US millionaire Mr Malcolm Glazer is set to seek the support of Mr John Magnier and Mr JP McManus for his bid to buy Manchester United plc within days.

Sources close to the transaction told The Irish Times yesterday that Mr Glazer will seek to arrange a meeting with the Irish duo, or representatives of their company, Cubic Expression, to get their backing for a bid for the company.

Cubic Expression holds 28.89 per cent of the equity in Manchester United plc, making it the biggest shareholder. Mr Glazer and his backer, investment bank JP Morgan, need its owners support if a bid is to succeed. The US businessman is likely to seek a meeting within days. "They are a key part of the jigsaw," the source said. "Glazer and his people want to get the Irish stakeholders come in and support them, and they want to get the institutions behind them as well."

Some British media claimed yesterday that talks between the two sides had opened. However, it is understood that no representative of Mr Glazer's had approached either the two Irish men or their advisers yesterday.

Mr Glazer already holds 19.19 per cent of Manchester United, which he has been building up since March 2003. He owns American Football team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

An unconfirmed report yesterday claimed that Mr Keith Harris, who advised on Mr Roman Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea, is to attempt to recruit both Cubic Expression and Manchester United fans to support a rival bid.