Keeper De Gea joins Manchester United

English champions Manchester United agreed a deal to sign highly-rated young goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, who helped Spain's under-21 team to win the European Championship title last weekend, passed a medical at Old Trafford on Monday and will join on a five-year contract. He follows England winger Ashley Young and under-21 defender Phil Jones in moving to the UEFA Champions League finalists in post-season transfers.

De Gea, who had long been linked with United as a replacement for the retired Edwin van der Sar, is likely to miss the start of the club's pre-season tour of the U.S. as he has been given an immediate vacation by boss Alex Ferguson. "The manager said that I should enjoy the holiday I've been afforded now, but of course I'm more excited about getting started in training and meeting my future teammates," De Gea told the club's television channel.

"Edwin has been the best goalkeeper in the world while here at United. I hope to emulate him and spend a great number of years here. Hopefully I will equal or even surpass the performance and contribution he made to the club."

De Gea is the second new goalkeeper brought in by Ferguson, with Denmark international Anders Lindegaard signing in the January transfer window. Their arrival casts some doubt on the United future of Poland international Tomasz Kuszczak, who was Dutchman van der Sar's understudy. "I am young but I'm coming here on the back of two full seasons in La Liga in Spain so I think I've got enough experience to contribute to such a big club," De Gea said. "When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you, it obviously makes you very happy. I saw their interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability."

De Gea's international teammate Thiago Alcantara, who scored Spain's second goal in the final against Switzerland, has signed a new two-year contract with European champions Barcelona. The 20-year-old is now tied to the Spanish league winners until mid-2015. Spanish club Racing Santander have appointed Hector Cuper as coach to replace Marcelino Garcia Toral, who left to join Sevilla last month. The 55-year-old Argentine has previously coached Valencia, guiding the La Liga club to Champions League finals in 2001 and 2001, and Italy's Inter Milan.

United's Premier League rivals Sunderland have signed England under-21 international striker Connor Wickham from second division club Ipswich for $12.8 million in a deal that could potentially be worth $19 million.

Wickham, 18, has agreed a four-year contract after being linked with moves to bigger clubs such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham. French champions Lille have signed defender David Rozehnal after the Czech Republic international impressed on loan from German side Hamburg last season.

Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has also joined on a three-year deal from Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv. Lille had already brought in strikers Dimitri Payet and Ronny Rodelin plus defender Marko Basa since winning a domestic double. Ivory Coast international center-back Abdoulaye Meite has joined promoted French club Dijon on a three-year contract after leaving English side West Brom.

On a busy day for French clubs, Toulouse signed Turkey international striker Umut Bulut on a three-year deal from Turkish club Trabzonspor, while Sochaux loaned defender Steven Mouyokolo from England's Wolverhampton. Italian club Fiorentina announced on Wednesday that Brazilian defender Romulo Caldeira will join once the 24-year-old has passed a medical, while Serbia under-21 defender Matija Nastasic is also expected to sign.

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Manchester United duo will get better: Cole

Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has tipped the twin-striking force of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Wayne Rooney to get better in the 2011/12 English Premier League season.The former Manchester United player said this as he launched a youth football development programme that will see mobile phone operator Airtel Kenya sponsor this year’s Kenya Secondary School Term Two “B” Games to the tune of Sh10.5 million.

The player, part of the 1999 Manchester United’s Dream Team, initiated the football talent search programme on Tuesday at Upper Hill Secondary School, which will focus on identifying and nurturing talent in Kenya from the grassroots onto the national stage.

“It is a great honour for me to be here in Kenya. It’s a fantastic feeling to see how young players want to break to stardom,” said Cole. According to the former United player, he sees plenty of himself in current Old Trafford prodigy “Chicharito,” and praised the young Mexican as the signing of the season

“Chicharito is a very talented player, especially having come from South America. He’s young and full of talent. “Well, as for Rooney, he’s phenomenon,” said the United star. “This partnership will only get better and that’s good news for United.”

The culmination of the talent search programme in October will see two players travel to Tanzania for a clinic by Manchester United coaches, giving the talented Kenyan footballers a chance to be spotted by one of the world’s most popular clubs.

