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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