Wigan confirm Man United interest in Valencia
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Valencia: Caught the eye at the JJB.
Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan has confirmed that Manchester United have made a series of bids for Ecuador winger Antonio Valencia and he expects another cash offer to arrive shortly.
United, who accepted a world-record £80m bid from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday, are in the market for a replacement for the Bernabeu-bound World Player of the Year and Valencia is one of the names on their hit-list.
"They (United) have been in touch with us and we will be starting negotiations very shortly, I would imagine," Whelan told Sky Sports News.
"I think they were waiting to see if Ronaldo actually went to Real, which has happened. Things will develop over the next seven to 14 days.
"United have been in touch with us over Antonio for the last two or three months, expressing an interest and actually putting cash offers on the table."
A figure of around £15m is expected to be enough to secure the services of the 23-year-old winger, but Whelan added that his club are not resigned to losing Valencia just yet.
The Wigan chief said: "We are not desperate to sell Antonio, I'm telling you. If I can keep that lad, I'm going to keep him. He is one brilliant player."