Manchester United Transfer Rumour: Tenuous Link to Chelsea Hero is Far-Fetched

Sir Alex Ferguson has had to put up with some crazy transfer rumours in his 25 years in charge of Manchester United, including a link to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.

Despite the manager often staying true to his word, keeping coy on players he does want and giving an honest insistence that he's not interested in players he doesn't want, the rumour mills have continued to purport to a shock move that not even the most seasoned pundit was expecting.

This month, it looks like Frank Lampard is the target of those possible shock transfer rumours for United, and Ferguson has insisted that any notion the club are chasing the Chelsea stalwart couldn't be further from the truth.

"Do you really think Chelsea would sell to United in January?" He asked reporters as they brought up the notion of a Lampard transfer.

"There's no foundation in that. Chelsea want to do something in the second half of the season so they want to keep their best players."

One could argue that Ferguson has hinted that he would take Lampard if he were available for transfer, but surely the United manager has other options in mind for a midfield signing.

At 33, Lampard is said to be on the decline in his career, and though he is starring for Chelsea, Andre Villas-Boas has left him on the bench at times to give younger players the chance to build up game time.

His current contract with Chelsea runs out in 2013, but the England international has insisted he wants to sign an extension. With the player hoping to commit the rest of his career to one of United's biggest title rivals, surely Ferguson would be hoping to take on a younger player who will be loyal to Old Trafford rather than dreaming of an alternative career curtain call at Chelsea?

But now numerous press outlets are claiming that United only brought Paul Scholes out of retirement because they had a bid turned down for Lampard.

The truth would seem to be much further from this claim, with Scholes having trained for a possible return with the reserves, long before the January transfer window opened.

The players had no idea that Scholes would play against Manchester City, with Wayne Rooney telling reporters after the City game: "We just thought he was coming along to watch the game.

"We saw him getting changed and someone asked him what he was doing, then we saw the number 22 shirt with Scholes on the back. That was a bit weird but it is great for us. He is a well-liked lad around the dressing room."

But Ferguson had blatantly been aware of the option of Scholes making a comeback for some time, and it would seem unlikely that he ever believed that Lampard was on the cards to replace the 37 year old.

Ferguson's midfield targets for the winter are said to include the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Mario Gotze and Christian Eriksen. Though with January typically a month for over valuing players, the United manager insists his preferred additions won't be possible until the summer at least.

But even if Lampard were available in the summer, it would appear very unlikely that United would go after the Blues stalwart as they try to shore up the middle of the pitch.