Ander Herrera will become Louis van Gaal’s first signing as Manchester United manager in a £28.7million deal.
United moved to pay the buy-out clause fee for the 24-year-old Athletic Bilbao midfielder on Tuesday.
Herrera, an intelligent and stylish midfielder, was the subject of a £24m offer from David Moyes’s United last summer.
Spanish paper Marca reported on Monday night that Herrera had a fee to sign Herrera, with the deal set to go through before his release clause rises to £33million on July 1st.
And the now the transfer looks set to be announced in the coming days with reports in Madrid saying the Athletic Bilbao ace has now passed his medical.
Louis van Gaal has driven the transfer of the player, and the 24-year-old looks set to play a big role next season.
Herrera will sign a four-year-deal at Old Trafford, worth over £9million.
United
denied problems trying to sign Herrera last year — namely when three
lawyers turned up at La Liga headquarters in an attempt to push through
the transfer without knowledge of either club.
They
know the buy-out figure is due to rise to £32m from July 1 and Ed
Woodward, the club’s executive vice-chairman, did not want another saga
to drag on this summer.
Herrera
has been watched by United for more than three years, with Sir Alex
Ferguson’s brother Martin among the first to bring him to the club’s
attention.