Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has reacted poorly to news of Ezekiel Fryers' imminent move to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
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The 20-year-old was a product of the United youth system and went on to make six appearances for the club before turning down the offer of a long-term contract.
Spurs then tried to snap up the England U19 international but a deal failed to materialise with the two clubs finding themselves at an impasse over a compensation deal for the player.
Now after just six months in Belgium with Standard Liege, Fryers has returned to the United Kingdom and the north London club.
But an irate Ferguson has called on the Premier League to block the move.
The Red Devils boss said: "I am disappointed in Tottenham.
"It is a blatant manipulation of the situation. They tried to buy him from us at the end of last season but we couldn't agree terms. Then they took him on trial, came back from Portugal and said they couldn't afford him.
"All of a sudden he signed for Standard Liege but I expected him to go to Tottenham in the January window.
"The league should look into it. They should stop the registration until they examine it. There will be a trail. Either mobile phones or something. It is obvious to me."
A Tottenham spokesman responded by saying: "Zeki Fryers was out of contract in the summer. We had looked in to the possibility of signing the player but were unable to agree a deal on the terms Manchester United were asking.
"Zeki chose to go to Standard Liege, who paid compensation to Manchester United. Zeki enjoyed his time at Standard. However, when Standard sacked their manager in November Zeki wasn't part of the new manager's plans, which he accepts and understands happens in football.
"Unfortunately, a combination of this, and the fact that he had become homesick meant he wanted to return to England and his representatives made contact with clubs in England.
"This afforded us a second opportunity to sign the player and as per FIFA's solidarity contribution mechanism, Manchester United will receive five per cent of the transfer fee we have paid."
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