United sign Valencia

Manchester United is delighted to announce it has completed the signing of Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.




The 23-year-old Ecuador international has played 34 times for his country, scoring four goals.




Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan. I am sure his pace and ability will make a significant contribution to the team.”




Antonio Valencia said: “Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me. I have enjoyed my time at Wigan, but I am thrilled to have the chance to challenge for the biggest honours in club football here.




“Playing in front of 76,000 fans alongside players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs will be an amazing experience. I can’t wait to get started.”

Winging his(Antonio Valencia) way to OT?

This morning’s papers are awash with talk of Luis Antonio Valencia’s imminent arrival at Old Trafford.



Okay, so he’s not of Kaka, Ribery or Benzema proportions, but his acquisition, if indeed the press are correct and United beat off competition for the Ecuadorian’s signature, could well prove to be yet another managerial masterstroke by Sir Alex.



A lot of fans are crying out for big-name signings, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez heading elsewhere, but surely the £80million United will receive from Real Madrid for the Portuguese is better spent on a couple of burgeoning talents than one over-priced “galactico”.



In fact, United rarely plump for established superstars (Berbatov was the exception in recent years), instead preferring to cast the net at an earlier age. It’s a tactic that’s so often reaped benefits for the club, largely because younger players find it easier to adapt to a new playing style and are eager to soak up the experience from United’s older heads. Stop for a minute and just imagine what an impressionable young winger could learn from Ryan Giggs.



A player at the beginning of his career is also less likely to feel the weight of expectation or be hounded by a fickle media demanding instant success. That leaves him free to express himself on the pitch and enjoy his football.



Of course, Valencia is no naive newcomer. For the past two seasons he’s consistently been Wigan Athletic’s best performer. Fans at the JJB Stadium have grown accustomed to watching the skilful Ecuadorian tear down the wing and whip dangerous crosses into the opposition penalty area. United fans will hold similar memories from his outstanding performance here at Old Trafford in January when he terrorised the Reds’ defence in an awesome second-half display. He’s not work-shy either: Valencia tracks back unselfishly and isn’t afraid of getting stuck into a tackle.




And remember, he also possesses something the likes of Ribery and Benzema don’t: experience in England. Not all players adapt to life in the Premier League – and, to be fair, Valencia hardly wowed Wigan fans when he first arrived on loan from Villarreal in 2006 – but the youngster has now well and truly settled and understands the rigours and intricacies of the English game.




That’s all very well, but can he handle life at Old Trafford? Standing out in the crowd at Wigan, you might say, doesn’t exactly equate to setting the world on fire at the Theatre of Dreams.




I agree: it doesn’t. But in June 2006, with the eyes of the footballing world fixed upon a little tournament in Germany called the World Cup, Valencia shone at just 20 years of age, helping Ecuador qualify for the second phase of the finals for the first time in their history. His performances were also noted by astute fans and at one point he was the overwhelming favourite – ahead of even Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – to pick up the prestigious Best Young Player award. (The honour eventually went to Germany’s Lukas Podolski.)




At the time, Valencia's national team coach, Luis Suarez, said: “He's doing very well right now, but he has an even more exciting future ahead of him.”




A future that includes a move to Manchester United? I, for one, sincerely hope so.

Strength in reserve

My first year in charge of a team was a challenge, a new challenge for me, but I felt I was ready for it and it was a good experience - very enjoyable indeed.

By starting my coaching career at United, I have stayed in the same familiar environment. Some of the players I played with come down and play for me once in a while, Gary [Neville] and Wes [Brown] for example, so that’s enjoyable. It’s also great to see the young players, with the talent they have and their whole careers in front of them, and we just try to give them a little bit of advice and help along the way.





One of the most satisfying parts of the job is when you see the young lads making up the step up to the first team - it was brilliant for so many of them to make their debuts last season. They’re great players and they have their careers ahead of them. When they play with better players in the first team, they’re ready to take the step.





The gaffer recognises that they’re ready and they can be thrown in at the deep end. We train them every day to be good professionals and they know every day is a chance to impress me and Warren [Joyce] and that we then tell the gaffer who’s ready.My first year in charge of a team was a challenge, a new challenge for me, but I felt I was ready for it and it was a good experience - very enjoyable indeed.




