Where is Alan Smith headed to?

What really happened to Alan Smith? He was part of the star-studded Leeds United team which made it to the Champions League Semi-Final some years back. At Leeds he was a teen idol for supporters. Smith was the poster boy for the club for the 2002-2004 seasons, winning the "Supporter's Player of the Year" award two years running, a first in Leeds history.

He was almost single-handedly trying to ensure that Leeds avoided the relegation drop in 2004. But after Leeds were demoted – Smith made it clear that he wanted to move.

His transfer to bitter rivals Manchester United, led to controversy and his exit was marred by accusations of treachery going from hero to villain from the view of Leeds fans in the space of a day. Leeds fans were not angry at Smith for leaving to further his England prospects and fully understood this. Their anger was at him going to the club most hated by Leeds fans.

Smith never did settle down in Manchester. A stint marred with injuries, Smith managed only 7 goals in his entire stay (61 games). With Manchester adding several new players to star in their mid-field, getting a regular playing spot would be highly impossible.

He has reportedly been given permission by Manchester United to find a new club for the coming season and apparently a lot of them are interested…

Everton have apparently made a vacancy for Alan Smith to arrive on Merseyside after accepting a £4million bid from Sheffield United for striker James Beattie.

Apart from David Moyes' side, Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Middlesbrough are all linked with the former Leeds United ace.

Though I wouldn’t mind seeing him play at Newcastle, it doesn’t really make sense as to why Sam Allardyce would be willing to pay £6 million for him. They already have Ameobi, Owen, Viduka and Martins. Unless of course Big Sam feels he might end up losing Martins or Owen before the season or perhaps has a mid-field role in mind for Smith.

Manchester City are considering 7m bid for Smith. With Shakhtar Donetsk beating City in Castillo from Olympiacos, chances of Smith swapping stadiums in Manchester itself is quite a possibility.

Well the bottom line is that Alan Smith is definitely not going to start the season at Old Trafford and any team which pays up anything more than 5m should be able to land him.