Forlan wants to stay at Old Trafford
Manchester United striker Diego Forlan has expressed his determination to stay at Old Trafford beyond this summer.
The Uruguayan has found first-team opportunities increasingly limited over the second half of the Premiership season, following the acquisition of Louis Saha from Fulham and the return to fitness of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Reports indicate that United might be prepared to sacrifice Forlan and several other players this summer to raise funds for a transfer spree.
But the 24-year-old told PA International that he would ideally like to stay and extend his career with the deposed Premiership champions, who will finish third after this weekend’s final round of league games.
His aim is to become Ruud van Nistelrooy’s regular partner in United’s attack, but much depends on whether Alex Ferguson decides Forlan is an expendable asset.
“Van Nistelrooy is a great goal scorer and he is one of the best,” said Forlan.
“For me it is great here and I am learning off the other players like Ruud and Ole.
“I want to play, I am ready for my opportunity and I want to win titles here.
“Ferguson is a great manager and you can see how he has influenced the players that have worked with him all the time. He wants to win and he expects that from all the players.”
Forlan believes the United faithful will be impressed by his ability should Ferguson allow him a lengthy run of games in the first team.
The United boss bought Forlan in January 2002, when he was brought in as a replacement for Andy Cole, who had switched to Blackburn the previous month.
However he has since struggled to find the form which made him a prized asset in South America, playing for Argentinian club Independiente.
“You need to play all the games for the full 90 minutes,” said Forlan. “That makes the difference.
“When you are on the bench, you are not getting that consistency, and it affects your confidence and you are not going to be happy.
“When you play one game and don’t score and then you wonder if you are going to be in the team next week, it affects your self-belief.”
Despite starting just 11 matches in the Premiership this season, Forlan has had no regrets about moving to United.
He was close to joining Middlesbrough before United persuaded him to join them, and the transfer to Old Trafford has yet to be the raging success he would have hoped for.
But he is confident that the experience of the past two years will serve him well.
“I always liked the idea of coming to England and I was confident that I would do well,” said Forlan, who was a top tennis player as a youngster before opting for a career in football.
“It was a hard transition but as I had lived in Argentina for four years I was used to living away from home and all the staff and players at Manchester United have been great.”
Forlan, like many observers, believes Rio Ferdinand’s eight-month ban for missing a drugs test has had an exacting effect on the United team this season.
“To lose a quality player like (Rio) Ferdinand was a big blow as he leads from the back,” said Forlan, “and we have also been unlucky with injuries this season.”
If Forlan is to depart this summer, then he would become the second South American to depart in successive years, after Juan Sebastian Veron moved to Chelsea last summer.
Forlan is itching to be playing regular football as a central striker, his preferred position. He believes the attack-minded Veron suffered at United because Ferguson often used him in a defensive midfield role.
“For Veron, the difference was that when he came here he was an attacking player behind the front two, having been in that position with Lazio and Boca Juniors, but at United he was playing deeper in a more defensive role,” he said.
“But also he has suffered injuries and of course this has happened at Chelsea as well.”
