United in trial of strength over Veron

Manchester United face a test of European credibility as they try to sign Juan Veron with Inter and AC Milan ready to bid for the player.

AC Milan are also now involved in interest over the Argentine especially as their major transfer target of the summer, Rui Costa, is in talks with Real Madrid.

Inter called Juan Veron within minutes of his acquittal for faking documents to earn an Italian passport yesterday.

The Milan club called the player on holiday in Miami and his agent Gustavo Mascardi who is with him and are ready to pay £26 million for the Argentine midfield star.

Veron and Mascardi are to open talks again with Manchester United next week and the English champions expect Veron to sign for them after Mascardi made contact with United last January.

Lazio definitely do not want to release Veron to an Italian rival and if they do sell the player then United have a long lead on any other bid and can look forward to signing Veron at the start of July.

Mascardi is in Italy again next week to hear what seems now to be a host of offers after United made early runing for Veron with talks last January.

Lazio pay Veron £80,000 a week plus extravagant bonuses and United would have to match this and break open their pay structure to do it.

New contracts for Phil Neville, Jaap Stam, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Andy Cole have all been kept within the current pay structure which keeps captain Roy Keane as the club's highest earner. Veron's wages are nearly double those of Keane with only David Beckham testing the current structure.

United can pay even higher wages but the effect of a Veron deal on talks with Beckham and the pay scale at the Premiership champions would have to be considered.

After missing out on Lilian Thuram in recent weeks though, United are in the mood to buy proven quality.

Thuram went to Juventus and United have seen Arsenal say that they will not sell Patrick Vieira to the English champions while Emmanuel Petit has joined Chelsea and Zinedine Zidane is going to Real Madrid.

United have few transfer targets left if they do not land Veron who is now in the clear to stay in Serie A.

United want to mount a strong challenge in the Champions League next season and look sure to dominate the Premeirship again but to rival Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Milan and others will take the signing of Veron to prove that the world's richest club is able to keep up with the pace of current transfer dealings.

With FC Barcelona again telling Lazio that Rivaldo is not for sale and the Rome club's attempts to buy Fabio Cannavaro and Rui Costa going nowhere they may now see Veron as a valuable asset rather than a controversial figure dogged by claims over rule breaking in the Italian league.