SPORT UPDATE

Van Persie agent's £4m demands threaten to derail Manchester United deal

The Dutchman's representative wants a big fee to take his client to Old Trafford as the Premier League runners-up waver at meeting the growing cost of a potential transfer
Sourceshave claim that Kees Vos, the striker’s principal representative, wants a £4 million cut of the deal that takes Van Persie from Arsenal.

UNITED TRANSFER THAT FAILED
SAMIR NASRI
	What happened? The Red Devils were, at one stage, favourites to sign Nasri from Arsenal but he instead opted to join United's rivals Manchester City last summer.
WESLEY SNEIJDER
	What happened? In what was one of the transfer sagas of last season Sneijder looked all set to join United but refused to take a pay cut and ultimately stayed with Inter.
EDEN HAZARD
	What happened? Sir Alex went toe-to-toe with Manchester City and Chelsea in the race for the Belgian ace but Di Matteo's side eventually sealed the deal in June.
LUKA MODRIC
	What happened? Modric has been touted as an ideal signing for Manchester United but seems to have his heart set on Real Madrid rather than the north of England.
LUCAS MOURA
	What happened? After having seemingly agreed to join United, the Sao Paulo starlet performed a u-turn as PSG reached an agreement to sign the Brazilian on Wednesday.

United are in pole position to sign the Dutchman after Manchester City and Juventus baulked at the combination of Arsenal’s £25m valuation, the player's wage demands and the fee for Vos, who is the chief executive officer of Holland-based Sports Entertainment Group.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson is not close to concluding the summer's main transfer saga despite speaking once again of his interest in the player on Wednesday night.

"We have made a bid and they've [Arsenal] been trying to negotiate with other clubs," said Ferguson after United's friendly against Barcelona in Gothenburg. "I don't have a gut feeling on it at the moment, I must admit.

"We're not getting any breakthrough with Arsenal. It's difficult to say why they're operating this way. I don't know what their thoughts are, because they're not giving anything away."

It is understood that United are unwilling to pay much more than £15m for a player who turned 29 on Monday and has only a year remaining on his contract.

City have put their interest in Van Persie firmly on hold, even though there is no guarantee that Edin Dzeko will remain at Etihad Stadium in the current window, while Juventus are out of the running.

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona were approached at the start of the summer to ascertain their interest in the reigning PFA and Footballer Writers' Association player of the year but neither of the Spanish giants wanted to make a move.

All of which leaves the Van Persie camp with few remaining options.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is still hopeful he can persuade the Dutchman to stay after demonstrating growing ambition by signing proven midfielder Santi Cazorla on top of earlier summer purchases Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

And as revealed by Goal.com, there has been a notable shift in Van Persie's mindset and body language since the entire squad began training together on Wednesday of last week.

Staying at the club is not the unpalatable prospect it was when he released his incendiary statement on July 4 that questioned the club’s ambition and made it clear he would not extend a contract that expires in 12 months' time.

Vos declined to comment when contacted by Goal.com.