Possebon heads out on loan

Report by Steve Bartram

Brazilian midfielder Rodrigo Possebon will spend the entire 2009/10 season on loan at Portuguese side Sporting Braga.

The 20-year-old joined United from Brazil’s Internacional in January 2008, and went on to make his senior Reds debut in the 2008/09 Premier League curtain-raiser against Newcastle United.

He made a total of three starts and five substitute appearances during the course of the season but, due to the first team’s wealth of central midfielders, Rodrigo found further first team opportunities hard to come by.

He spent the majority of the season in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reserves as the Reds won two cups and finished second in the Barclays Premier Reserve League (North).

Braga finished fifth in the Liga Sagres last season and will be taking part in the 2009/10 Europa League, formerly the UEFA Cup.

Antonio can make his mark

Report by Steve Bartram

United legend Lou Macari believes Antonio Valencia has a tremendous opportunity to make his mark as a United player.

The Ecuadorian joined the Reds from Wigan earlier this week, becoming the club's first summer signing, and the move was no surprise to Macari.

"There have been lots of rumours but of all the names that were mentioned, Valencia was one that I thought would come off," he told MUTV.

"Valencia's played his part for Wigan, now he's got to do it at Old Trafford. Over the years, there have been players who have done well at other clubs but then it hasn't really happened for them at United. It's a wait and see job, to see how Valencia adjusts to life at Old Trafford, but it's a great opportunity for him.

"A couple of years ago he was doing nothing, but since coming to the Premier League, he's made his mark with Wigan and he'll be hoping to make his mark at Manchester United."

Macari feels Valencia's three years at Wigan make him a suitable acquisition, but takes the majority of the circulating transfer rumours with a pinch of salt.

"I think Premier League experience is a big help," he said. "When you bring in any player from any league, regardless of that player's quality, he's still got to do it in the Premier League which is probably the hardest league in the world to play in week in, week out.

Blog: New boy fits the bill

Report by Pat Crerand

Antonio Valencia joining United was the worst-kept secret - everyone expected him to come to Old Trafford.

Still, he's an important signing and the timing of his move is great as it means he can go on the Asia Tour later this month. He'll get to know his team-mates much better by living around them in the hotels. The players are all together, all the time, they're in each other's company for every minute of every day.

I'm sure Valencia won't be our only summer signing, we might need a striker as well. But a wide player was certainly something we needed, so he's a great addition to the squad. He's quick and could be a full-back's nightmare - the last thing you want to do as a defender is play against someone who's quick, running at you.

When he played against United at Old Trafford in January, he gave John O'Shea one of the biggest chasings John's ever had. The only time I'd ever seen someone do that to John before was when Ronaldo did it for Sporting Lisbon in a friendly in 2003!

Valencia's goal return, only three for Wigan last season, doesn't matter. I think when you're playing with better players, there'll be more possibilities for you to score goals. But another great talent in football that's often overlooked is creating goals.

People have a go at Berbatov because he's not as energetic as Tevez, but he scored 12 goals in the league and also how many did he make? The art of making chances is almost as important as scoring goals.

I think it's great when someone wants to join you as much as Valencia does. We have a lost a couple of big players and like it or not, money played a big part in it. But this lad wants to come and play for Manchester United.

Berbatov was another exception to the point about money. All the rumours on deadline day last summer were that Manchester City were trying to hijack the deal with a bigger offer but Berbatov said, 'No, I want to play for Manchester United'. When you get foreign players saying that, I think it's a bonus.

The views expressed in this blog are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Manchester United FC.

Video: Asian introductions

Report by Mike Shaw

Antonio Valencia will be in good company if he plays his first United game on the pre-season tour. Here are some unofficial 'debuts' previously made in Asia...







1. Ruud van Nistelrooy (2001)
After finally completing a £19m move from PSV Eindhoven a little later than planned due to a serious knee injury in 2000, van Nistelrooy made his long-awaited United bow against Malaysia All-Stars. Two strikes in the first half showed the fans he was well worth the wait, and demonstrated the prowess that was to bag him 150 goals in just over 200 games for the Reds.







2. Fabien Barthez (2001)
Not technically his debut, but the eccentric French stopper made his first and only outfield appearance for the Reds when he came off the bench to play on the left wing against Singapore XI. After the game, Sir Alex admitted, "Fabien's been pestering me for months to play him in an outfield position. He's had his go now, and he'll be heading back in goal."







3. Ji-Sung Park (2005)
The Korean first played for United on his native continent in 2005 and caught the eye with a goal in the second game of the tour against Beijing Hyundai. Four years on, he is still a key part of Sir Alex's side.








4. Edwin van der Sar (2005)
Sir Alex’s long search to find a successor for Peter Schmeichel finally ended in 2005 with the capture of the Dutch number one. Edwin made a good, typically solid start by keeping clean sheets in his first two appearances for the Reds in Asia.







5. Nani (2007)
New-boy Nani lit up the 2007 tour with his direct running, quick feet and two superb strikes. When he later burst onto the Barclays Premier League scene with stunning goals against Spurs and Middlesbrough, MUTV viewers were heard to say, "I told you so…"

Papers: Benzema picks Real

Real steal Kar from United
United were last night handed another bitter blow by Real Madrid as the Spaniards signed Lyon star Karim Benzema for £30million. SunSport had told you exclusively weeks ago that France striker Benzema was the man Old Trafford chief Alex Ferguson wanted to replace Carlos Tevez. But free-spending Real president Florentino Perez nabbed the ace to leave Fergie reeling - just three weeks after finally prising Cristiano Ronaldo away with a world-record £80m move. Benzema, 22, became Madrid's fourth signing so far this summer after the capture of Ronaldo and the £62m deal for Kaka from Milan and Raul Albiol's £13m move from Valencia.
Antony Kastrinakis, The Sun

The tabloid also says reported United transfer target Franck Ribery will leave Bayern Munich - but only for Real Madrid. "I have made up my mind, I want to leave. It will be Real Madrid or nothing," the winger is quoted as saying.

After missing out on Benzema, the Daily Mirror says Sir Alex is pressing ahead with his interest in Atletico Madrid playmaker Sergio Aguero, who is likely to cost £40m.

In other news, The Sun claims Sir Alex's son Darren faces a battle with his dad to sign Stockport County centre-half Josh Thompson.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star reckons Fraizer Campbell will complete his move to Hull once he has resolved his cash dispute with United.

Round up by Gemma Thompson