“Football is the universal passion and there is no bigger club in the world than Manchester United,” said Airtel Kenya managing director, Rene Meza. “I’m tremendously excited by the opportunities for young Africans to interact with the brand, win exclusive match tickets and have the chance to train with coaches from one of the leading academies in world football.”

In the agreement, Manchester United will support the Airtel All Stars’ search for young African football talent while Airtel Kenya subscribers win tickets to watch the Red Devils play in Manchester, take part in coaching sessions and access exclusive club news.

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Nani insists he's glad United have signed Young

Nani claims he does not fear losing his place to Ashley Young and says sitting on the bench is “boring”. Nani welcomed Young’s £16million arrival at Manchester United from Aston Villa and claims the England winger will help the team win more trophies. The Portuguese winger is unfazed by the increase in competition among United’s widemen, after having to go up against Cristiano Ronaldo when he first came to Old Trafford.

“Of course I have to welcome everyone they sign,” he said. “I think Man United is a fantastic club and when they bring in new players, they know if it is good for the team or not, and Young has to help them.

“I was at United when Cristiano was there. Cristiano was one of the best players in the world, but I had no worries about him. “It’s good for the team. We want more good players to help us to win trophies.”Nani, 24, is confident about his first-team prospects because he produced his best-ever campaign for United last season.

He topped the assists chart with 18 and finished joint-top of the combined goals and assists table with 27 to earn the club’s Player of the Year accolade.

However, his form was not good enough to earn him a starting place in the Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona when he was replaced by Antonio Valencia. Nani was hurt by this snub and says watching the final from the bench at Wembley was “boring”.

He refused to criticise Sir Alex Ferguson for dropping him though, and admits his performance levels might have dipped because he was tired after a long season.

The former Sporting Lisbon star says he now feels refreshed after a month off and is ready to start pre-season training on Monday. “Last season I played more games than ever at Man United,” he said. “That’s why maybe in the last games I didn’t look the same as in the first games.

“It was boring not playing in the Champions League Final because you want to play - everyone wants to play. Finals are for playing, but the manager makes the decision. He knows who is better for the team and I have to respect that.

“Now I’m on holiday to rest and get my power back. At the start of the season I will be fine to start strong again, start to do what I know.”Nani did come on for the last 20 minutes of United’s 3-1 defeat and refuses to accept that Fergie’s side cannot beat Barca.

He claims United will begin the new season believing they can defeat Pep Guardiola’s side, despite losing two finals against them in three years. "They are the best team,” he said. “But they are not unbeatable.

"In a different game we could beat them, you never know. A game is a game and you never know what’s going to happen.”Nani has been amused during the break by Wayne Rooney’s admission on Twitter that he has had a hair transplant. He can’t wait to rib the England star when they meet up on Monday and says he will Tweet his verdict on Rooney's new barnet. “I will see and then after I will write something,” he smiled.

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Sir Alex Ferguson not afraid to wield the axe at Manchester United

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists that he is not afraid to dispose of his senior players, if the circumstances should make it necessary for him to do so. The Red Devils boss has in the past made hard choices for the greater good of the club, and has managed to realise his dream of knocking Liverpool off their perch by surpassing them in terms of the number of league titles won. The Old Trafford outfit have now won 19 league titles, with 12 of them coming under Sir Alex's reign.

"You cant get sentimental in this job," said the Scot, according to The Mirror. "I love the players I’ve had. I’ve been very, very fortunate to have had great players. And I’ve been very fortunate to have had players come through with me for a long, long time.

"At United, [Ryan] Giggs, [Gary] Neville and [Paul] Scholes. Even Phil [Neville] and Nicky Butt, guys who were the spirit of the club. They have remained part of what I see is Manchester United.

"And all the players I’ve had here have played a part in that. "But when I see something happening I have to act. In the case of Nicky Butt and Phil Neville I had to release them because I was getting to the stage where I was terrified of talking to them. Telling them they were not playing a game.

"And it wasn’t fair to them. They were good players. Players that played a big part in the resurrection of Manchester United, no doubt about that. "So when the time came for me to let them go, I knew it was cutting strings. Loyal strings. And I didn’t enjoy it.

