AKINFEEV tied down

Manchester United have been rumoured to be sniffing around CSKA Moscow keeper Igor Akinfeev for a while now, and The Daily Mail reports that the Russian club have spotted those covetous glances and want to tie down their man.

The paper claims the keeper is seen as the successor to Edwin van der Sar at United, and with Akinfeev's current contract running out in December next year, they might've hoped to get him on the cheap.

However, CSKA don't want to lose a prize asset for nowt, which seems rather sensible to us, so they're going to offer him a new deal.

The extension will run until 2014, which will give them a little more room to negotiate when United come in with their seemingly inevitable bid.

United may face competition, with Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and even Arsenal and Chelsea also showing an interest.

AKINFEEV tied down