United spurn Toon Brown bid
MANCHESTER UNITED have turned down a bid from Newcastle for Wes Brown. The Red Devils defender is out of contract in the summer and Toon boss Sam Allardyce is chasing a cut-price move for the England international. United chief Alex Ferguson said: “We have had an inquiry from Newcastle for Wes Brown but we have turned it down. “The matter rests with Wes and his agent. We’ll just wait and see what happens. "Our contract offer is still there — it’s now up to Wes.”
Brown, 28, has rejected the offer of a new deal at Old Trafford despite playing much of this season in Gary Neville's absence. Newcastle defenders Habib Beye and Abdoulaye Faye head off on African Nations Cup duty next week.
That leaves Allardyce desperate for cover for his leaky rearguard. Fergie may have left the door open for Brown to leave but he did confirm that United will not be buying anyone in the January transfer window.