Fergie makes late bid to keep Irwin
Sir Alex Ferguson has made a last-ditch plea to Denis Irwin to stay at Manchester United. Irwin officially became a free agent on Sunday after failing to agree a new one-year contract with United and is wanted by a number of clubs including Watford and Coventry.
The 35-year-old full-back will decide his future this week and Ferguson has made one last attempt to persuade him to sign on for another 12 months at Old Trafford.
Irwin, who is United's longest-serving player, lost his first-team place to Mikael Silvestre last season but Ferguson insists he is still a key part of his plans. "I want Denis to stay," Ferguson said in the Manchester Evening News.
"Having already seen Teddy Sheringham go to Spurs I don't want to see that kind of experience going out of Old Trafford. It's important that we hold on to the great experience that Denis brings to the club. I can get around 35 games of real quality out of him and I can utilise that.
"Denis has come up against an impasse with the club, but I understand he was seeing Peter Kenyon and I hope they can come to an agreement."