Fergie's power over kids on the wane

Manchester United could lose two more of last year's FA Youth Cup-winning side, Paul Pogba and Zeki Fryers, for peanuts in the summer.

Sir Alex Ferguson is understood to be concerned about the lack of commitment being shown by both teenagers as they enter the final two months of their contracts with no sign of either of them penning new deals. Ferguson's recent comments about letting Brazilian full back Fabio go on loan next season are thought to be aimed at persuading Fryers, 19, that he will get his chances in the first-team next season as back-up to Patrice Evra. The Pogba case has been well documented with Juventus lying in wait to snap up the France Under-18 skipper at the end of the season and Ferguson using all his powers of persuasion to get him to stay. But Fryers, the talented defender who made his United debut in the Carling Cup clash against Leeds earlier this season, has also been holding out for a better deal. It had been thought that Fryers was unhappy at being offered a fairly standard £2,000-a-week contract while speculation raged that Pogba was in line for up to ten times that amount in order to keep him out of the hands of Juventus. But rumours over the weekend that Tottenham have been sniffing around the Manchester-born defender have added fuel to the claims of those who believe Ferguson no longer wields as much power over the futures of United's academy graduates.