Leeds accept £30m offer for England star

By John Anderson

RIO FERDINAND is expected to sign for Manchester United in the next 24 hours, after Leeds finally agreed to sell him.

If the England defender agrees personal terms and passes a medical, his £30 million transfer fee will top the British record set by Seba Veron’s £28.1 million move from Lazio to United last summer.

United chief executive Peter Kenyon reached an agreement with Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale after days of negotiations.

“I feel a mixture of disappointment and some elation that the deal has been completed. Rio is a great player and a nice lad and he will go with our best wishes,” Ridsdale said.

The fee for Ferdinand, who joined Leeds from West Ham two years ago for £18 million, will surpass the $35.4 million that Juventus paid Italian rivals Parma for France defender Lilian Thuram in 2001.

Manchester United also paid the previous British record transfer fee of £28.1 million to Lazio for Argentina midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron in July 2001.

Ferdinand, whose performances helped England reach the World Cup quarter-finals last month, should improve United’s defence, which has lacked a commanding presence since the surprise sale of Dutchman Jaap Stam to Lazio 11 months ago.

Veteran Frenchman Laurent Blanc was signed to replace Stam, but defensive frailties contributed to a disappointing 2001-02 campaign in which the club failed to win their fourth straight Premiership title.United finished third behind Arsenal and Liverpool and lost in the Champions League semi-finals to German club Bayer Leverkusen.

Norwegian defender Ronny Johnsen and Irishman Denis Irwin were released at the end of the season, and although Blanc signed a one-year contract extension, United manager Alex Ferguson was short of experienced defenders.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane is the world’s most expensive soccer player. He cost Spanish club Real Madrid $64.4 million when he moved from Juventus in 2001. The last Leeds player to join Manchester United was French striker Eric Cantona, whose arrival at Old Trafford in 1992 inspired Manchester United to win the English title in 1993 for the first time in 26 years.

Ridsdale, who heard yesterday that the proposed £9 million transfer of Leeds midfielder Lee Bowyer to Liverpool had collapsed, said some of the money from selling Ferdinand would be given to new manager Terry Venables for new players.Ferdinand can only benefit from his move to Manchester United, according to two players who made the same journey across the Pennines from Leeds.

Scottish duo Joe Jordan and Gordon McQueen believe it represents good business all round.Jordan, a crowd favourite at Leeds prior to his move to Old Trafford, said: “Manchester United think he is worth it — they made their mind up before the World Cup — and now they’ve got what they wanted.“

The figure is a colossal amount — but they’ve got their man and that’s important if they are to make a challenge for the championship they lost last year,” he said.

“He’s left a very good club — I spent seven and a half years there — but Manchester United are a fantastic club.“They will be a stronger team with him — they can now go on and win the championship.”

Tommy Docherty, boss at Old Trafford from 1972 to 1977, said: “Contracts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on now.

“You can’t turn down a club like Manchester United. Leeds are a big club but Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are bigger,” he said.

“It’s a great investment by the club. Peter Ridsdale has done a fantastic job and they’ve got a great coach in Venables — I think he’s the best coach in the game, football-wise — and he’ll get the money to strengthen and replace Rio.”