Manchester United midfielder and vice-captain Michael Carrick in the foreground. (Photo : Getty Images)
Manchester United vice-captain Michael Carrick is being targeted by several unnamed teams from the Chinese Super League, China's top flight association football competitions, something which has begun "to worry the Premier League", recent reports say.
The 34-year-old central midfielder's current contract with United is set to expire at the end of the season and the Red Devils are reportedly not planning to give him an extension, which put the Englishman's professional "future in limbo", as per the Daily Express.
This premise alerted a couple of other Premier League sides, namely Arsenal and his hometown team of Newcastle United, but has also attracted the attention of the cash-rich Chinese first division.
The CSL have recently tried to lure two of the biggest names in the English top flight, Man United captain Wayne Rooney and Chelsea captain John Terry, with mega-money deals but both men have said that they will reject any approach from China as the two already have set plans of their own.
However, in the case of Carrick, the China offer is perhaps the best option for him to end a sterling 17-year career that began in 1999 with West Ham United if the bids from The Gunners and Magpies will not be enough to please the Red Devils.
CSL squads have used big-money offers to lure prime footballers from Europe during the recently closed China winter transfer window, such as Alex Teixeira (£38 million), Jackson Martinez (£32 million), and Ramires (£25 million), all of which were Chinese transfer records at the time of their completions.
It is anticipated that a deal involving Carrick would again break the latest Chinese record as it would definitely take huge cash to try and lure the Wallsend, Tyne and Wear native away from England.
Chronicle Live noted that Magpies head coach Steve McClaren "would love to add the veteran midfielder to his squad" as Carrick is still known to be one of the best to control ball possession in midfield even at his advanced age.
McClaren is said to be unsure, though, if the Newcastle board will approve a large contract for Carrick, something that concerns the 54-year-old manager regarding their chance to snag Carrick this summer.
