It appears that a degree of clarification is needed following an article published in The Daily Mirror today...

The following story was erroneously published under an incorrect headline, late last night, that led readers to believe Manchester United have bid for David Villa.

My original article stated that Valencia will still be forced to sell star players; that Valencia beleive David Silva`s representatives have an offer from Manchester United - and that David Villa will probably still end up at Barcelona. But there has been no bid for David Villa from United.

The headline has since been changed by the paper, but a shorter, edited version of the story has still created a degree of confusion. In order to clarify things, here is the original copy of the article:

Valencia`s star players have repeatedly been linked with big money moves to the Premier league and no one expected David Villa, Silva or Juan Mata to still be at the club at the start of this season. However, I have been in Valencia for most of this week and been told that the club`s financial problems are far from over: a recent credit agreement merely serves as a stay of execution for the financially stricken club and although they expect to generate income from a number of sources, Valencia have calculated that they must raise around €50 million from player transfers within the next ten months. Which means that the likes of Villa and Silva will still have to be sold: a question of when, rather than if.

David Silva`s representatives are desperate for talks with the club and they have told Valencia that they have had contact regarding two offers for the player – and the Spanish club believes one of those comes from Manchester United.

David Villa has always been uncertain about moving away from Spain - but when a deal taking him to Barcelona in the summer collapsed, a move abroad appeared to be his only option. The news that Valencia still need to sell the Spanish striker will certainly put the likes of Manchester United, City and Chelsea on alert  - however, I am led to believe that this will be Thierry Henry`s last season at the Camp Nou and with at least two presidential candidates ahead of next summer`s club elections having already contacted the player, Barcelona remains his most likely destination.