The Observer said on Sunday that United set a luxurious bid to bring the French international midfielder to Old Trafford next season especially with Ruud van Nistelrooy on the verge of joining Real Madrid for a reported £12 million fee.

Vieira joined Juventus last summer and played a vital role in their campaign towards the Italian League title.

He also helped the team reach the last eight of the UEFA Champions League where they were ousted by Arsenal.

But Juventus were found guilty with sporting fraud and an Italian court decided to relegate them to the lower division, strip their title and dock 30 points of their future account.

Reports coming from Italy said that 30-year-old Vieira will make a move out of the club and return to England where he played for nine years.

United boss Alex Ferguson has been a long-time admirer of Vieira and said earlier he was close on signing him before leaving England.

United's website highlighted these reports but didn't publish an official comments on them. Vieira didn't comment either.