HAD you asked a Manchester United supporter prior to the Carling Cup final whether they would prefer to have Ruud van Nistelrooy or Louis Saha in the starting line-up, the answer would have been almost unanimous.

A Frenchman who started life at Old Trafford in sensational style in January 2004 before fading away after suffering injury?

Or a Dutchman who has provided exceptional value for money since a £19m move from PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2001, highlighted by him being just two away from becoming the eighth player in United's history to score 150 goals?

Let's just say there must have been a few raised eyebrows when Saha played in the Cardiff showpiece.

Ask the same Red Devils' supporters the question now and support for van Nistelrooy is likely to be more divided. Nobody doubts his ability and his worth, just his commitment.

When the 29-year-old picked up his medal at Cardiff he hardly resembled the happiest chap in the world. He trudged around the Millennium Stadium playing surface with his head bowed before disappearing down the tunnel before the celebrations had finished.

Now, for the first time in his five years at Old Trafford, he is refusing to reveal a determination to win back his place from Saha, having also been left on the bench in each of United's Premiership fixtures since the trip to South Wales.

Normally, when things have not been going to plan, van Nistelrooy has spoken of his love for the club. This time, however, he has retained a low profile.

He has discussed his feelings with Sir Alex Ferguson and assistant Carlos Queiroz said: "Situations like this are nothing new to us. You can only select 11 players at once and when you have a 23-man squad it is a daily job to speak with those who are not in the team.

"I accept Ruud plays in most matches, which is why we pay special attention to him. We understand the speculation. It is natural that of 50 clubs, 49 would want him. But the only club who do not need to want him is us, because he is already here.

"What we need to do is show our commitment to Ruud and our appreciation of him. He is part of our plans in the short, medium and long term."

Of those 49 clubs, Newcastle are most definitely one of them.

Magpies fans would worship a pairing of van Nistelrooy and Michael Owen when Alan Shearer retires at the end of the season.

But, with Newcastle low on funds for transfers after the over-spending of recent years, the likelihood would be that Owen would have to be sold to finance any deal for United's superstar.

Any point in that? It wouldn't seem so, unless the England striker wanted a move back to Liverpool.

There can be no arguments a van Nistelrooy-Owen combination would make a perfect partnership.

They are two men with sensational goalscoring ability, while one of the two offers the sort of pace that not every side boasts.

If Newcastle do have the sort of money that could prise van Nistelrooy away then they should go for it, or risk having to make do with playing Shola Ameobi, Albert Luque or Michael Chopra up there next season.

Even if chairman Freddy Shepherd did find the cash from somewhere, and van Nistelrooy was available, there would be serious competition for his signature.

And, despite the rivalry between the two North-West clubs, Liverpool fans have called for a raid on United for van Nistelrooy.

Quite why is another matter.

He may offer goals but not the pace the Reds are in desperate need of, particularly when they have managed to offload Djibril Cisse in the summer.

The chances of a transfer merry-go-round involving Newcastle, Liverpool and United? Owen to Liverpool and van Nistelrooy to Newcastle - you can't rule anything out.