When Sir Alex Ferguson sold the USA born striker he inserted a clause into Rossi’s contract meaning United have first chance to sign him if he ever leaves Villarreal.

However this could be the only reason for the rumours. United hardly need another striker at the moment with five strikers at the club (Rooney, Berbatov, Hernandez, Macheda and Owen) and two out on loan – Mame Diouf and Fraizer Campbell. If Rossi did rejoin the club, then he would be unlikely to get a game.

Rossi’s excellent form since joining Villarreal has prompted a number of clubs to be interested in him, however he has played down the Manchester United reports saying that although he enjoyed his time at the club, there is no chance of him re-signing for them.

Other clubs said to be interested are Fiorentina, AC and Inter Milan.

But he added: “He wanted to have a go at first-team football. We’ve got a clause in his contract where he could come back to us at some point.”

United signed Rossi as a 16-year-old from Parma and the Italian club were keen to secure his services once again after the striker helped them stay in Serie A with nine goals in 19 matches during a loan spell there last season.

They reportedly tabled a £5.4m bid for the Italy Under-21 international, but failed to clinch a deal.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson often spoke highly of Rossi, who scored 13 times in 19 starts for the reserve team in his first season at Old Trafford.

He signed a new contract until 2010 last summer, with Ferguson hailing him as “the future of the club”.

He went to Newcastle last season in a bid to play regular Premier League football but failed to win a regular place in the first team.

His loan spell in Parma was, by contrast, a huge success and Villarreal’s offer was apparently too good for United to turn down.

Villarreal were looking for a new striker after allowing Diego Forlan, another ex-United player, to join Atletico Madrid for £14m.

With the Premier League champions on the brink of wrapping up the signing of Carlos Tevez, Rossi will become superfluous to the club’s squad requirements.

The ‘Gialloblu’ welcomed the American-born Italian striker on loan last season where he scored nine goals and inspired the club to Serie A survival.

And now Parma are keen to bring the 20-year-old to the Stadio Ennio Tardini on a permanent deal this summer.

“Manchester United have put Giuseppe Rossi up for sale,” Ghirardi told the Italian press.

“Two days ago we spoke with Red Devils officials and they told us the player is for sale. At that point we made an offer. Now we are waiting for an answer.”

Corvino is in London for talks with Arsenal over Freddie Ljungberg and also has met with United officials in the last 24 hours about their interest in Rossi.

United are ready to sell the Italy U21 star, who is also wanted by AC Milan, for £7 million.

Rossi, who spent last season on loan at Parma, is wanted by the Portuguese team on a 12-month loan, with the option to sign him next year.

The Italy Under-21 striker will have to play the waiting game to find out where he will play next season.

“Parma has made an offer and are awaiting a response from Manchester United,” said the player’s agent Andrea Pastorello.

Rossi joined Parma on a six-month loan deal from United and was pivotal in helping the Ducale outfit retain their Serie A status.

Although the United youngster is rated highly at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson’s long-term plans for the Italian could change with the arrival of West Ham’s Carlos Tevez.

The Argentina forward is expected to join United after the Copa America, a move which could see Rossi leave Old Trafford.

“I think with an offer of 10-12m euros (£6.7-8.1million), Manchester United could be tempted to let Rossi leave,” added Pastorelli.

AC Milan, Fiorentina and Parma are all keen on the Italy U21 star, but the Telegraph says Rossi will stay at Old Trafford for the coming season.

“I don’t expect anybody to leave,” said Ferguson. “But it may happen because some players will view the situation and think maybe they won’t get enough games to satisfy them.

“But there are no decisions made at the moment.”

Amongst the usual names of Ronaldinho, Eto`o’, Shevchenko and Pato, there is a new name circulating in the transfer rumours.

The new name is Giuseppe Rossi, who is considered as the hottest prospect in Italian football, and his performances for Parma last season prove this.

The Gialloblu have already offered 8.5 million Euros to Manchester United for the young forward, but reports from Italy are suggesting that the Rossoneri have taken the driver’s seat in this race as they offered the Red Devils 11 million for the services of the Italian under 21 national team player.

On Friday, the Gialloblu’s President, Ghirardi, had revealed that there was a strong Italian opponent in their bid to sign Rossi, but had not mentioned the name of the club. Now the mystery has been solved.

The Italy U-21 star is thought to have become surplus to requirements at Old Trafford now that Carlos Tevez appears all set to become a Red Devil.

Rossi impressed while on loan at Parma last year and the Gialloblu have made an offer –thought to be £6.5 million- for the player, who is also on the radar of Juventus and Porto. Milan should have no problem bettering Parma’s bid and are expected to weigh in with an official proposal by the middle of the week.

The Rossoneri will be short on striking options once Ricardo Oliveira completes his expected loan move to Real Zaragoza as the only out-and-out strikers they currently have on the roster are Gilardino, Inzaghi and Ronaldo.