United and City go head to head over Henderson

New England starlet Jordan Henderson has declared himself a Red as Manchester's big two prepare to go head to head for his signature.

United have already registered an interest in the 20-year-old midfielder, who was one of the heroes of Sunderland's stunning 3-0 win at Chelsea on Sunday.

And City have been closely tracking the talented Under-21 star who has been called into Fabio Capello's squad for tomorrow's friendly with France at Wembley.

Henderson perfectly fits the bill for City, as a forward-thinking midfielder, young enough to be malleable and adding to the English nub around which they want to build a successful future.

But Henderson neatly deflected questions about his future when he appeared at his first England press conference on Monday.

"I don't think about that really," he said. "I am concentrating on playing for Sunderland, I am really enjoying my football at the moment and that is all I can do."

But Henderson has also revealed that as a boy he was a United fan, saying: "When I was little my heroes were David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Roy Keane. I've always liked the way Manchester United play the game."

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce let the cat out of the bag at the weekend, when he let it be known that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has already spoken of his interest in the youngster. "Only once before has Fergie talked about one of my players, and that was Luis Antonio Valencia, and blow me, he bought him!" said Bruce.

"He had spoken to me about him. 'Keep me informed' were his words, then he signed him.

"He has said the same about Jordan but to be fair they have all asked to be kept informed. He has caught the eye because he is a very good player.

"He is a Sunderland player, and a Sunderland lad and we will do our utmost to keep him but we can never stop speculation."