Daley Blind set to complete Manchester United switch in £13.8m deal as Louis van Gaal tries to improve poor squad
- Manchester United and Ajax have agreed a fee of £13.8million
- Blind pictured having a medical in Manchester on Saturday
- 24-year-old not included in Ajax squad for Groningen game on Sunday
- Blind's arrival follows the signings of Angel di Maria, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw this summer
Daley Blind will join Manchester United for £14million as Louis van Gaal makes his final moves to improve a desperately poor Manchester United side, who were held to a 0-0 draw at Burnley on Saturday and have yet to win this season.
The Ajax left-sided defender will have a medical in Manchester with personal terms and the fee between the clubs agreed. Van Gaal has now spent £160 million this summer — with no immediate improvement in the team — almost as much as the club have spent in total over the previous five years.
Blind, the son of former Ajax captain Danny, was a key player in Holland’s run to the World Cup semi-finals under Van Gaal and understands the back-three system with which the team are struggling.
VIDEO Scroll down to watch soon-to-be Manchester United's Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo
On the brink: Daley Blind at the Bridgewater Hospital in Manchester on Saturday to undergo a medical
Tough tackling: The Dutch international Blind is set to join Manchester United for £13.8m
World Cup star: Blind impressed in Brazil with his passing range and ability to play in midfield and defence
Van Gaal, who also managed the player’s father at Ajax, said: ‘Daley will come to Manchester to have his medical and maybe we will have a new player.’
With the transfer deadline on Monday, United appear to have cooled in their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon’s £20m-rated midfielder William Carvalho, for whom Arsenal are ready to bid again.
United are expecting to move players out in the next 48 hours. Tottenham are ready to push United to sell Danny Welbeck for £12m but have been told that United are loathe to help out a likely rival for Champions League qualification.
Everton and Aston Villa are interested in signing Tom Cleverley, though with only one year left on his deal, the player may prefer a loan.
Shinji Kagawa is likely to make an £8m move to Borussia Dortmund but Van Gaal insists: ‘We have to wait and to see because the players are deciding, not the manager.’
Problems: Manchester United are confident that paperwork issues over Marcos Rojo's signing will be resolved
Exit? Tottenham are pursuing a £12m deal for England striker Danny Welbeck
Leaving: Shinji Kagawa is set to complete a return to Borussia Dortmund and leave Manchester United
He claimed that the problems over paperwork with £15m signing Marcos Rojo, 24, would be resolved during the international break.
The player has a permit but also needs a visa and the Home Office has insisted Rojo must be interviewed by the Madrid consulate because of an altercation with a neighbour in Argentina in 2010.
He was never prosecuted but the case was reopened in May. Rojo does not have a criminal record but it is likely that embassy officials are checking the details before processing the visa.
Van Gaal said: ‘I expect by the time we play QPR, he will be playing.’
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