United accept £15m bid for Veron

It has been reported that Manchester United have accepted a £15m (€21m) bid from Chelsea for Juan Sebastien Veron.

The transfer is still subject to contract and the Argentinian midfielder’s medical – and £2.5m (€3.5m) of the fee is dependent on Chelsea’s performance over the next four seasons.

United confirmed the much-anticipated acceptance of the bid via the London Stock Exchange this morning.

The deal will mean United have made a substantial loss on Veron, having bought him for £28.1m (€39.8m) in July 2001 from Lazio.

The acquisition of Veron will take Chelsea’s summer spending spree since the arrival of new owner Roman Abramovich to almost £60m (€85m).

Previous arrivals in that period at Stamford Bridge include Damien Duff for £17m (€24m), Geremi for £7m (€10m), Wayne Bridge for £7m (€10m), Glen Johnson for £6m (€8.5m).

Johnson’s former West Ham team-mate Joe Cole is expected to sign for £6.6m (€9.4m).

Veron was the subject of intense speculation linking him with a move to Chelsea throughout United’s tour of America.

And although Sir Alex Ferguson initially insisted that Veron was staying at Old Trafford, towards the end of the tour he admitted the Argentinian’s future was unclear.

After arriving in Lisbon ahead of tonight’s friendly against Sporting Lisbon, Ferguson said: “So many things have happened while we’ve been away on tour, and things have been quite muddied. We should get the real story soon.”