He was coming. Then he wasn't. Now he is again. Maybe.

The possible arrival of Freddy Adu for a trial at Manchester United has already become a mini-saga, which at best exposes some pretty shambolic PR from Old Trafford.

However, was it just a case of crossed wires or an overkeen press officer looking to quash a story? Or did the Glazers suddenly prick up their ears and think - 'Not a bad idea that'?

As everyone knows by now, Malcolm Glazer needs to keep profits sky-high at United - and that's only to keep up with the interest payments on the colossal loans he took out to buy the club.

It doesn't take a marketing genius to work out that if brand MUFC can 'crack' America after all then the Glazers may well have the income they need.

Even pre-Glazer, United have tried innumerable times to launch themselves in the States, with a run of spurious and sporadically attended summer tours, marketing deals and even a partnership with the New York Yankees. Incidentally, what ever happened to that?

The one thing they haven't tried is to sign a genuine American star, largely because - unless they made a bid for Mia Hamm - there haven't been any until now.

Is Adu a genuine talent, or just a running, jinking, juggling bag of cash?

The trouble is nobody really knows over here, which is the point of a trial of course, but it will be interesting to see what Sir Alex makes of young Freddy.

Even if Adu is the 'real deal', is he the solution to all of Glazer's problems? Football has steadfastly refused to break the 'Big Four' stranglehold on the US sporting consciousness.

Back in the seventies, the likes of Pele, Beckenbauer and Best plied their trade in the North American Soccer League, but even that folded after little more than a decade.

If those players can't hold their attention, then what hope does a potentially talented 17-year old have?