Wednesday night witnessed major happenings for Manchester United on the transfer market, as the club agreed ‘in principle’ deals to sign on two young midfielders - Nani and Anderson. Nani is a winger from Sporting Lisbon and Anderson is a Porto playmaker.
The deals were announced on Manchester United’s official website. The transfer fees paid for either player has not been revealed by United as such. However, Sporting said that Nani was signed on for a whopping 25 million Euros and Portuguese media reported that Anderson would cost a parallel amount.
Both players will join United subject to a successful fitness test. The statement on club’s website read that personal terms with both the players have already been agreed. Here is a bit about the two players.
Anderson Luis de Aberu Oliviera
This nineteen-year-old Brazilian midfielder is an exiting playmaker. He had impressed one and all in the 2005 world under-17 championships and was named player of the tournament. He joined FC Porto from Gremio in December 2005 and has enjoyed success at the Portuguese club. Last season, he started nine matches and scored twice. He was understandably delighted with a move to the English champions and said:
I could not imagine I would ever get to work with a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson but it has happened. What can I say? It is a dream the size of the world.
Incidentally, he features in Brazil’s squad for Copa America next month.
Better known as Nani, this pacy left winger has often drawn comparisons with United’s Christiano Ronaldo. Nani debuted for Sporting Lisbon as an 18-year-old. He was initially linked with a move to Tottenham but reportedly said that he would only leave Portugal to play for a big club like United. He appeared for Lisbon 29 times last season and scored five goals. He is deemed a possible replacement for Ryan Giggs on the left flank.
Both the players were being chased by some big clubs all across the European League, but Manchester Unired snapping them up only goes on to show the effect that a good season can have on a team’s faring in the transfer market. Sir Alex looking to acquire young players shows that he is trying to build up a team for future.