By starting my coaching career at United, I have stayed in the same familiar environment. Some of the players I played with come down and play for me once in a while, Gary [Neville] and Wes [Brown] for example, so that’s enjoyable. It’s also great to see the young players, with the talent they have and their whole careers in front of them, and we just try to give them a little bit of advice and help along the way.

One of the most satisfying parts of the job is when you see the young lads making up the step up to the first team - it was brilliant for so many of them to make their debuts last season. They’re great players and they have their careers ahead of them. When they play with better players in the first team, they’re ready to take the step.

The gaffer recognises that they’re ready and they can be thrown in at the deep end. We train them every day to be good professionals and they know every day is a chance to impress me and Warren [Joyce] and that we then tell the gaffer who’s ready.My first year in charge of a team was a challenge, a new challenge for me, but I felt I was ready for it and it was a good experience - very enjoyable indeed.

By starting my coaching career at United, I have stayed in the same familiar environment. Some of the players I played with come down and play for me once in a while, Gary [Neville] and Wes [Brown] for example, so that’s enjoyable. It’s also great to see the young players, with the talent they have and their whole careers in front of them, and we just try to give them a little bit of advice and help along the way.

One of the most satisfying parts of the job is when you see the young lads making up the step up to the first team - it was brilliant for so many of them to make their debuts last season. They’re great players and they have their careers ahead of them. When they play with better players in the first team, they’re ready to take the step.

The gaffer recognises that they’re ready and they can be thrown in at the deep end. We train them every day to be good professionals and they know every day is a chance to impress me and Warren [Joyce] and that we then tell the gaffer who’s ready.

The players are great, a joy to work with every day. Me and Warren have been trying to show them how to be good professionals and they responded really well all season.



I enjoyed my first year as a coach, even if the grey hairs are coming!



The players are great, a joy to work with every day. Me and Warren have been trying to show them how to be good professionals and they responded really well all season.



I enjoyed my first year as a coach, even if the grey hairs are coming!



The players are great, a joy to work with every day. Me and Warren have been trying to show them how to be good professionals and they responded really well all season.



I enjoyed my first year as a coach, even if the grey hairs are coming!

Silly season

Benzema, Villa, Costa, Ribery, Silva, Young, Valencia, Aguero, Eto'o, Nilmar... the list of players supposedly on United's transfer radar lengthens by the day.



The media's scattergun approach to transfer speculation means that every glance at the morning tabloids yields a new exclusive, while the internet spawns and perpetuates fresh myths by the hour.



The sale of Cristiano Ronaldo, topping up Sir Alex Ferguson's transfer fund with an extra £80million, was the fabulists' dream situation - an entire summer with the licence to fill slow news days.



It makes for exciting reading, as a glance at our own What The Papers Say section can attest. Unfortunately, the upshot is that it all needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. There will be truth in some of the whispers, as the club's extensive scouting network always has recommendations and rarely does a transfer materialise without the media catching wind of it.



But the vast majority will be nothing more than bunkum. Will Villa swap Spain for England, just days after admitting that he would definitely be in his homeland next season? Would United move for the 27-year-old in the first place, or even Ribery (26) or Eto'o (28) for that matter?



And how about the fees involved? £50million for Aguero? It's near-impossible to imagine the club parting with a fee of that magnitude. Yes, records have tumbled before for the likes of Ferdinand, Berbatov and Veron, but Sir Alex and David Gill both have a stringent sense of value.



Just because Real Madrid can throw exorbitant amounts of money around, hoovering up players from all over the world, doesn't mean we will.Ronaldo, Rooney, Anderson, Nani, the Da Silvas, Macheda, Park, Tosic, Vidic, Evra, Carrick. A quick glance over the club's transfer activity in recent years shows mainly players bought in their teens or on the right side of their mid-twenties for reasonable fees and subsequently developed.



When the signings come, the chances are that they will be in that same mould, rather than established superstars with inflated price tags. Anything that suggests otherwise, while entertaining, will be little more than fantasy.

