Daniel Taylor

The latest delays in the Rio Ferdinand saga mean the Manchester United defender might be free to play until March before facing any sanctions from the Football Association in England for his failure to take a drugs test.

Ferdinand is meant to begin an eight-month ban on Monday week but, if he lodges an appeal, he will be allowed to play until that is heard and a verdict announced. United have still not received the written clarification requested from the FA for its reasons in imposing the suspension.

When that arrives, they will have two weeks to decide whether to appeal and the FA will then have to find a date suitable for all relevant parties, a process likely to take several weeks.

Alex Ferguson expressed mild surprise yesterday that it was taking the FA's lawyers so long to put together their version of events. According to the United manager, Ferdinand's legal team had been led to believe it would arrive within a week of requesting it on December 22nd.

"There's nothing we can do about it," he said. "We've been waiting two weeks now. In the meantime Rio will carry on."

Ferguson's suspicion about the delay is the FA wants to ensure its findings are legally watertight. Privately, United officials would agree it suits them to drag it out. They have accepted Ferdinand faces a lengthy ban but hope an appeal will reduce it to three or four months.

Cristiano Ronaldo is back home in Portugal, meanwhile, after being given a winter break by Manchester United. The teenager needs a rest, Ferguson said yesterday, and will not return for three weeks, by which time the champions hope Louis Saha and Dong Fangzhou will have joined him on the payroll.

Ferguson revealed the 19-year-old's break was arranged when he concluded the £12.2 million signing from Sporting Lisbon in July. Ronaldo has started 11 matches this season and played, on average, 40 minutes a game.

"We were always going to give him a holiday," Ferguson said. "It was just a matter of deciding when."

The United manager and chief executive David Gill are now working to strengthen United's attacking options. Dong, an 18-year-old striker with Chinese side Dalian Shide, is seen as a star of the future but Ferguson believes Saha could have an immediate impact and Gill is putting together a bid of around £7 million.

United are braced for an aggressive reaction from Fulham, who described United's initial pounds £5.5 million offer as "unwelcome and unsolicited" and who value Saha above £10 million. The London club want to keep their most prolific striker but Saha is desperate to join the country's biggest club.

Ferguson was more forthcoming on some of the players United are "definitely not" signing. Arjen Robben of PSV is one and a move for Anderlecht's Vincent Kompany was also dismissed. "Anyone who has played in the UEFA Cup or the Champions League is out of the equation," said Ferguson. "We'd like someone who can play for us in Europe."

Jermain Defoe of West Ham fits the criteria, as do Alan Smith and Mark Viduka of Leeds, but Defoe might not be good enough to trouble Europe's most accomplished defenders yet while prising players away from Leeds is not as simple as many believe.

Leeds already have debts totalling £80 million and the gist of the acting chairman Trevor Birch's a.g.m. address was that selling Viduka for £3.5 million would not drastically ease the financial difficulties but would make it considerably harder to stay in the Premiership.

Dong's £1.5 million switch should be far simpler. "We're getting closer," said Ferguson. "There's just some documentation to finalise."

United tour China next year and the club are bound to face accusations of trying to exploit the market.

Fabien Barthez will make his Marseille comeback today in a first-round cup match against Strasbourg as his loan from United has been given the OK by the French federation.

Aston Villa have made retaining Juan Pablo Angel a major priority, as the Colombian has only 18 months on his deal.

"He wants to stay," said manager David O'Leary, who also confirmed an interest in Leicester's Muzzy Izzet. "He has said he would love to stay as long as I am at Villa. That is the type of attitude he is showing."

Guardian Service