[size=14pt]Breaking News: Manchester United Sign Antonio Valencia From Wigan Athletic[/size]

[b]Manchester United have today made their first major capture of this summer's transfer window, and signed Ecuador international Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic.

The 23-year-old joins for an undisclosed fee, and has signed a four-year contract at Old Trafford.

United manager Alex Ferguson was delighted to have secured the player's signature, telling the club's official website, "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."

The player himself echoed that delight, claiming that the prospect of plying his trade in front of United's massive crowds was a decisive factor in persuading him to move from the DW Stadium, as well as playing alongside some of the biggest names in world football.

"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," he said.

"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."[/b]

we got one
thank God
we need 2 more

a striker and another midfielder(either winger or central)

Really? We finally landed someone? All these rumours were beginning to drive me nuts. . . . now I breathe a sigh of relief.
I suggest someone should go and steal all the money that Man City and Real Madrid are busy throwing around. How is it that the silly club can manage to bid for Eto'o and Ibrahamovic for such boisterous amounts of money? Kai! Anyway - too many cooks spoil the broth, at least that's what I'm hoping this will do.

16M for Antonio Valencia?

I'm.not.one.bit.impressed.with.this.signing. Valencia.is.not.really.the.kinda, guy.we.need.

And.apart.from.the.fact.that.Real.Madrid.wanted.him.at.some.point.under.Juande.Ramos.that.is. . .what.does.this.guy.have?
This.dude.scored.just.3.goals.for.Wigan.last.season.!. He.has.scored.a.miserly.7.goals.in.83.appearances. Even.for.his.country. .he.scored.just.4.goals.in.32.appearances!
And.he.is.24.years.old.for.crying.out.loud!. . .think.he.was.bought.just.when.we.lost.our.2.most.lethal.players.
And.he.annoyingly.went.for.excess.of.16million?!

To.me. .this.is.another.business.deal.gone.bad.

We.need.to.buy. .Yes.
We.need.to.buy.just.anybody?. .No.

The.only.good.thing.I.see.from.this.signing.is.that.he.would.play.permanently.on.the.wings. .This.would.free.up.Rooney.to.play.in.the.middle.behind.the.forward. A.position.he.has.been.begging.for. .
And.there's.a.Berbatov. . .

Well.for.the.sake.of.fanship. . .I.pray.Valencia.gels.

PROUDLY UNITED.

True talk about Valencia but I think he will create more room for good passes to our forwards.

I think Fergie's plan is going to work.

He wants to strengthen our squad.

And to do that we need a guy who knows how to hold the ball and give good passes and won't be deterred under pressure.

Lets see who the next buy will be. It will determine my final judgement.

JK
Relax Fergie will still buy a striker, we need one badly. AV will add width to our game he has a lot to offer.
We pray he gel quickly and start making his own contributions.

Let Baba SAF search for an out and out striker now as Babasoft did not perform last season.
If he leave up to expectation next season it will be an add advantage in making the bench more stronger than last season.

The season gonna be tough but UNITED will carry the day as usual.

1 UNITED

Did u fell exam cuz of dot?

You guys have signed another Michael Jackson look-alike (RIP) i mean when he was black

@ Some People (Cough cough!) At least we've signed someone unlike some managers I know. . . .  

I just heard on Sky Sports news that Benzema is on his way to completion of a 4-yr 38m deal with Man Utd. . . we just might get another one pretty soon. Yay! Now I don't miss Ronaldo half as much. They might not be as good as he is but I think they can fit well in Man U squad.
I can't wait for more signings.

Benzema would most likely join Man Utd its looking pretty good but for 38millie i think he is sl ightly o ver-priced but y'all got the dough with C.Ron's windfall

@poster above
Arsene used to Know but he is going to sign don't lose sleep over that

I'm feeling the new Man-U jersey mahn,looking good!

@ poster below my previous post, If I were you - I'd start moving slowly to Man U. . . where the real winners win big. Arsene is sitting down while they wanna snatch Toure from y'all with a team led by a disgruntled Fabregas. This should be quite interesting. I'm not losing any sleep but I'm sure you should be doing that.

@ Sukkie - I'm getting mine ASAP. . . can't wait.

