United move for Larsson

The 35-year-old has emerged as a bizarre target for Sir Alex Ferguson, who will look to beef up his attacking options with the temporary capture of the Helsingborgs veteran.

Larsson moved back to Sweden to settle with his family when leaving Barcelona after playing his part in their UEFA Champions League triumph last season.

Although he has never played at Premiership level, Ferguson admired his goalscoring exploits for Celtic in the SPL.

Nevertheless, such a move will stun United's supporters as the Premiership leaders bid to regain the title from champions Chelsea.

United are woefully short of numbers in attack but Larsson will be viewed as purely a short-term answer to provide cover for Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha.

Helsingborgs are holding a press conference to reveal more details but it could transpire that they will take him back as early as March 31, due to domestic regulations.

Obviously, the move cannot be processed until January 1, when the next transfer window opens.