. I don’t want to underestimate Ronaldo’s professionalism, but 42 goals is a lot of ask of a man who is in an environment that’s unlikely to yield his best performances.

We should not be asking the difference between Ronaldo-at-his-best and Nani. When we think about what United will be missing, we should probably have something closer to 20 goals in mind. We should ask how they are going to replace him on set pieces - be he taking them or trying to get on the end of them, where he is United’s best player in the air.

United had a problem before Ronaldo had surgery, as they were faced with the task of replicating a championship won by two points on the back of a performance that would not be replicated. They may not have been the league favorites before the surgery, and they certainly should not be considered as such now.

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The level of anti-Cristiano Ronaldo sentiment should not be underestimated, though if you ever find yourself thinking it weak consider reports out of Italy saying Real Madrid goaltender Iker Casillas and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres are favorites for the Ballon d’Or.

The Ballon d’Or, or Golden Ball, is given by France Football to the player voted by media as the best football in the world for the preceding year. AC Milan’s Kaká is the current holder of the award and for much of the season Cristiano Ronaldo (left) was considered either the likely winner (by his supporters) or the favorite. The reports out of Italy, based on a research done on the award’s voters, now paints a different picture.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s accomplishments of the last year have been well documented. Fernando Torres also had had an incredible season, and although I seem to have slightly less regard for Casillas than most, people who know a lot more than I do about the sport have given him tremendous credit for Real Madrid’s success last season.

Beyond any accomplishments Torres or Casillas had during their club seasons, the capper to their Ballon D’Or resumé seems to be Spain winning Euro 2008. That is where I see the breakdown in logic behind their candidacies of the award.

If you grant that Ronaldo was generally considered to be the favorite for the Ballon d’Or at the end of the club season, the issue becomes whether the Euro 2008 performance of Torres or Casillas was sufficient to bridge the gap to Ronaldo. For now, let’s just set aside the idea of defining what that gap was, and let’s also grant the Ronaldo’s one goal in three games at Euro for Portugal did nothing to widen that gap.

Torres, until he scored the winning goal in the final, was generally derided for having a disappointing tournament, a view I completely disagree with (I named him to my best XI for the tournament). He was being substituted in each match, and while some questioned whether that was wise of Spain coach Luis Aragones, others advocated giving Daniel Guiza, Torres’s replacement, a greater role. While Torres may have decreased the distance between him and Ronaldo, this is not a performance that should seal a Ballon d’Or.

Then there is Casillas (left), who I also named to my Euro 2008 XI. Casillas’s shining moment was the penalty shootout win over Italy, but beyond that he was untested. The ten players Spain had in front of him made it a rather boring tournament for Spain’s captain, the pre-kicks Italy match included. Was that performance against Italy enough to bridge his gap to Ronaldo?

Whether you think Torres or Casillas deserve the award, you should allow that the shift in opinion that has occurred over the last two months may be more about Ronaldo than what either of these players has done. Perhaps people have grown weary of the Real Madrid speculation. That’s understandable. Perhaps the voters look unfavorably on his style and the various idiosyncrasies of his game. That is also understandable, but it is not fair to use these things as reason for an abrupt change regarding the Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo, being the front-runner for this award for so long, has been analyzed and scrutinized in a way Torres and Casillas have been able to avoid. To withhold a vote for him because of that scrutiny can not be fair unless you wait six months to cast the vote and, during that time, hold Torres and Casillas to the same standards.

That basic unfairness is not the only problem I have with the Casillas and Torres candidacies. How did these two players get singled out to benefit from Ronaldo’s falling star? It’s an easy question to answer: They are the players from the Spain team who best fit the standards for this award. That reasoning, however, ignores a Spain squad who’s defining trait was team-wide success - a kind of success that does not translate onto this kind of individual award. How can you single out Torres or Casillas when you consider how Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, David Villa, Carles Puyol, and David Silva played?

And why is this being restricted to only Spanish players? If we are going to reconsider Ronaldo’s claim to the award, we should not let the achievement of a Spain side ill-suited towards individual recognition limit the candidates. When you compare Casillas’s resume to that of Manchester United goalie Edwin van der Sar, who looks better? Both won their club league, and while Casillas’s health during the season is a point in his favor (van der Sar missed time during Manchester United’s season with injuries), van der Sar and club had more competition (from Chelsea) for their title. Van der Sar also had a much harder time of it in the Champions League than Casillas had in Euro 2008. Until the Netherlands was eliminated from Euro, van der Sar had outplayed Casillas and been one of the best goaltenders in Euro.

Why isn’t Michael Ballack being considered? He was Chelsea and Germany’s best player and was a decisive force whenever he was on the pitch. Ballack continuously scored big goals down the stretch of Chelsea’s Premiership and Champions League campaigns, had another huge goal in Euro 2008 against Portugal, and established himself as a fixture in any best midfielder in the world conversation.

Van der Sar. Ballack. Casillas or Torres. It doesn’t matter. If the stories are true, this award has become less about who will win it than making sure Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t win.

I hope after the award is given, this article looks reactionary; however, I doubt I would have bothered writing it if I thought Ronaldo was still the favorite to win the award.

If you have any questions or comments about the article, you can email the author here or leave your comment, below.

Valencia striker and Spain international David Villa, the pre-Arshavin star of Euro 2008, has adjusted his Premiership aims to match his increased profile. Where he was once close to joining Juande Ramos at Tottenham, Villa is now linked with two of the league’s big four: Chelsea and Liverpool. The 26-year-old striker has admitted interest in both clubs, saying the sides “are both big clubs with lots of attraction.”