"But my job is to manage Manchester United. My job is to produce results. I’m not any different from anybody else. I need results here. I’ll not be regarded here – and the club will not be regarded – in the same way if I was unsuccessful."

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Manchester United set to reignite interest in City target Alexis Sanchez

Manchester United are set to step up their interest in Udinese's Alexis Sanchez, according to the Daily Mail. United have been linked with a move for the former River Plate man since last summer, when he produced some impressive performances for Chile at the World Cup. Sanchez continued his form into the domestic season, scoring 12 goals in Serie A for Udinese.

It is understood that United chief executive David Gill met Gino Pozzo – the son of Udinese owner Giampaolo – in Barcelona on Tuesday to discuss a move. Manchester City are believed to have recently bid £27 million for the services of the attacker often compared to former United star Cristiano Ronaldo, but his club are believed to be holding out for at least £30m, a fee City seem unwilling to meet due to the new financial fair play regulations coming into practice soon.

Giampaolo Pozzo just days ago claimed City are the favourites to land the Chilean, but Sanchez’s agent, Fernando Felicevich, has insisted it is far from a one-horse race. He said: “Sanchez’s future is still wide open. After meetings with City, today we will have new appointments.”

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Manchester United celebrate Phil Jones transfer triumph but Blackburn claim to have secured inflated fee

Blackburn are adamant that United were forced to increase their original offer of £16.5 million after the club’s owners, the Venky’s poultry group, sought legal advice to prevent the Old Trafford side signing the player for the value of a release clause inserted into his contract earlier this year.

A statement on the club’s website confirmed that the fee surpassed the £17.5 million received from Manchester City for Roque Santa Cruz in 2009, describing the Jones deal as a “potential club record”. However, Kean revealed that when, and if, a variety of performance-related clauses are met Blackburn could stand to earn more than £20 million. “With all the bits and pieces, all the games he will play it will go above £20 million,” the Scot said. “It is a very big fee. But do not let that disguise the fact that we wanted to keep him here. We gave it a real good fight and made a fantastic offer. “Both myself and the owners spoke to him at great length.

"We offered him the biggest contract in the history of Blackburn to stay here. It was a staggering offer for a 19 year-old but Phil wanted to play Champions League football. “I think United have signed a future captain of England. He will be an England regular very soon.”Sources at United insist, though, that Jones did not cost any more than the £16.5 million offered prior to Venky’s objection, as well as the late offers from both Liverpool and Arsenal that were made in an attempt to take advantage of the confusion over the status of his move to Old Trafford. That confusion has now been solved with United announcing on their website that the player, who passed a medical last Wednesday before joining up with England’s Under-21 squad playing in the European Championship in Denmark, has signed a five-year deal.

Jones expressed his delight at finally becoming a United player, describing the chance to join Sir Alex Ferguson’s side as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” on Twitter. “I’d just like to start off by saying that I’ve loved my time at Blackburn and I will always be a huge fan,” he wrote. “But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am looking forward to a new challenge. Thank you for all your kind messages.”

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Ashley Young heads to Manchester United but Phil Jones deal stalls

Manchester United will officially sign Ashley Young when the Aston Villa forward returns from holiday later this month but their capture of Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers has been delayed by a dispute over the defender's transfer fee.

Jones passed a medical and agreed personal terms with United on Wednesday after the Premier League champions met the £16m release clause in the contract Blackburn awarded the 19-year-old in February. He then joined the England Under-21 squad in Denmark in preparation for the European Championships convinced, along with United and his agent, that the deal had been done.

Blackburn's owners, Venky's, have since said they do not have to accept a £16m transfer fee and, mindful of interest from Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal, believe he is worth more. Venky's have refused to transfer the player's registration and it may fall to lawyers to decide whether the wording in Jones' contract allows him to be sold at £16m or merely speak to clubs who meet that price. United are said to have no concerns that Jones' transfer will be completed and for £16m.

Young is believed to have agreed personal terms on an initial £16m move to Old Trafford from Villa Park but the transfer will not be formally announced until he has completed a medical. The England international is due to travel to the United States on holiday and is not expected to have had his medical before then. But Young, who had also been courted by Liverpool and Tottenham, has agreed to join United and, with an £18m deal in place for the Atlético Madrid goalkeeper David de Gea, will take United's committed spending to £50m.

