Man United and Arsenal in fight for Jagielka

Manchester United and Arsenal are ­battling to sign Everton central defender Phil Jagielka.

Jagielka, 28, is ­regarded by Arsene Wenger as the perfect partner for Thomas Vermaelen and the man to bring ­experience to the Gunners’ young squad.

But United are also keen on Jagielka. ­Manager Sir Alex ­Ferguson wants to bolster his own outfit as he plans to regain the Premier League title.

Jagielka, who can also play at full-back and in midfield, would give United added strength for their next Champions League assault.

He’s been ­regarded as one of the England’s most ­improved defenders and was a ­genuine candidate for the Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad that was ­announced last week.

But he missed most of the season due to a serious knee injury that forced him out of last year’s FA Cup ­Final. He returned late in the campaign but was then overlooked by Capello.

But he is still held in high regard by Wenger and ­Ferguson and the bidding will start at around £15m.

Everton manager David Moyes is determined to hold on to the player.

Manchester United top Premier League pay table

Manchester United may have finished as runners-up and failed to capture a fourth consecutive title but that didn’t prevent them from topping the Premier League’s pay table.

Based on figures provided by the PL which incorporating broadcasting revenues, TV appearance money and bonuses for positional ­finish in the league, United actually finished £167,254 better off than champions Chelsea.

United netted an incredible £52,996,395 compared to Chelsea’s eventual pay-out of £52,829,141.

Tottenham profited from a successful season which saw them qualify for the Champions League, cashing in with £49,460,191.

It will come as no surprise to see who was propping up the cash table in a season.

Portsmouth slid went into financial meltdown and became the first Premier league club to enter ­administration.

But the FA Cup finalists still earned £31,815,017.