BENZEMA TRANSFER SEES REAL MADRIDS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ODDS IMPROVE

With Real Madrid having beaten Manchester United to the signature of Karim Benzema, we have started to see some really short-term movement in the Betfair markets for Real Madrid's 2009/10 Champions League odds. After United lost to Barcelona at the end of May, United were considered the 2nd place favourites to win the title the following year. This has changed with Real Madrid now occupying 2nd spot with odds of 6.4. They were previously listed closer to 10.0 after they'd purchased Kaka and the price really started to trade lower after the titanic signing of Cristiano Ronaldo. Barcelona continue to sit below 6.0 with a best price of around 5.7. Manchester United are now fourth place favourites, with Chelsea now carrying an 8.0 price ahead of Manchester United's 8.4. I expect these prices to fluctuate significantly over the next 24 hours and we could see United begin to fall back towards 10.0. Things don't seem to be going according to plan for Sir Alex Ferguson so far this summer. With Real Madrid somehow managing to sign virtually every top player so far this summer, United seem to have a fat bank account, but nobody to spend it on. I personally don't think things are going to be quite as bad as many believe for United and I think that their defence could be an integral part of next season- more so than many would believe at the moment. United have never struggled offensively, and they have goalscorers all over the park. I think Fergie could be getting ready to do something sort of drastic. I still think Ribery may be on the table and surely Real Madrid can't afford him too. Where are they getting the money to pay these players wages? Regardless, I would suspect that we could start to see Sir Alex having his hand forced a bit here. I think the one transfer that nobody is talking about right now would be a bid for either Peter Crouch or even Ruud van Nistelrooy. Van Nis was sent packing because of a spat with Ronaldo, now that the winking wonder if gone, perhaps Ruud might return and he's available at a knockdown price. The metaphor of Real Madrid's unused strikers going to United wouldn't be a good one though. I'm anxious to see where Fergie sets his targets next. I think David Villa must be a priority now, Klaas Jan Huntelaar must also be glancing at his mobile today.