Wesley Sneijder has committed his immediate future to Internazionale despite interest from Sir Alex Ferguson as he attempts to rebuild the United midfield for next season. The Holland international and Tottenham's Luka Modric were both under consideration by the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, who is also keen on Arsenal's Samir Nasri but Sneijder has said: "There is a family atmosphere at Inter and there are all the ingredients to aim high. Milan is marvellous, picturesque and full of elegance. I love it. At the moment I am very happy here and I don't see why I should leave."

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed Eric Cantona will take charge of New York Cosmos when they provide the opposition for Paul Scholes' testimonial at Old Trafford on 5 August.

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Liverpool and United splash cash but where are Arsenal?

It is three years to the month that Arsène Wenger pulled off his last notable transfer coup when he persuaded Aaron Ramsey to choose Arsenal over Manchester United when it had looked like the then 17-year-old was a cert for Old Trafford. Ramsey was invited to fly out to Switzerland to meet Wenger who was then working as a pundit covering the France team at Euro 2008.

Ferguson had relied upon his assistant Mike Phelan to sell Old Trafford to Ramsey who was also sent on a stadium tour open to members of the public, which was not quite the gold-plated reception that a nervous teenager anxious to meet his prospective famous manager had hoped for. He met Wenger, got his assurances in person and agreed to sign for Arsenal there and then.

Three years on and Ferguson is not taking any chances this time. The transfers of Phil Jones, the 19-year-old from Blackburn Rovers, and Ashley Young, the emerging star of the England team, now on his way from Aston Villa, have both been negotiated by United within 17 days of the end of the season. It is widely regarded as Liverpool who have lost out in both deals but where were Arsenal?

Arsenal met with Jones but failed to convince him, just as they did with Chris Smalling before he joined United 18 months' earlier. Jordan Henderson has gone to Liverpool. Signing the best young players – the likes of Theo Walcott and Ramsey – was once Arsenal's answer to their big-spending rivals, but now everyone else is doing that, what exactly is the policy that they intend to pursue?

As is his custom, Wenger was watching France play Poland in Warsaw last night, although not as a co-commentator on French television, and is to go on holiday today. The club's head of youth development, Liam Brady, promised yesterday that the club would be active in the transfer market this summer and it is not implausible that Wenger might be about to pull a stroke that will fire the imagination at the Emirates.

But as ever yesterday, it was more about who will go. The perennial Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona story is spinning again. The Spanish newspapers are already anticipating that Fabregas will spend his summer in Ibiza with Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. "He [Fabregas] is a great player and he's a player for Barcelona because he already knows the language we speak on the pitch," Pique said yesterday. "He is a great friend of mine and of course I want him to end up wearing the Barcelona shirt."

We have heard it all before but if Barcelona offered £45m-£50m Arsenal would let him go. They are working on the basis that if Darren Bent is worth £24m then an offer of, say, £30m for Fabregas would simply not be entertained. Wenger is opposed to deals that involve players coming in the other direction – to the extent that even if he wanted a Barcelona player he would do that transaction separately to any deal for Fabregas. It is about making the player joining Arsenal feel that he is not a simple footnote to a transfer, but a valued individual himself.

Wenger has sold his last two star-name captains at just the right time and, while Fabregas is still young at 24, injuries have meant that last season he was eclipsed by Jack Wilshere. The 19-year-old Englishman is ready to be the new stellar presence in the side and the club obviously think so, too. You can see that by the prominence he is afforded in all their marketing for next season.

The real scandal at Arsenal, however, is how Samir Nasri and Gaël Clichy have been allowed to drift into the last year of their contracts without anyone at the Emirates being able to shore up two of the most valuable assets in the squad.

This newspaper's revelations that representatives connected to Nasri have already made contact with United show just how close Arsenal now are to losing the player. Whether they sell him this summer at a reduced price or lose him for nothing in 12 months' time, it is an unsatisfactory scenario either way. In the event of a major offer for Nasri failing to materialise, Wenger is understood to be in favour of keeping the player in the hope that he will sign a new deal next season. It sounds like wishful thinking.