Ronaldo sale set for completion

Cristiano Ronaldo's departure is all but done and dusted after Real Madrid and Manchester United finalised the agreement for his transfer on Friday evening.



The Portuguese winger was the subject of a world record £80million offer from the Spanish club on Thursday 11 June. He has since been on holiday but a return to work with new employers now beckons, with the sale set to be completed on Wednesday 1 July.



United have made no further comment, other than to confirm the finalisation.

Rooney Confident Of Shouldering Man U's Goal-Scoring Burden

The Red Devils may have lost CR7 and Carlitos, but Roo believes he can make up for their loss.

Wayne Rooney is confident that he can fill the goal-scoring void left by the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez from Manchester United.




Rooney often found himself on the wing to accommodate one or both of the pair, and while he was not averse to the role, he is hoping for a more central role in the coming season.



Speaking to The Times, Rooney said, "We've lost two key players, and obviously I hope we can get a few players in.



"Between them Cristiano and Carlos scored a lot of goals for us last season and the season before, but I would like to think I'm capable of filling that gap. I've said before that if I can play in my right position, I'm capable of doing that.



"I want to play in the position where I feel I'm best. A lot of people think I'm best as a center forward."



However, Rooney was keen to emphasize that he understood the need for the team to play around Ronaldo last season, and he expressed confidence that they could cope with his loss.



"Cristiano is such a talent, he can score from anywhere, so you try and accommodate him," he continued.



"As a team, we accommodated him because we knew he could win matches for us. Now that he has gone, we will have to score more goals between us, but I feel like I'm capable of scoring a lot of goals.



"To play in a Champions League final and to play week in, week out for Manchester United is a privilege and it's something I'm very lucky to be doing, but I don't think playing on the wing I can express myself as much as I like to."



With the signing of Antonio Valencia looking imminent, Rooney's wishes could well be granted, as the Ecuadorian is more likely to occupy a slot on the wing, rather than the central role in which Ronaldo sometimes played.

Antonio Valencia Would Be A Sensation At Manchester United - Wigan Owner

Valencia is better than Franck Ribery and an 'absolute steal' according to the Wigan chief...

Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan has claimed that Antonio Valencia is the best player in the world in his position and will be a ‘sensation’ should he move to Manchester United.



The Ecuadorian is widely tipped to make the move to Old Trafford before the start of next season, a deal that looks increasingly likely with Cristiano Ronaldo now on his way to Real Madrid.



Speaking to The People, Whelan insisted Valencia was a better player than Franck Ribery and said that he could quickly became a firm favourite at the Theatre of Dreams.



“I think Antonio is the best wide right player anywhere, and that includes Franck Ribery,” said the Wigan chief.



“If this lad goes to Man United, he will be a sensation there.



"Within a few months and over the course of a season, the United supporters would come to worship this lad.



"We see him week-in, week-out in games and in training and he's a world-class player.”



Whelan also insisted that whilst Valencia was a different player to Ronaldo, United would be doing great business if they were to buy the winger.



"He doesn't play the same way as Ronaldo. There is no show or flash, but he's a world-class player and he'll take some replacing," added the Wigan man.



"No-one tackles him or takes the ball off him, because they can't get near him.



“At the kind of money that's been talked about for Antonio, he'd be an absolute steal. United appear to be getting £80m for Ronaldo and they would be paying out a fraction of that for Valencia, so it would be great business because this boy has got immense ability.”

Mourinho Prepares Macheda Swoop – Report

Kiko' has attracted the attentions of 'The Special One'...

Federico Macheda could well be Jose Mourinho’s next transfer target accoring to the latest reports from The People. After showing signs of brilliance in some first team cameo appearances for Manchester United, the young Roman native has apparently caught the eye of ‘The Special One’.

According to reports, the Inter coach is set to utilise ‘Kiko’s’ summer break on the penisula to persuade him into a potential switch to the Italian champions.

Given the imminent departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, it seems highly unlikely the English champions would consider any offers for their rising star.

With a real opportunity to break into the first team setup at United, it seems Mourinho will have some presuading to do, if he is to tempt the Italian back to his homeland.

