Report: Robin van Persie hands in transfer request - but how likely is it?

Robin van Persie has handed in a transfer request and wants to leave Manchester United, according to a report.

The good news is it turns out that the source of that report, however, is Mark Lawrenson citing a 'whisper' among journalists covering United. So, that's a lot less solid than a normal newspaper report.

The problem is this isn't entirely out of the blue - rumours have been around for a while that Van Persie is unhappy at Manchester United. One claim that went oddly unheralded was recently repeated in the Independent - that Alex Feruguson had promised the Dutchman that he would be at the club for at least another three years and had to apologise after retiring.

That could be one reason behind the move, although there have also been rumblings that Van Persie is unhappy with David Moyes' coaching methods. Despite all that, there is not yet any concrete suggestion that his current injury is anything but genuine.

Really, this is someone repeating existing rumours rather than any new information. But that doesn't mean we should dismiss the whole notion entirely. One to keep an eye on for now.