Had Nasri been a United or Tottenham player the club would have offered him the stark choice last summer of either signing a new deal or being sold immediately. Somehow, Arsenal took their eye off the ball and they have now surely lost him for good. Nasri was close to signing before the first leg of the last-16 Champions League knockout round tie against Barcelona in February. The deal was all but agreed between the club and his agent but at the last minute Nasri decided to hold off and Arsenal have been unable to bring him back to the table since then.

As for Clichy, the consensus is that he can go, with Liverpool the key English club interested and failing that, an offer from Italy is expected. The player will not give the club another season – he wants to go now – so they will sell him providing they get the valuation they want of around £7m to £8m.

As with most professional footballers, the money on offer is important. But the growing anxiety among the likes of Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Nasri and Walcott – who is entering the last two years of his deal – is whether they will ever be in a position to win something with Arsenal. And when that anxiety is heightened by the departure of high-profile team-mates, it stirs up even more unease.

The signing of 19-year-old Carl Jenkinson from Charlton Athletic for around £1m in compensation is intriguing but not quite the deal that might kickstart a summer of optimism. The likes of Mamadou Sakho (Paris St-Germain), Eden Hazard and Gervinho (both Lille) and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton) remain possibilities. At least, unlike Chelsea, Arsenal have a manager in place to make the big strategic decisions but they have made a slow start to the summer and after last season that is not something that they can afford.

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Manchester United star Paul Scholes the best of all time

It was right at the start of the ’90s that I heard the name Paul Scholes for the first time. The football world and the media, this newspaper in particular, was waking up to the fact that something unusual and wonderful was taking shape at Manchester United.

A group of kids who were growing up together at Old Trafford were starting to make ripples. Some of them who were aged just 16 or 17 were already pushing for a place in Alex Ferguson’s first team.

So I took myself off to United’s old training centre, The Cliff in Salford, to have a chat with the Reds­ youth team coach Eric Harrison who watched over that talented bunch of youngsters like a mother hen. Of course Eric was eager to sing the praises of David Beckham, Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt.

But Eric became even more animated when talking about the boy I had never heard of. That boy was Paul Scholes. “You won’t believe this,” said Eric, “but Scholesy has got a fan club. “Have you ever heard of a 17-year-old footballer with a fan club, because I haven’t. “But scores of young girls turn up at The Cliff just to watch him training.

“He’s tiny, he’s got a mop of ginger hair and he suffers from asthma. But to those young girls he’s already a star. Of course Scholesy doesn’t take advantage of his stardom. “He’s only interested in playing football. At least that’s what he tells me. “What those young fans are seeing, I believe, is that they are watching the birth of a great career in professional football at the very highest level.

“And do you know what? I couldn’t agree with them more. The scrawny ginger haired kid I am talking about is going to become a superstar over the years ahead.”Let’s wind the clock on 20 years to an interview with Thierry Henry broadcast by Sky Sports earlier this season.

The programme was filmed in New York where the brilliant French striker was giving the interviewer a grand tour of the Red Bulls Stadium where he now plays. The conversation turned to the days in the late ’90s and early 2000s when Arsenal and United comprehensively dominated the Premier League.

Henry was asked if he and his Arsenal team-mates feared any of United’s players. Roy Keane for his ferociousness perhaps, or maybe Ruud van Nistelrooy for his goal-scoring ability?

Henry’s reply was instant and revealing. “We respected all of United’s players,” he answered diplomatically. “But there was one United player we genuinely feared – and that player was Paul Scholes.

“Scholes had everything.

“We prided ourselves on our defence but he could split it open with one pass.

“He could score fantastic goals out of nothing and, although he was small in stature, to say he could take care of himself on the pitch is a massive under-statement. “At his peak he was one of the greatest midfield players of his generation, not just in the English Premier League but right across Europe.”

Genius: So there it is. Two tributes to the ginger genius from north Manchester separated by two decades. The first from his former youth team coach Harrison could be expected. Eric treated the members of that famous class of 1992 as though they were his adopted sons. But when you look again at that second tribute 20 years later from one of the world’s greatest strikers, there is only one conclusion to be reached.

