By Sean Saranczuk
May 21 2002

United left-back David Partridge will get every piece of encouragement to find himself another club, and that could include allowing him to go on a free. United left-back David Partridge will get every piece of encouragement to find himself another club, and that could include allowing him to go on a free.

Partridge completed his loan spell at Leyton Orient last season without persuading the Os to make the deal permanent.

There’s no chance for him back at Tannadice where Aljofree, Paterson and starlet Stuart Duff are all further up the selection rankings.

"David’s agent has been talking to a few clubs and I’ll be encouraging him to get something sorted out," said boss Alex Smith yesterday.

"Players do not readily walk away from a year’s contract unless they’ve got an alternative lined up.

"We’d rather not go down the road of coming to a financial arrangement with the player to get him off the books so it is possible we’d consider letting him leave for nothing were another club willing to take on his contract."

Partridge joined United from West Ham in March 1999 for an initial fee of £40,000. He was to have moved to Plymouth in the course of last term but that transfer collapsed over personal terms.