Post by jockcas on Jun 12, 2013 16:23:03 GMT
Gentleman’s agreement’ reached between United and Benfica for defender Ezequiel Garay.
The Argentine has been one of the club’s many top performers this season, attracting interest from a host of top clubs along with team-mates Nemanja Matic, Oscar Cardozo and Nicolas Gaitan.
The 26-year-old helped Benfica reach the Europa League final, where they were beaten in a close contest with Chelsea, and was also wanted by former club Real Madrid.
However, a deal appears to have been struck for Garay to move to Old Trafford this summer for a fee of around £17million, giving new manager David Moyes some much-needed improvement to his centre-back options.
The likes of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are ageing and have struggled with fitness problems in recent years, and Garay could quickly establish himself as a key player at United, who were also thought to be looking at Valencia’s Adil Rami.
They are also one of the clubs tracking Garay’s Benfica team-mates Matic and Gaitan, and could return with offer for these players after assessing their other options for attacking midfield signings.