That scrawny asthma-stricken kid, born in Salford but raised in Langley, was THE greatest English midfield player of his generation and arguably the greatest English midfielder of ALL time. Why then was Scholes not showered with personal honours throughout his glittering career?

Why no PFA Player of the Year award? Why no Football Writers’ Player of the Year honour? Those questions are difficult to answer. The only explanation I can come up with is that throughout his career Scholes preferred to keep himself under the radar.

He never sought publicity. Quite the reverse. He was dynamic on the field but purposely anonymous off it. To him giving an interview to the press was the equivalent of having your teeth pulled out with pliers – without the anaesthetic.

Had he been more media-friendly he would certainly have banked extra millions during his career from sponsorships and various TV advertising campaigns.All right, he didn’t have the film star looks of a Beckham or a Jamie Redknapp, but that hasn’t stopped Peter Crouch making a fortune outside the game has it?

And he’s twice the size but half the talent of Scholes, that’s for sure. But that was the Ginger Prince wasn’t it? Turn in a match-winning performance, take a shower, get dressed and then it’s off home to take the wife and kids to the pictures.

A man who somehow managed to live a normal life in an abnormal profession. United have granted Scholes a testimonial match later this year to celebrate his extraordinary career.

If the organisers of that match haven’t yet fixed up an opposing team for Scholes’s testimonial I would urge them to look no further than United’s ‘noisy neighbours’ from Eastlands. For almost two decades now my fellow Blue Mooners have ‘hated’ the little ginger haired midfield genius from Old Trafford.

But I’m sure I’m speaking for every true City supporter by saying that if Scholes had been wearing the sky blue shirt instead of a red one throughout those years he would have been idolised.

The Eastlands congregation would flock to Old Trafford in their thousands to say a last goodbye to one of football’s true greats. A fellow Mancunian who reached the very peak of his profession with the minimum of fuss and the absence of publicity. We will not see the likes of him again, more’s the pity.

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Samir Nasri hints at move to Manchester United

Samir Nasri has infuriated Arsenal by refusing to dismiss a move to Manchester United. The midfielder issued what amounts to a 'come and get me plea' to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with his comments in a French TV interview. His stance echoes that of Spurs star Luka Modric, who last week dropped more than a few broad hints about a possible switch to Old Trafford.

Nasri is coming into the final year of his contract at the Emirates and Arsene Wenger may be forced to cash-in rather than lose him for nothing next summer. The Arsenal manager insists his 23-year-old French international will not be joining United - but unless Nasri commits himself to a new deal soon, Arsenal may have no choice but to let him leave the club.

Nasri, on international duty ahead of France's Euro 2012 qualifier with Poland, said on TF1: "I don't know if I will sign a new contract. Anyway, the discussions are ongoing. "For the moment, I don't think about this. We will speak about it after the match with Poland. "Do I want to go to Man United? First, we should see if it's real and if it is concrete."Ferguson is determined to revamp United's midfield for next season, especially after seeing that particular department swamped by Barcelona in the Champions League final.

He wants Modric to replace the retired Paul Scholes, while Nasri is earmarked as a successor to Ryan Giggs. Nasri's international colleague Patrice Evra infuriated Arsenal fans ahead of United's Champions League final with Barcelona when he claimed the Arsenal player would have to head to Old Trafford to fulfil his ambition for silverware.

Evra said: "Little prince, if you want to become king you know where you should go. "Every year at Manchester is a guarantee of a title. "I have been here five years and cannot keep count of the trophies I've won - 12? 13? 15?"

But Wenger remains determined not to lose one of his star players to Ferguson. "One thing's for sure: we're not selling him to Manchester United," he said. "Are we still in discussions with Nasri? Yes, but we are still in disagreement over the financial contract on offer, which we haven't settled. "We are trying to extend his deal."Arsenal, who have Clichy in a similar position, had hoped to secure Nasri on a new five-year deal worth around £90,000 a week.

Both players' contracts expire in the summer of 2012 and Wenger is unwilling to allow them to leave for nothing under the Bosman ruling, as Mathieu Flamini did for Milan three years ago. Nasri played in France's 1-1 draw in Belarus on Friday and is expected to feature in tomorrow's friendly in Poland; talks will resume upon his return.

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