New signings 'will be worthy'

Sir Bobby Charlton is confident that Sir Alex Ferguson will make the right signings to compensate for Cristiano Ronaldo's impending departure.

The Portuguese winger is set to join Real Madrid for a staggering £80million, prompting a whirlwind of speculation over who will be replacing him.

Speaking at a press conference in China to launch United's sponsorship deal with aigo, Sir Bobby said: "I'll have to leave that (deciding how to replace Ronaldo) to Alex Ferguson.

"He is a great judge of a player, he's very brave with his decisions, he's very decisive with his decisions and that's why he's been a great success. Who the players will be I don't know, but they will be worthy of putting on the shirt for Manchester United."

Charlton concedes that there was little point in trying to coax Ronaldo away from his childhood dream of joining Real, although he feels that hindsight may show the winger that his best days of his career were at Old Trafford.

"He is a great player," he said. "He's been with us for five or six years and in that time he has improved beyond all recognition. I suppose, in time, he will reflect, and say that the best time he ever had in football was when he was at Manchester United. It was better for him and it was fantastic for the club.

"But we have no divine rights, we talked him out of it for one year but he's gone and we move on. Ronaldo leaves us because as a young boy he always dreamt about playing for Real Madrid, so if he leaves us, it's with our blessing.

"It's a lot of money, but it's a little bit soul-searching. You never know if you've made the right decision until the start of the season. It's an enormous amount. We will make sure we will use it properly and our club will be better for it."

Ex-Reds' regrets as Carlos quits

Former United players Lou Macari and Clayton Blackmore have voiced their dismay at Carlos Tevez's departure - and the motives for his move.



Ex-midfielder Macari, now a respected pundit for MUTV, said on Saturday: "I'm disappointed that Carlos Tevez won't be playing at Manchester United next season.



"I think he would have been a regular in the team next season had he stayed. Ronaldo's going, so Tevez would be needed."



Reds legend Lou supports the efforts made by his former club to keep Carlos.



"I don't think United could have done any more," he said.



"Tevez was offered a five-year contract and five years is a long time to commit to any player, but I think that was in recognition of what he did last season, both when he started games and when he came on as a sub.



"He was a well-liked player at Old Trafford and it will be a big loss to everyone."



Although clearly an admirer of Tevez's playing talents, Lou seems less than convinced by the reasons given for his decision.



"One of those excuses we hear when a player moves on is, 'I want to play regular club football because I want to play for my national team.' But Carlos is still going to be a regular for Argentina even if he's only playing every so often for United.



"It's simple nowadays - if a player or his agent don't want him to sign for a certain club, then they don't sign. It's rather surprising because Carlos Tevez couldn't get a better club than Manchester United. But I think we're in a day and age when the size and stature of aclub isn't the main reason why a player signs or doesn't sign.



"It's advisors, it's money, it's all the wrong reasons. Carlos Tevez has been fantastic for United but he and his agent have decided to move on, and move on they will."



Another ex-player and MUTV pundit agreed with Macari on the motivation for Tevez's move. Clayton Blackmore said:



"I think it's money. It might be due a little bit to his name not being first on the team-sheet, but very few players are guaranteed a start at United and I would put it more down to money.



"I don't think it was in his hands, I think he would have been happy with what he was offered. I think it's the people in charge of him (his representatives) who were the problem.



"I felt the writing was on the wall when I saw his body language at the end of the season and the interview he gave after the final home game against Arsenal. So I'm not too surprised; I was more surprised when Ronaldo left.



"We're going to miss Tevez's work-rate and he is a great finisher. But I'm sure the manager will have someone up his sleeve and he'll come up trumps again."

Tevez leaving United

Following contact received from Carlos Tevez’s advisors last night, in advance of the deadline the Club set for concluding negotiations, Manchester United announces that Carlos will not be signing a new contract with the Club.

The Club agreed to pay the option price of £25.5m and offered Carlos a five-year contract which would have made him one of its highest paid players.

Disappointingly however, his advisors informed the Club that, despite the success he has enjoyed during one of the Club’s most successful periods, he does not wish to continue playing for Manchester United.

The Club would like to thank Carlos for his services over the last two seasons and wishes him good luck for the future.