Red Devils youngster wants out and other red-hot gossip

(31-01-2011) Young Manchester United winger Gabriel Obertan has handed in a transfer request and wants to return to his native France in the summer. The 21-year-old, a £3m signing from Bordeaux 18 months ago, is halfway through his four-year contract but has failed to live up to expectations at Old Trafford. Elsewhere, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce says midfielder Sulley Muntari took a pay cut to join the Black Cats on loan from Inter Milan and believes the 26-year-old could sign a permanent deal in the summer; new Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has reportedly told a Newcastle fanzine that he was forced to quit the Magpies; and Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs has been voted the club's greatest player, beating off competition from the likes of Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Eric Cantona in a poll voted for by readers of the club's official magazine and website.