United yet to button up shirt deal with Nike... but remain on course for contract worth staggering £1BILLION

Manchester United chief Ed Woodward, who has taken the brunt of the blame for failings in the transfer window, has another deal to get over the line valued at well over 10 times the price of Gareth Bale.
United had been expected to sign a new long-term contract with shirt suppliers Nike for as much as £1billion before the six-month exclusive negotiating period ended last month. Woodward had been confident as long ago as last October of agreeing a 'major increase' in terms with Nike, whose current £303m deal expires at the end of next season.

Big deal: Woodward (right) is in talks with Nike over new shirt contract for Man United

The next United kit partnership is estimated to be worth 10 figures if the length of the contract is similar to the present 13-year agreement.
There is time pressure on Woodward and his commercial staff because the big sports  clothing companies, with whom United are now free to negotiate, generally need 18 months' notice to deliver a new kit range.
But with Puma (Arsenal), adidas (Chelsea) and Warrior (Liverpool) all investing considerable funds elsewhere in the Premier League, Nike are still strong favourites to keep their swoosh on the United shirt.
A Nike spokeswoman said: 'We have a great partnership with Manchester United and are still talking to them.'

 

Arsenal have taken 'strong disciplinary action' against academy coach Mark Arber, son of Gunners scout Bob Arber, ahead of an inevitable FA probe into a possible breach of gambling regulations. This follows Sports Agenda's revelation of Arber's tweets suggesting a 14-1 deadline-day bet on Mesut Ozil's signing. 'All Arsenal employees and workers are well aware of their responsibilities in this respect,' said a club spokesman.

 

Sir Alex Ferguson and publishers Hodder & Stoughton are so confident about sales of his second autobiography that there will be no newspaper serialisation ahead of the release on October 24. Fergie (right) is such a big name that it's felt pre-publication exposure, a prerequisite along with the accompanying rights cheque for most big sports books, is not needed. Among the fascinating aspects of the memoir, which comes 14 tumultuous years after his first autobiography, will be how much Fergie will reveal about his battle with Irish racing tycoons John Magnier and JP McManus over the breeding rights to Rock of Gibraltar or whether he will answer questions on the subject on his book tour. Very little and no, I suspect.

 

The Premier League want a lot more detail about the structure, terms of reference and timeframe of FA chairman Greg Dyke's commission to improve the England team before putting the matter to clubs next Thursday. Dyke has strangely proposed the low-profile PL chairman Anthony Fry as part of the task force despite his obvious lack of football experience. However, BBC trustee Fry has more pressing issues following his evidence to the Commons public accounts committee about fat cat pay-offs being described as 'fundamentally misleading' by former director-general Mark Thompson.
Forest in the spotlight 

Jim Price, agent and cousin of Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies as well as being the effective CEO at the City Ground, is understood not to have passed the Football League's  owners and directors test. That has to lead to extra scrutiny on Forest being one of six  Championship clubs who paid out £1m or more to agents over the year ending June 30. Blackpool were the only Championship club not to fork out a penny to middle men and,  coincidentally, chairman Karl Oyston has been elected to the Football League board. The most unlikely number in the FL's agents fees table was kamikaze spenders QPR having £0 against their name. But that was only from June 7 to June 30.

 

Sir Dave Richards, who stayed away from Wembley last night claiming he was yesterday's man, may have stepped down as Premier League chairman on reaching the age of 70 and lost all his FA committee roles. But Sir Dave's influence is not over. He has been appointed vice-president of the Football Conference and will help in an advisory capacity.