Aaron Ramsey, the Cardiff City midfield player, could become the youngest FA Cup winner against Portsmouth this afternoon and cap it by signing for Manchester United in the summer. Ramsey, aged 17 years and 143 days, will break a record held by Paul Allen, of West Ham United, since 1980 if Cardiff become the first team from outside the top tier to win the final in 28 years. Long-term prospects promise to be equally thrilling, with United vying with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool for his signature.

United's rivals have watched Ramsey extensively this season, but Sir Alex Ferguson is in pole position to make the signing, having talked to Dave Jones, the Cardiff manager. Cardiff value the 17-year-old at about £10million and United are expected to make an official bid in the next fortnight, once the FA Cup Final and the Champions League final are out of the way. United are confident that they will succeed in tempting Cardiff with a package whereby the impoverished Welsh club will be handsomely rewarded if Ramsey proves to be successful at Old Trafford.

Ramsey, whose style has been likened to that of Steven Gerrard, the Liverpool and England midfield player, is not expected to start against Portsmouth at Wembley this afternoon, with Jones likely to use him as a substitute. But if he plays some part in a Cardiff victory, history will be made. Curtis Weston was 24 days younger when he played for Millwall against Manchester United in 2004 but was not on the winning team.

Portsmouth are looking to enter the market for a striker a second time, after expressing interest in Peter Crouch, of Liverpool. Harry Redknapp, the Portsmouth manager, has also opened talks with representatives of Mauro Zárate, the former Birmingham City striker, with a view to setting up a season-long loan.

Control of Zárate, 21, has returned to Al Sadd, a Qatari club, after he scored four goals in 14 appearances for Birmingham on loan at the end of the Barclays Premier League season. Zárate's efforts were not enough to stave off relegation, however, and with Birmingham's drop, any hope of a permanent deal expired.

Redknapp is also said to favour a loan arrangement, having been deterred by Al Sadd's demand of £10million for the player, particularly because he favours playing Crouch with Jermain Defoe next season. Yet he is tempted by Zárate, who was a member of the Argentina Under-20 team who recently won their age group's World Cup, scoring the winner against the Czech Republic in the final.