Manchester United confirm transfer agreement for £47m midfielder

Manchester United have confirmed that they have reached an agreement to sign midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk. The Brazil international is expected to be presented in United’s jersey once they have acquired international clearance regarding the move.
Fred, 25, had been strongly linked with United over the past fortnight and there had been a suggestion that the transfer sum had been holding up the transfer. However, United’s official website has now formally confirmed the move and Jose Mourinho’s side are understood to have spent an initial £47m for his services, as per BBC Sport.
The Brazilian has now become United’s first signing of the summer and his arrival could soon be followed by the recruitment of Diogo Dalot from FC Porto. The FA Cup finalists are understood to have already scheduled a medical for the Portuguese footballer but there remains a transfer fee to be sorted with his current employers.
According to M.E.N, the versatile full-back is understood to have a £17.5m release clause which becomes active only at the end of the month and United are supposedly planning to up their transfer offer to £19m in order to recruit him at the earliest possibility.
United possessed the second-best defence in the entire Football League after Manchester City last term but manager Jose Mourinho has still placed emphasis on bolstering the backline with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young entering the twilight of their respective careers.
Both players have restricted their movement further up the field with their trailing age and the Portuguese is supposedly eyeing younger full-backs who are capable of maintaining a tireless workrate up and down the field while obeying to his tactical instructions.
The potential arrival of Diogo Dalot could trigger the departure of one of Matteo Darmian or Daley Blind during the summer transfer window while Luke Shaw’s own future remains in doubt with his contract expiring at the end of the 2018/19 season.