Nani awaiting international clearance after passing medical
United announced last week they had agreed a deal to sign the 20-year-old from Sporting Lisbon.
Following the completion of his medical at Carrington, Nani – who along with Porto midfielder Anderson cost United a total of £30m – was given a tour of Old Trafford yesterday.
Another summer signing, England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, will complete his £17m move from Bayern Munich on July 1.
United are in the process of applying for a work permit for Anderson but are not expected to get one initially as the player has not featured for Brazil yet. Instead it is expected they will get one on appeal as the 19-year-old has been named in his country’s Copa America squad.
There was some bad news for United, however. Ben Foster’s hopes of ousting Edwin van der Sar as first-choice keeper next season are in tatters after it was confirmed the England international requires surgery on a cruciate knee ligament injury.
The 24-year-old had been suffering knee problems during the latter half of last season, which he spent on loan at Watford.
And he pulled out of the England B international with Albania at the back end of last month to undergo tests. Now Foster’s worst fears have been realised, with United releasing more specific details of an injury which will keep the ‘keeper sidelined for months.
It is almost certain to be the early months of 2008 before Foster is in action again. The news also means Tomasz Kuszczak, who spent last term as Van der Sar’s understudy, is now virtually certain to remain at Old Trafford rather than go out on loan as some pundits had predicted.
Meanwhile, Inter Milan winger Luis Figo has ruled out the possibility of a move to Tottenham.
The 34-year-old admits his future at the San Siro is uncertain but has dismissed talk of a move to England or his native Portugal.
He has previously been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
“If I continue playing in Europe, I will only do so for Inter,” he said on the Italian club’s website, www.inter.it.
“As for a possible transfer to Tottenham, I can say that there is no truth in this.”
The Portugal legend, who will make a decision soon on whether he will continue playing, added: “I don’t have much time to decide and I know I have to do it quickly because the new season is around the corner.
“I will let everybody know when everything has been decided, but like I just said, if I continue playing in Europe I will only do so for Inter. There’s no possibility of me playing in England or Portugal.”
Spurs boss Martin Jol is looking to bolster the left flank of his team and has already signed Gareth Bale from Southampton in a £10m deal.
He has also been linked with a striker as Mido has an uncertain future at the club, but a new addition to the Spurs attack would face fierce competition.
Jol’s other three strikers – Robbie Keane, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermain Defoe — scored more than 60 goals between them last season.
“We believe we have plenty of goals in the squad and have proved that,” said Keane.
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