After taking charge as United manager, David Moyes is looking to strengthen the defense of his team straightaway. He is close to signing the centre-back of Benfica Ezequiel Garay.
According to the reports, both the clubs have agreed on a transfer fee of 17 million Pounds and the deal is set to be finalized in a couple of days.
With Rio Ferdinand in his mid thirties and with question marks over the fitness of Nemanja Vidic, Garay might prove to be a vital player for United in their title defense next season.
Garay has been playing for Benfica since the last couple of years. He had joined the Portuguese club in July 2011 after leaving Real Madrid. Benfica had paid a transfer fee of 5.5 million Euros for buying Garay.
In the last season, Garay was in fabulous nick for Benfica. He helped his team cruise into the final of Europa League with some fine performances. Benfica didn’t eventually manage to win the Europa League though. They got defeated by Chelsea in the final.
During his tenure at Benfica so far, Garay has played a total of 51 matches and has scored 3 goals.
Meanwhile, United is also linked with the Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
With Paul Scholes retiring and Anderson being inconsistent in the last couple of seasons, Moyes has addressed weakness in the central midfield and he is looking to bring some midfielders in.
Barcelona doesn’t want Thiago to leave and they are trying to convince him to sign a new deal. But, the 22 years old Spaniard is reported to be unhappy with the lack of playing chances at Camp Nou and he wants to make a move.
Thiago has been playing for the first team of Barcelona since the last 4 years. He has so far played 68 games for them and has netted 7 times.