LONDON (AFP) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was reported to be set to make a bid for Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini in the January transfer window.
Ferguson has lost faith in American Tim Howard and will try to prise Cudicini from Chelsea with a 2.5 million pound bid, The Sun reports Thursday.
Cudicini, 31, is set to return to training next week after missing the last month with an elbow ligament injury. But he has already been told he is no longer the No 1 at Stamford Bridge after the summer signing of seven million pound Petr Cech.
The United boss axed Howard for Mondays 2-1 victory over Liverpool following costly blunders against Bolton and Lyon but has apparently little confidence Roy Carroll is the complete answer to his problems.
Now he wants a keeper who has already proved he has the mentality to handle the demands of English football after signing a series of foreign flops in recent years.
And with Rio Ferdinand back to settle his defence Ferguson knows he needs a consistent goalkeeper if United are to challenge Arsenal for the title this season.
Cudicini has spent five years in the Premiership after being signed on a free transfer from Italian minnows Castel del Sangro by Gianluca Vialli.
He has played more than 150 first-team games and last season kept a club record 24 clean sheets to help Chelsea to the Champions League semi-finals and second place in the Premiership.
Cudicini is now qualified to apply for British citizenship after spending five years in the country and could even be eligible to play for England.
But he has always maintained that his target is to play for Italy after being called into their squad last season.