Stam: End came due to his controversial autobiography (GaryMPrior/Allsport)

Stam had been a rock at the heart of the United defence for three years. Although a number supporters claim the Dutchman had not performed to his best over the past few months, to think the club had been preparing to replace him for some time seems a little far fetched.

Lazio supremo Massimo Cragnotti has actually revealed that the only reason United accepted their £16.5m offer for the central defender was because of the storm caused by the player's book - Jaap Stam: Head to Head.

Although the Old Trafford hierarchy continue to deny that the revelations in Stam's book had any bearing on their decision, it's hard to believe it.

Stam came to United in the summer of 1998 after the end of the World Cup. He immediately established himself in the first team, fully justifying the £10.5m fee paid to PSV Eindhoven.

In his first season he won the treble of Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup. Although a succession of injuries meant he never had the chance to forge a regular partnership in central defence, he never let it affect his own game.

Few United fans could be heard complaining about his performances until it was revealed he was to be sold. The fact that they have come out of the woodwork now merely points to the fact that they didn't actually want to see him go.

There is no doubt that United have the finances to go out and replace Stam with ease - even without the transfer fee received from Lazio. Just who that will be is another question entirely.

Stam's book has startling similarities to what happened with Glenn Hoddle's World Cup Diary back in 1998, the only difference being that it took a while longer for England to oust their coach.

As soon as Hoddle's book reached the shops - and the papers - it became clear his position with the national team was precarious. It took a few more ill-advised words in the presence of a broadsheet journalist to seal his fate.

The difference between Hoddle and Stam is that the FA would have had to sack Hoddle. United could just ship Stam out to another team.

The atmosphere behind the scenes at Old Trafford since Stam's book was serialised in The Mirror could not have been pretty. Sir Alex Ferguson likes to rule United with something of an iron fist and players rarely get the chance openly criticise either him or the club.

The Nevilles are said to have been less than impressed by Jaap Stam's comments (RossKinnaird/Allsport)

Stam claims that he told Fergie exactly what would be going in his book and he was fine about it. Somehow I doubt the fiery Scot would have given the okay for Stam to reveal details of secret talks held before the player's move to Manchester. That led to headlines that Ferguson had 'tapped up' the player - against FIFA transfer regulations.

Peter Schmeichel, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and the Neville brothers all came under the spotlight in the book. Although what Stam said about them was hardly shocking or a huge surprise, the players concerned cannot have been ecstatic.

Stam has also been critical of the tabloids, which he claims have sensationalised extracts from his book. But at the end of the day he allowed The Mirror to serialise his book.

It will have paid a fair amount of money for the exclusive rights to the extracts, so did he expect the paper to do anything other than make the most of it?

Stam is the one who made the comments in his book and if he is not prepared to put up with the publicity he brought on himself then he should never had said what he did.

One minute he is defending his actions, saying that everything that was in the book was completely true, and the next he complains that so much has subsequently been written about it. If he was prepared to say all this in a book - then sell the rights to a newspaper - why should he have a problem with the coverage that was to ensue?

He is a player with Manchester United - one of, if not the, biggest clubs in the world. No club in Britain can claim to attract the same level of media coverage as Manchester United. If one of their players has their hair cut it makes front-page news.

A manager in the mould of Sir Alex was never going to stand for the furore caused by the book. As soon as 29-year-old Stam was dropped, for the first ever time, for the trip to Blackburn last week the writing was on the wall.

As Cragnotti said: 'Pasquale Bruno (a transfer fixer who works with Sir Alex Ferguson) told me what was going on in the dressing room between the player and manager. He said we should call Manchester United right away.'

Attention now turns to who will replace Stam. The early favourite was French defender Laurent Blanc. At 36-years-old, Blanc would be no more than a short-term stop-gap, but he is of proven international pedigree and it is thought he would be prepared to leave Inter Milan.

Blanc, a close friend of Fabien Barthez, has already rejected Sir Alex's advances on three previous occasions, and although one final big pay-day before he hangs up his boots would be attractive, it is by no means certain Blanc would want a move to the Premiership now.

But United's Chief-executive Peter Kenyon on Tuesday appeared confident the World Cup winner would move to Old Trafford: 'I can confirm we are interested in signing Blanc. Hopefully he will be with us by Wednesday.

'We know we have to be quick because we would obviously like to have it completed before the Champions League deadline.'

Kenyon, however, was eager to point out that Sir Alex wants to bring in two defenders before the Champions League deadline.

The likely target is Kevin Hofland. There would be more than a touch of irony about the move, however, as he would take the same path as Stam from PSV. The Dutch side would probably be looking for a fee in the region of £15m for the international defender, easily within United's price range.

Hofland was rumoured to be a transfer target for Arsenal over the summer but the 22-year-old remained in his homeland.

Another player on Fergie's unofficial shortlist is Roberto Ayala of Valencia. United were in for the Argentinian star during the summer but had a considerable bid for the player turned down.

Also in the frame is Real Madrid's Ivan Campo - a player who says his is in fact a United fan. The 26-year-old has fallen out of favour at Bernabeau recently and the Spanish club may be prepared to off-load him.

It may be that United do bring in Blanc for one season before looking to bring in a more permanent replacement. If Hofland does not join this week he is hotly tipped to make the switch next summer.

But Sir Alex is well aware that he will need to bring in somebody before he has to register his squad for the Champions League at the end of the week. If his move for Blanc appears to be moving slowly he may be forced to other targets straight away.

One thing is for certain; there is a huge gap to be filled by the departure of Stam.