@Moonstone
With A-40's baby inscribed at the back

@poster above SUKKIE
Mo move ti 12 milli is good for Toure another defender would be bought invariably! ko ma lo im don try.I am fine ooh don't worry about me abeg i have suffered 4 winless seasons another one won't kill me

@SUKKIE
Baby?? At my young age?? if na play abeg stop am

Valencia.is.lucky.to.be.linked.with.United. . .let.alone.play.for.them.
The.only.prayer.now.is.that.he.must.do.well. Cos.to.me. .there.are.plenty.players.who.are.waay.better.than.him.and.can.do.exactly.what.Fergie.has.in.mind,

But.we've.gotten.him.already. No.going.back. We.just.need.to.get.more. Really.praying.Benzema.joins.us. Twould.be.a.party!, lol

justkunmi:

Valencia.is.lucky.to.be.linked.with.United. . .let.alone.play.for.them.
The.only.prayer.now.is.that.he.must.do.well. Cos.to.me. .there.are.plenty.players.who.are.waay.better.than.him.and.can.do.exactly.what.Fergie.has.in.mind, 

But.we've.gotten.him.already. No.going.back. We.just.need.to.get.more. Really.praying.Benzema.joins.us. Twould.be.a.party!, lol

JUST SAW THIS ON SKYSPORTS news NOW.

Signing Valencia is a panic buy, abeg.
I don't rate that dude at all. . . . . .Fergie must be smoking lah for paying such amount to secure him.
Nani is better than Valencia by light years. I am not happy with this signing at all.

Fergie shoulda just bought Huntelaar and the dude in Brazil(Da Costa).

@all
Were can i get the new Manchester United Home Jersey in Lagos and at what price.

Abeg i need am ASAP

I think Valencia is an ok buy for ManU. He is definitely not for the big games, but should be a good tool against the lower premiership clubs like wigan ( )and co.
I dont see him as one of 'ManU's best 11' in his first season, unless SAFf is primarily focused on the carling cup, but he should be a good enough player to have in the rotation.

ManU's pursuit of Benzema is not the best option IMO, as Aulas will skin SAF for as much of the CR 80 mil, as he can get. Benzema is nowhere worth the 40M price tag Aulas is angling for, but he will likely get it with Madrid helping to drive the prices up. ManU would stand a good chance of landing eto though, and I think that would be better value for money.

At under $20M, Dani Guiza might be the bargain striker of this summer.

@Sauron
Thanks.jare. At.least.someone.here.shares.my.thoughts. Valencia.is.the.worst.signing.Fergie.has.ever.made. The.dude.scored.just.3.goals.for.Wigan.last.season.and.Fergie.is.paying.rare.pounds.sterling.for.him?

Fergie.must.be.panicking. No.other.explanation. Cos.a.whole.lot.of.players.are.waaaay.cheaper.and.are.a.whole.lot.better.than.this.dude.
Can.u.imagine.a.player.scoring.just.7.goals.in.over.80.appearnces??
Infact. .the.dude.should.be.given.out.free.to.clubs.!

Read.on.Skysports.Benzema.is.likely.to.move.to.United.

@Sauron
Thanks.jare. At.least.someone.here.shares.my.thoughts. Valencia.is.the.worst.signing.Fergie.has.ever.made. The.dude.scored.just.3.goals.for.Wigan.last.season.and.Fergie.is.paying.rare.pounds.sterling.for.him?

Fergie.must.be.panicking. No.other.explanation. Cos.a.whole.lot.of.players.are.waaaay.cheaper.and.are.a.whole.lot.better.than.this.dude.
Can.u.imagine.a.player.scoring.just.7.goals.in.over.80.appearnces??
Infact. .the.dude.should.be.given.out.free.to.clubs.!

Read.on.Skysports.Benzema.is.likely.to.move.to.United.

where did you get that from?
based on what hes done in the past or you have forseen hes not gonna do well?

You can only call him the worst signing when he starts playing badly.
Valencia will offer more than Tosic and Nani combined

SAF knows more than anybody here and its never a panic buy cos this guy should have joined United b4 this season with Palacios
Hes a good player wanted by Bayern and Real

The problem here is we always think the players on the tabloids are the only good ones
did you guys know kaka b4 he joined Milan?
how come there are some players in the lower clubs that are better than the ones playing fro United?
Valencia is one of he playes that can play in United. . . .
If carrick, Fletcher, Anderson, JSPark can wear uniteds shirt, why wont he do good.