Chelsea’s place in the Villa conversation is obligatory. They are linked with every high-profile name in the transfer market. Liverpool, however, is the logical choice, with Rafa Benitez, Spain partner Fernando Torres, and a perceived need to add another threat in the attack.

The only problem with the Liverpool scenario is money. Benitez is still on a limited budget, and Villa would cost at least £20 million. There are, however, indications that Benitez’s financial limitations may be easing.

Reports surfaced last week that owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett are patching up the contentious relationship that overshadowed Liverpool’s season. Partly due to this infighting, Benitez’s transfer budget has remained static for the last year-and-a-half.  Meanwhile, player wages and transfer fees have increased with league revenues. This stalemate has contributed to the perception that Liverpool is falling behind the other big four Premier League clubs. While players like Gareth Barry and David Villa are linked with Anfield, Benitez has not been able to finalize any deals, insisting that he must sell players before he can buy.  This has fueled the speculation and urgency surrounding the transfers Xavi Alfonso and Peter Crouch, amongst other Liverpool players.

One of those other Liverpool players, John Arne Riise, has agreed on a move to AS Roma. Roma will give Liverpool around £4 million as a fee for the left back, whose departure from Anfield was guaranteed after the Champions League semifinals. In a class move, club owners and coaches used the Norwegian’s departure as an opportunity to remind Liverpool fans of Riise’s contributions to the club.

With the club owners making peace, more transfer funds may become available, but until the boardroom hatchets are fully buried, the sales of Alonso and Crouch - along with the sales of pieces like Riise - will be crucial to Benitez’s restocking the club.

The main bidder for Crouch, Portsmouth, has seen their £9 million bid rejected. Crouch, who is entering the last season of his deal, has told Rafa Benitez that he wants to move on.  The lanky strike is concerned about playing time with the club and his status on the England national team. Benitez’s move to a one striker, Torres-led attack last season saw Crouch relegated to the bench last season.  Crouch wishes to move to a club where he can have a consistent place among the starting XI.

While Liverpool’s tactical change could motivate Benitez to sell Crouch, increased transfer funds from the boardroom may allow Benitez to keep Crouch. Even if those funds aren’t made available, Benitez alues Crouch at closer to £15 million, a price Pompey boss Harry Redknapp will not meet.

With Crouch out of his reach, Redknapp has expressed interest in teammate Yossi Benayoun. Benayoun is also on Manchester City’s wishlist, though he says he has no interest in moving from Anfield. Should Benitez elect to sell the Israel international, Benayoun could fetch Liverpool up to £6 million.

In the meantime, Spain’s run to the Euro 2008 semifinals has hindered Juventus and Liverpool’s ability to finalize the Xavi Alonso transfer. Though he has said he wishes to concentrate on the European Championships, Alonso has spoken throughout the tournamen of his admiration for Juventus. Being Benitez’s most valuable player to sell, the midfielder is likely to go to Le Zebre shortly after Spain ends their run. The £14 to £16 million Benitez gets from the sale, combined with a few million pounds from Liverpool, will go into Martin O’Neill’s pocket at Aston Villa, ending the prolonged and now predictable Gareth Barry-to-Anfield saga.

The Alonso and Barry dominos are also affecting Liverpool’s play for Newcastle winger James Milner. Milner spent last season on loan to Aston Villa. Now returned to Newcastle, he does not fit with Kevin Keegan’s plans. As with Barry, Benitez and O’Neill are tussling over Milner, with the Aston Villa boss eager to reacquire the 22-year-old. If O’Neill is willing to pay the rumored £8 million he’s say to have offered Newcastle, Benitez will be priced out.

With the Barry negotiations dragging out, Liverpool back-up plans have started popping-up in the news. Midfielder Rafeal van der Vaart’s performance for Holland in Euro 2008 has seen his name linked to Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea. Speculation holds the Reds will jump into the Hamburg midfielder sweepstakes should Martin O’Neill continue to raise Barry’s price. Likewise, Blackburn midfielder David Bentley has seen his name attached to Anfield after handing in his transfer request last week.

Both of these names will disappear from Liverpool rumors if and when the Barry transfer is completed. Until some finality is reached in that negotiation, van der Vaart and Bentley will remain back-up plans for Benitez, who has targeted Barry all summer.

Another Liverpool back-up plan that’s emerged from Europe is Ivica Olic. The hyperactive Croatian forward, also playing for Hamburg in the Bundesliga, scored in his team’s group stage upset of Germany. He will be an option for Benitez should David Villa not come to Anfield. Olic has scored 21 goals in 48 games since moving to Hamburg from CSKA Moscow in January 2007. If he were to go to Liverpool, Olic and right wing Dirk Kuyt would combine to form the most active winger tandem in the league, sure to get under the skin of every back line in the Premiership.

According to 3rd Degree, Major League Soccer has rejected a $1 Million dollar bid from an unknown European club for FC Dallas striker Kenny Cooper. Cooper, who has English citizenship as a result of his father, has been in good form for FC Dallas this season, scoring 7 goals in 14 starts. The 23 year old Striker spent 3 years with Manchester United before joining FC Dallas, and has earned 2 caps with the United States Mens National Team. The european transfer window is fast approaching, and we would not be surprised if there are further bids tabled for the young striker. How much do you think MLS should ask for Cooper? Any thoughts on what club might have been interested?

Bob Bradley has made a last minute addition to his squad in the build up to their 2nd leg of World Cup Qualifying with Barbados on Sunday. Brek Shea has earned his first call up into the senior national team side. Shea has been capped at the U-20 level and is rumored to be attracting interest from some European clubs, including English giants Manchester United. The 18 year old midfielder was drafted 2nd overall by FC Dallas in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.