Flop Forlan’s days at United nearly over
The Uruguay international, who infamously needed 27 games to score his first goal for club, has failed to impress at Old Trafford since his £7.5 million move from Independiente in January 2002.
United had high hopes for the 25-year-old after beating Middlesbrough to his signature but he managed just 10 goals in 63 Premiership appearances.
He had been pushed down the pecking order at United in recent months following the signings of Louis Saha and Alan Smith and manager Alex Ferguson now deems him surplus to requirements.
The transfer will be completed upon agreement of Forlan’s personal terms and completion of his medical.
Forlan’s first goal for United came with a late penalty in a 5-2 Champions League win over Maccabi Haifa at Old Trafford in October 2002. He followed up with both goals in a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in December but there have been few other highlights during his time in England.
Mariam Solsona, spokesperson for Villarreal, confirmed: “He has agreed a five-year deal. He is flying into Valencia at around 10.30pm tonight and he will be presented at 1pm tomorrow after his medical.”
Meanwhile, Ferguson may be tempted to change his mind and throw Cristiano Ronaldo back into the fray immediately following the teenager’s return from the Olympics.
The Manchester United manager declared two weeks ago that he would need to give the 19-year-old winger two months off to recover injuries but other selection problems mean that Ferguson may simply not be able to afford to leave out such a key player - especially as Ronaldo has expressed his desire to play for the club again as soon as possible.
The winger became one of Ferguson’s most important players in the second half of the last campaign - he was voted the player of the season and was the star of the FA Cup final before going on to show - for Portugal during Euro 2004 - that he has become one of the best players in Europe.
Ronaldo only arrived back at United’s Carrington training ground yesterday, but if Ferguson is happy with his physical condition then there is every chance he could be on the bench against newly-promoted Norwich at Old Trafford today and perhaps even in a starting line-up.
Ferguson will have to judge whether to continue with his current policy of playing captain Roy Keane at centre-back with John O’Shea in central midfield. The ploy worked well against Dinamo Bucharest in the Champions League qualifier 10 days ago but was not as successful in the 1-0 defeat by Chelsea.
United continue to be without eight senior players but things are looking up for Ferguson as Darren Fletcher completes his suspension today, Kleberson resumed training yesterday and French striker Louis Saha will be back kicking a ball next week.
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