5 things about Man United's new signing
Ander Herrera has finally landed at Manchester United.
After missing out on his signature a year ago and the odd ritual needed to acquire a player from Athletic Bilbao, the Red Devils have finally captured their man after forking out around £30 million ($63.8m).
Here are some quick facts about the new boy:
1) An attacking midfielder who can operate behind the strikers or in a deeper midfield role, Herrera, 24, has a keen eye for a pass. I'll let Squawka Football's statistics do the talking:
2) However, Herrera isn't just a mere fancy playmaker, a type of player United have quite a few of. He doesn't mind getting stuck in and has, as part of the Bilbao engine room, dominated Barcelona's famous midfield in the past. Here's another handy Squawka stat:
3) While he hasn't received a senior cap yet, Herrera was part of Spain's Under-21 team that won the Euro Under-21 Championships in 2011, where he opened the scoring in the final while playing alongside United teammates David de Gea and Juan Mata. Herrera was also in the Spanish side that took part in the 2012 Olympics.
4) Born in the Basque region of Bilbao, Herrera went through the youth system at Real Zaragoza before returning to his hometown in 2011. He was part of the Bilbao team that dumped United out of the Europa League in 2012 and finished runners-up to Atletico Madrid.
5) While United were reported to have paid the amount needed to activate Herrera's release clause, the offer was initially rejected by Bilbao even though Herrera was photographed in Manchester undergoing his medical. The transfer was only accepted by Bilbao after Herrera had paid his own release clause, mirroring the process Bayern Munich had to go through when they purchased Javi Martinez in 2012.
Sources: Squawka, Manchester United official website, Athletic Bilbao official website
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