United turn to Senna as Inter snap up Vieira
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United will unveil their new £18.6m signing, Michael Carrick, today with Villarreal's Marcos Senna, not Patrick Vieira, still the leading candidate to join the former Tottenham Hotspur playmaker at Old Trafford next season.
Despite claims that the former Arsenal captain was keen on a controversial union with Sir Alex Ferguson, having decided to quit Juventus in the wake of their demotion to Serie B, Vieira is today expected to seal a £6.5m move to Internazionale. The 30-year-old underwent a medical in Milan yesterday morning and is believed to have agreed personal terms on a four-year contract.
"He should sign the contract tomorrow," said a spokesman for Inter owner Massimo Moratti last night, with Vieira's disgraced former employers hopeful his exit marks the end of the exodus of players that has included the exits of Fabio Cannavaro, Lilian Thuram, Gianluca Zambrotta and Emerson. "The departure of Patrick Vieira will be the last sale carried out by Juventus this summer," the club's chief executive, Jean-Claude Blanc, insisted.
Though United did not register an interest in Vieira this summer, Ferguson's fondness for the player having been weakened by two previous rejections, United remain keen to improve their midfield with more than Carrick before the transfer window closes.
Senna - Brazilian-born, Spanish-nationalised - yesterday confirmed talks had taken place over a possible transfer and, although he announced on Villarreal's website his commitment to his current employers, reports in the Spanish press last night claimed that the 30-year-old had agreed personal terms with United.
His potential suitors have yet to make an official offer to Villarreal, who are likely to demand a fee of about £5m for a player who has 12 months left on his existing contract, and have signed the Argentinian Leandro Somoza as a replacement.
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