Can Spurs Sign Aaron Ramsey From Under United's Nose?

The term hot property is much over-used but Cardiff sensation Aaron Ramsey has clearly turned the heads of most judges of talent. Any number of Premiership clubs are after him.

Announcements yesterday seemed to put Manchester United in pole position after the club said agreement had been reached with Cardiff. However, that is not a done deal.

Arsenal and Everton have also agreed the same terms, while Liverpool are on the sidelines watching closely. Most intriguingly, Spurs are said to be involved too.

The London club's interest is potentially the most threatening to Sir Alex Ferguson's plans because Spurs have form in this area. They have the young Welsh star Gareth Bale on the books and in the first team before injury intervened.

Even more significantly, they recently bought Ramsey's team mate at Cardiff Chris Gunter, so they have a conduit to pass information about life at White Hart Lane.

It must be hard to turn down the European champions, especially as the iconic Ryan Giggs is part of the furniture at Old Trafford but the deal can't be taken for granted yet, as the other top clubs wouldn't be stirring.

Tottenham fast tracked Bale to the first team and there could be a considerable queue to get past at Old Trafford. It all depends how Ramsey and his adviser see matters.

United's willingness to let the player stay at Cardiff can be viewed as a positive or a negative move. If Spurs can offer a faster route to Premiership action, they may yet have cards to play in the contest.

The smart money has to stay on a move to the Red Devils but until the player puts pen to paper, there will be a lot of action happening behind the scenes.