We need the efficient+effective players not the aesthetics like Nani with no end product
valencia carried/s his teams(wigan and Ecuador)
Tell Nani to carry Portugal b4 you can even compare

Good buy SAF!
get Benzema and lets roll

Sauron,
Let's be fair to Fergie on this signing.
Truthbe told,Valencia isn'tall that.
But I believe it had somethingto do with the kind ofteam he was with.at United,he'll definitely raise his game with the quality around him.
I think he has talent,though.I saw him in one of the South american WC qualifiers.He looked good.
We cannot expect him to fill ronaldo's void.Truth be told,no one can.
I'm not expecting Fergie to sign anybody to replace Ron.He never does that,or hardly does,if he ever.
Nani will have to step up.Tosic is ripe for a first team campaign from what i've seen in the reserves and the Euro U-21s.


justkunmi,
Let's give the guy a chance.Fergie trusts Steve Bruce's reasoning.it's been a while that he's been linked to United.for a season and a half,I reckon.
We can't find anyone out there who is half as good as CR7 to buy.The few people aailable all want to play for Real Madrid.
As for the market,blame Real madrid for the inflation.Period.half decent players now command fees in 20 million plus.
I don't think it's a panic-buy.Let's see where this signing leads us to.

Tkb
Read.the.guy's.profile.and.see.for.urself. Even.playing.for.Ecuador. .he.has.hardly.scrapped.5.goals,

No.doubt. .Fergie.knows. .but.not.all.the.time.
Remember.DjembaDjemba. .?

Like.I.said.before. .His.presence.now.would.free.up.Rooney.for.his.most.prefered.role.in.the.middle.behind.the.forward.

@eastbay
Yea. We.gat.no.choice.now. Valencia.has.to.fit.in.and.perform! He.has.all.the.chance.he.needs.now.

Lookin.forward.to.other.signings.to.complement.this. .

JK
That guy hasnt cut it with big teams!
Hes just 23 or thereabout.

Now hes going to be playing for United with some of the best in the world and arguably the best Manager around.
Hes coming with a lot of humility and will be ready to die on the pitch. Hes talented but maybe not like CR7

Our pattern of play will change hence the need for more midfielders to get the best out of Rooney and Berba.
hes got pace and can dribble more than CR7.
yeah, he doesnt score a lot of goals. hes not a striker!!!!!!!!!!
hes just a winger and will do 99% of his playing from the wings.

Anderson is a good player but does he score goals? NO
I think UTD will play with width and hence the need for players like that.

When Ronaldo came to UTD, he was never at the level Valencia is right now and im not inferring Valencia will rise to be another CR7
All im saying is, let the guy start playing, mid season , we can now judge if SAFs buy was good.

Of course SAF has done some deals in the past that were rubbish just like any other coach
Or how will Wenger buy Silvestre or Ancellotti loaning Senderos.
Coaches can be stupid atimes

Tkb
Valencia.already.has.my.support.immediately.he.took.up.the.red.shirt. .which.is.very.lovely. .by.the.way. .the.new.one.that.is.

Like, you.said. .we.cant.judge.him.now, 

PS. Is.Nani.still.around?. Hasnt.he.gone.elsewhere? Napoli.or.wherever.

jk,
The red shirt isn't as bad as i feared it would be.
It's supposed to be available from today.

BTW,what's up with your punctuation?

jk
Im buying the red shirt as soon as its launched.
I love it.

lets just get a striker and we'll be fine

Nani is still in UTD and i dont know what we are going to do to him
i guess this season will be his year and if he fcks up
he'll be sent to Greece

Eastbay
I.already.ordered.the.shirt. Great.stuff.
Nothing's.wrong.with.my.punctuations. .lol. .@least.dat.I.know.of. .
Dont.mind.me. . Its.the.way.I.type.on.my.phone. .and.I'm.using.my.phone.now. .

Tkb
Nani.is.a.Arrow!. He.should.be.shipped.off.to.Qatar.or.someplace. After.spending.that.much@united. .he's.still.not.a.regular.
Even.Tosic.has.more.prospects.of.playing.this.season.ahead.of.Nani!

jk,
Oh,I get it.I thought you forgot to attend the class on punctuation!
tk,
Fergie can't dispose nani just like that especially since he spend a lot of green on him.
But i feel this season is what he has to really prove himself.he can't be just a Carling cup player.Otherwise,we will send him to Qatar!

tk,
Fergie can't dispose nani just like that especially since he spend a lot of green on him.
But i feel this season is what he has to really prove himself.he can't be just a Carling cup player.Otherwise,we will send him to Qatar!

if the guy misbehaves this season
he'll be sold i agree.

im just wondering what his problems are

Nani.shouldn't.even.be.given.another.chance. He.had.it.and.he.blew.it!.

tk,
I think he got carried away by the hype of his first season.
Tosic is raring to go.That guy deserves auto-promotion to the first team from the reserves.Maybe Nani will sit-up and learn.hopefully iy would be too late because some of us were hugely disappointed in him last season.