Manchester United’s hopes of retaining Henrik Larsson for the final two months of the season appeared to have suffered a setback last night as the chairman of Helsingborg, his Swedish club, tried to “end all the speculation” by insisting that the original loan agreement would not be extended.

That, contrary to the hopes of Helsingborg, is unlikely to be the end of the matter, with Sir Alex Ferguson known to be eager to keep Larsson beyond the expiry of his loan period on March 12, but the stance of Sten-Inge Fredin, the Swedish club’s chairman, has toughened considerably over the 11 days since the forward made a goalscoring debut for United against Aston Villa.

“Henrik will be back at Helsingborg after March 12,” Fredin said. “We would never have let him go otherwise. Henrik means so much to us, from both football and marketing perspectives, that there is no way we would let him be out on loan when the Swedish Premier League starts.”

Fredin’s comments represent a substantial shift. After Larsson’s goal in the FA Cup third-round tie against Villa on January 7, the chairman said: “It’s up to Henrik. If he wants to stay, then we’ll open that discussion with United. We will not stand in his way.”

United are confused by the conflicting messages emanating from Helsingborg. Ferguson has toed a diplomatic line in an attempt to respect the wishes of the Swedish club, saying on Friday that “it would be wrong to put them under that pressure. We’re carrying on the way we are and that, in fairness to Helsingborg, is what we arranged with them”.

Ferguson suggested when Larsson’s loan started on January 2 that the timing of the deal was perfect for all concerned, but that was before he witnessed the impact that the 35-year-old has made.

Dong Fangzhou, the Chinese forward — signed from Dalian Shide in 2003 in a deal worth an initial £500,000, but potentially up to £3 million — has received the all-clear to start his career in England. He has spent 2½ years on loan to Royal Antwerp, but a work permit, as well as a new 3½-year contract, has now been granted.

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