Manchester United have completed the signing of 25-year-old Brazilian international, Fred.
The former Shakhtar Donetsk man has arrived for a fee believed to be around £52m, and was delighted to join.
The deal for the central midfielder had been agreed since the beginning of the month, but work permit issues delayed it, though the transfer has finally been announced.
He joins on a five-year deal with an option of a further year, and is expected to form a midfield trident with Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic; he could be the missing piece of the jigsaw.
While most of our midfielders are either defensively aware but limited going forward or very creative but prone to switching off, Fred has a healthy dollop of everything: energy, dynamism, strong tackling ability, an eye for a pass, a powerful shot and a real willingness to influence more than one phases of play.
In announcing the deal on Twitter, we took a leaf from the Alexis Sanchez unveiling in January, but this time with a bit of more ingenuity.
Fred The Red, who is United’s official mascot was spotted playing the piano before images of our new midfielder surfaced. Fred had impressed in the Champions League last term, as his industry and positional awareness helped his former club reach the Round of 16, before losing to eventual semifinalists, AS Roma.
Fred, who is with the Brazil squad for the World Cup is expected to fill the void left by Michael Carrick, who retired last season after 13 years with United. Fred moved to Ukraine from Internacional in 2013 and has since gone on to become one of the best all-round midfield players in Europe. He won the league and the Ukrainian Cup three times in a successful five-year spell in Donetsk.
He will be hoping to make his official debut when United begin our Premier League assault on August 11 against former champions, Leicester City and is our second signing of the summer: welcome to Old Trafford, Fred!