Ferguson, Mourinho Compete to Sign Lucas for $19 Mln: Roundup

The following is a roundup of soccer stories from U.K. newspapers, with clickable links to the Web.

Fergie and Mourinho’s Tussle

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho are both keen to sign Brazilian teenager Lucas, the Daily Mirror reported.

The 19-year-old Lucas, who plays in midfield for Sao Paulo, has been valued at 12 million pounds ($19 million).

Rovers’ Salgado LA-bound?

Blackburn Rovers player Michel Salgado may join his friend David Beckham at Los Angeles Galaxy, the Daily Mirror reported.

The 36-year-old Spanish full-back will become a free agent this summer. The former England star and Salgado played together at Real Madrid.

Kuyt Wants to Come Home

Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt, 31, wants to come home to the Netherlands and join his former club Feyenoord, the Daily Mirror reported, citing his friend and Chelsea striker Salomon Kalou.

“Dirk told me he wants to return now,” Kalou told Dutch television. “Dirk said to me that I also must come, that we both have to return to Feyenoord,” said Kalou, who used to play with Kuyt at De Kuip in Rotterdam.

Kuyt, who had been the top scorer at Feyenoord in all three of his seasons there before he joined Liverpool in 2006, has a clause in his contract that allows him to join a foreign club for 1 million pounds, the paper said.

No Olympics for Wilshere

Arsenal player Jack Wilshere won’t be playing for the British Olympic soccer team at the London Games because he wants to focus on getting fit for his club in the new season, the Sun reported.

Wilshere, who had been one of the picks of Olympic team coach Stuart Pearce, hasn’t played all season because of an ankle injury.

To contact the reporter on this story: Danielle Rossingh at the London sports desk on drossingh@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Elser at at celser@bloomberg.net