Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves will join Manchester United for about £17,5-million, according to reports on Monday.
Minor details of the deal remain to be thrashed out, but Hargreaves is believed to be already looking for a house in the Manchester area, before joining up with his teammates on July 2.
”Owen Hargreaves will go,” Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer said on German television on Sunday.
”It is the wish of the player. Everything is right for him and it is also financially right for us.”
United have pursued the 26-year-old since the World Cup, in which he was one of the few English players to enhance his reputation.
His arrival would seem to signal manager Sir Alex Ferguson’s determination to continue with a 4-2-3-1 system, with Hargreaves alongside Michael Carrick as holding midfielders.
Carrick has welcomed the arrival of his England colleague.
”We are the biggest club in the world, we want the best players, and Owen is a top player,” he said.
”He will strengthen the team. We need a big squad and that’s been proved this season when we have been fighting on all fronts.” — Sapa-dpa