A £15million fee has been agreed with Crystal Palace and medical could follow in the next 24 hours – as Fergie faces a month without Ashley Young
Manchester United hope to complete the signing of Wilfried Zaha on Thursday – as they lose his fellow winger Ashley Young for four weeks.
United have agreed a £15million deal to sign Zaha from Championship side Crystal Palace and the England international could undergo a medical in Manchester in the next 24 hours.
While his squad flew to Qatar for a four-day warm-weather training camp, Sir Alex Ferguson stayed behind in the UK to personally oversee the conclusion of the Zaha deal.
Ferguson is understood to have met up with the 20-year-old winger to convince him to join United, amid competition from Arsenal for the talented youngster.
Zaha is expected to be loaned back to Palace for the remainder of the Championship season, despite United learning of Young’s injury lay-off.
Young hurt a knee in United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool on January 13 and a scan has revealed ligament damage that will keep him out until late February.
That means Young will miss the Premier League leaders’ next four games, including the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie away to Spanish champions Real Madrid.
With Antonio Valencia out of form and Nani currently out of favour, the loss of Young could not have come at a worse time for Ferguson, with his wide options limited.
Young is set to be sidelined for at least four weeks, but that could stretch to six weeks, with United wary of rushing him back too soon and suffering a further setback.
United will pay £10million up front – the biggest down payment for a Championship player, exceeding the £6m Arsenal initially paid Southampton for 17-year-old Theo Walcott on in 2006.
The remaining £5m will be made up of various add-ons, £3m based on appearances, and the remaining £2m based on trophies and England appearances.
Palace have also agreed a 10 per cent sell-on fee. Zaha will sign a five-and-a-half year contract at Old Trafford which will start at £35,000 a week, rising as he develops at the club.
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