By Chris O'Brien
July 2 2004

First Division sides Cardiff City and West Ham United are said to be interested in Manchester United midfielder Michael Stewart. The 23-year-old is currently on trial at Glasgow Rangers, but if that falls through a number of clubs are set to offer the Scotsman a contract.

First Division sides Cardiff City and West Ham United are showing interest in Manchester United midfielder Michael Stewart, should he fail to move to Glasgow Rangers. The Scotsman is currently spending a trial period at Ibrox where Alex McCleish and the other Bears coaching staff will assess Stewart and decide whether they think he is good enough to make the move north of the border.

Stewart still has two seasons to run on his contract at Old Trafford, but he is almost certain to leave after failing to have a first-team impact in recent seasons. Having made only a handful of appearances in his Red Devils career, Stewart spent last season on loan at Nottingham Forest but faltered at the City Ground despite a positive start to the spell. The 23-year-old will hope to secure a deal in his homeland with Champions League-bound Rangers, but should this fail and he is sent back to Lancashire, a bidding war is set to commence between a handful of First Division clubs, with Cardiff and West Ham said to be leading the hunt.

"There is a bit of interest in Michael from down south but he knows this is a big chance for him.

"Having said that, he has two years on a contract at Manchester United so there is still some negotiating to be done on that side of things."

Stewart would be allowed to leave United on a free transfer, and although he has failed in a bid to make a career under Sir Alex Ferguson, he undoubtedly has a lot of talent and should be a good acquisition for a club lower down the Football League pyramid. Rangers are set to make a decision on whether they plan to offer Stewart, who also spent a spell with Royal Antwerp on loan three years ago, a contract to stay in Scotland.