Man Utd youngster's transfer left manager demanding 'blatant manipulation' probe

Daily Mirror

11-05-2025

Tottenham face Crystal Palace this afternoon and one of the players to have featured for both in recent years was previously involved in a transfer drama that left Sir Alex Ferguson fuming
Of the 17 players to have played for both Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League era, Zeki Fryers is among the more likely who would go down as a Pointless answer.
But the left back was once part of a controversial transfer that left Sir Alex Ferguson fuming and calling for a Football Association investigation into what he claimed was 'blatant manipulation.'
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Fryers had left United for Belgian club Standard Liege in August 2012 for a small compensation fee after Spurs refused to pay £6m. Except by the following January Spurs had paid Standard £3m for Fryers, who claimed he was feeling homesick.
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"I'm disappointed in Tottenham. I think it's a blatant manipulation of the situation," Ferguson said not long after the transfer to north London went through. "I think the league should look into it and I think they should stop his registration until they examine it."
Tottenham claimed afterwards that they only made a second approach for Fryers after being made aware that he was not enjoying life in Belgium.
A Spurs spokesman said at the time: "Zeki enjoyed his time at Standard, however, when Standard sacked their manager in November Zeki wasn't part of the new manager's plans which he accepts and understands happens in football. Unfortunately, a combination of this and the fact he had become homesick meant he wanted to return to England.
"His representatives made contact with clubs in England. This afforded us a second opportunity to sign the player and as per Fifa's solidarity contribution mechanism, Manchester United will receive 5 per cent of the transfer fee we have paid."
Standard Liege later issued a statement which read: "The young defender felt homesick and had difficulty acclimating to life away from home and family. So when the London club became interested we understood the situation and were not opposed to the return of the player in England."
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But fuming Ferguson added: "They tried to buy him from us at the end of last season. They then took him on trial and said they couldn't afford him and all of a sudden he signed for Standard Liege. I expected him to go to Tottenham in the January transfer window. The league should look into it."
Fryers, who was most recently playing in the Swedish third tier, went on to make 16 appearances in 18 months at Spurs before moving to Palace, for whom he made 14 appearances.