Chris Smalling

Details are a little sketchy at the moment but I understand that Fulham defender Chris Smalling has signed for United but will not officially come on board until the 2010/11 Season.

Presumably, this means that he continues to play for Fulham in the meantime in some sort of loan arrangement so that he can get some more experience under his belt before joining us (although some mischievous people are suggesting that we don’t actually have the money at this present moment and will only be able to purchase him properly when we get the money from the sale of Vidic!)

On paper, we look to have a decent set of defenders already at the club but this season in particular has highlighted just how easily Fergie can find himself scraping the bottom of the barrel. Even last season, Fergie found himself forced into juggling the defensive line-up almost game after game at one point.

Rio’s long-term fitness remains a doubt as the injuries seem to becoming more and more frequent in recent years and the rumours of Vidic’s departure just won’t go away.

This looks a canny purchase by Fergie (details of the fee have yet to be released, however) and it could be that with Smalling and Evans, we have a defensive partnership to step into Rio and Vida’ shoes when the time comes and take us forward for many years to come… fingers crossed.

Mame Biram Diouf (and sponsors)

United have just announced the signing of 21 year old striker Mame Biram Diouf from Molde F.K.

The player will continue to play for Molde on a loan basis until January at which time he will make the switch permanently to Old Trafford.

Mame Biram Diouf is 6′ 1″,  was born in Senegal and described as “a quick and well-rounded striker who can play on both sides”.

He has scored 30 goals in 62 appearances for Molde FK and certainly looks to have the attributes to be a top striker but we have heard that many times over the years but many just never quite seem to make the step up… hopefully this lad will be one of the few exceptions.

Gabriel Obertan

This one has been in the news for the last few days but it has now been confirmed – 20 year old Gabriel Obertan has signed a four year deal from Bordeaux for a fee in the region of £3 Million.

Obertan is a versatile player (can play on either wing, in centre-midfield or, apparently, up-front although 3 goals in 70 appearances suggest otherwise!) which always appeals to Fergie and it will be interesting to see how this young lad goes.

He has a slight injury at the moment and won’t be travelling to Asia for United’s pre-season tour so we won’t be getting a proper look at him for some time yet.

Welcome to Manchester United, Gabriel!

Michael Owen

As I type, Michael Owen is at the Carrington training ground awaiting a medical.

Of course the outcome of a medical is what can make or break a deal for any player – in the case of a player with Michael Owen’s injury record, it is absolutely crucial and they’ll probably want to see him lifting elephants with his legs… or something.

I did say a few days ago that Fergie would sign someone who has not even been linked with United yet and it would raise a few eyebrows and this looks like it is going to be that signing from leftfield.

There can be no doubt that Fergie’s #1 target as far as a striker is concerned was Benzema but with him going to Real Madrid, it has perhaps left options thin on the ground but rather than make a panic buy as an alternative, he is opting for a stop-gap in Michael Owen who will cost nothing, is a proven out-and-out scorer and will buy us time while we perhaps watch how things progress with other targets over the next season or so.

I haven’t really been a massive Michael Owen fan of late because I believe he had lost his passion for the game and was at Newcastle just for the £120,000/week they were reportedly paying him. He has made no secret of the fact that horse racing has become a bigger part of his life over recent years and that will no doubt be the direction he takes once his footballing days are over.

Whether playing for Manchester United, playing for titles and cups and playing alongside better quality players will be what it takes to really get Michael’s juices flowing again remains to be seen (I hope so) but providing we’re not going to be paying him silly wages then I think it could be a fantastic bit of business by Fergie and a great move for Michael who has not won a thing since 2003 when he won the League Cup with Liverpool.

UPDATE

Later this afternoon, it was confirmed that Michael Owen had agreed a two year contract with Manchester United and becomes our second signing of the summer.

Antonio Valencia

Antonio Valencia today signed a four year deal with Manchester United for an undisclosed fee (likely around £16 million).

Comparisons are bound to be drawn with Ronaldo simply because he is likely to be operating on the right wing and already people are pointing to his comparitively poor goal-scoring record for Wigan (6 goals in 47 appearances last season) but his all round play and ability should fit in very well for us.

I think it’s also worth bearing in mind that he is still only 23 (will be 24 when the season starts, however) and there’s plenty of time for improvement and he’s now at the best place to make that improvement.

I also have little doubt that playing for United, if he gets the games, he will score more than six goals in his first season with us.

One thing I think we will see from Valencia that we never got from Ronaldo is a bit of tracking back, tackling and a defensive shift now and again.

All in all, I think Valencia is a very good signing and I hope this is the first of at least three before the season starts.