Manchester United sign Portuguese forward Tiago Manuel Dias Correia
18-time EPL Champions Manchester United has signed a rather unknown forward. Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, commonly known as ‘Bebe’ has inked the deal for an undisclosed fee. The striker had only recently signed with Portuguese football club Vitoria de Guimaraes but Manchester United paid the buyout clause for the player.
The fee, which is yet to be disclosed, is in the region of 7.4 million pounds. The 20-year-old striker would be the number 8 senior team striker, with players like Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Mame Biram Diouf. However, Welbeck and Diouf are not expected to be part of United’s plan for the coming season and are likely to be loaned out. Diouf has already joined Blackburn Rovers for a season long loan. Bebe becomes the third signing of the summer for the Red Devils, taking the transfer bill to around 25 million pounds this summer. Mexican striker Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling were the other two players who joined the club this summer and have successfully made their first team debut as well.
The question on the mind of many Manchester United fans will be: who is Bebe? Is he another striker? What is his future?
According to Ferguson’s former assistant coach Carlos Queiroz, the player is one for the future and is extremely talented. Queiroz is currently the coach of the Portuguese national team and holds high regards for Sir Alex Ferguson. Carlos has therefore recommended the signing to Sir Alex as Ferguson met the player only a day before the signing. The player is just 20 years old but was praised by the Portuguese coach. Tearing pace, God gifted technique and scoring ability are said to be his salient features. The player also towers at the height of 6 feet 2 inches, which enables him to be threatening in aerial battles. According to the Portuguese coach, the player also has an eye for passes, is intelligent and commands the play owing to his physical presence.
Bebe is the second low profile player to sign Manchester United this summer, with Javier Hernandez being the other one. United however struck gold with Hernandez this summer, since returning from the World Cup and has scored in every match. Chicharito, as he is commonly known as, has scored in the pre-season matches for and against United. The player also recently scored against World Champions Spain in a friendly. Hernandez has scored against three of the heavy weights in world football. Spain, France and Argentina have all fallen prey to the Mexican’s right foot and is currently on a dream run since joining Manchester United this summer.
Bebe however was a very straight forward signing for Ferguson, who hasn’t even met the player before. Ferguson had recently released a statement regarding his players, claiming to be content with the current squad at Old Trafford. Bebe has been impressive in the pre-season matches for his former club but is too unknown for the likes of Manchester United. All eyes will be on the 20 year olds performance for the Red Devils in the coming season and an explanation of the shock signing from Sir Alex Ferguson is also due in the coming days.
Sir Alex Ferguson had recently travelled to Portugal to support Carlos Queiroz position in the Portuguese national team. There, the coach recommended the striker to the Scotsman who took little time to snap up the 20-year-old. Bebe was raised in orphanage and has represented Portugal in the Homeless World Cup.
Manchester United is still in the run to sign German playmaker Mesut Ozil but faces strong competition from the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona. The manager was present when Ozil’s current club, Werder Bremen played Fulham at Craven Cottage in the pre-season and reportedly stayed late after the match to talk to some officials. The playmaker is expected to be a long-term successor of Paul Scholes, who is due to retire soon. Ozil however dreams of playing with the Catalan Giants, Barcelona, who have reportedly agreed to a 8 million pound deal for the German.
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