Manchester United are understood to be in talks with Brazilian club Grêmio concerning the transfer of Douglas Costa, their much sought after teenage midfield player, as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to replace Real Madrid-bound Cristiano Ronaldo.
Costa, who is commonly known simply as Douglas, is a left-footed attacking midfield player and free-kick specialist. In Brazil he is being hailed as "the new Ronaldinho" after earning rave reviews in his first full season with the Grêmio senior squad.
United have been monitoring his progress for about two years; but following outstanding performances in the junior Copa Santiago tournament in January 2008, several other leading European clubs, including Liverpool, Inter Milan and Real Madrid began to show an interest.
Grêmio responded by giving him a contract until February 2013, with a release clause estimated to be worth £13.5 million. However, Ferguson remains confident of signing the player this summer and adding him to the growing roster of Brazilian stars at Old Trafford.
Douglas’s agent Cesar Bottega, however, was more circumspect yesterday when speaking about the negotiations: "There have been some informal conversations [but] I don’t believe they can reach those values. Right now, an offer might come in at a maximum of £6.7million. But this would not be enough for [Grêmio] president Duda Kroeff. At the end of the Brasileirão [Brazil’s equivalent of the Premier League which ends in December], Douglas will be worth at least twice what he’s worth now.”
Ferguson is also hoping to complete the transfer of Antonio Valencia, the Wigan Athletic and Ecuador winger, before United head off to Asia for a series of pre-season friendlies in the middle of July.
here's a video of the new "RONALDINHO"
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Gremio are asking far too much for Douglas Costa to make the move to Manchester United, says his agent.
Gremio have slapped a £20 million price-tag on the 18 year-old.
"I don't believe that they will reach this figure," Cesar Bottega told Zero Hora.
"Right now, an offer might come in at a maximum of £6.7 million. But this would not be enough for [Gremio] president Duda Kroeff."
Manchester United are continuing talks with Gremio over teenage starlet Douglas Costa.
The Times says Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, wants to take Douglas on a three-week trial this summer before deciding whether to make an offer for the 18-year-old, but that request was rejected by Duda Kroeff, the Grêmio president, who has told the Barclays Premier League champions to make a straight cash bid or end their interest.
Douglas is understood to have a release clause of about £21 million in his contract, which has four years left to run, but United are prepared to pay only about a third of that figure.
“I received a phone call from someone working for Manchester United,” Kroeff said. “He asked for Douglas to be released [for a trial] and said that he would not play, but that they wanted to see him in action. I said to them that this will not happen.
“Douglas is not at a stage where he would go through such a situation. He is an established player, he is not a stranger. He has no need to face tests at European clubs.”
They failed to notice that fergie will need to know if he can acclimatise himself to Europe especially Manchester's weather.
Replace Ronaldo? More like replacing Giggs. Left-footed with dribbling & vision. The only problem is if he can adapt to EPL. Plus his height of 170cm isn't to his advantage unless he has good balance...
Originally posted by -Wanderer-:Replace Ronaldo? More like replacing Giggs. Left-footed with dribbling & vision. The only problem is if he can adapt to EPL. Plus his height of 170cm isn't to his advantage unless he has good balance...
youtube douglas costa.
Originally posted by Pitot:youtube douglas costa.
i got a video of him up there
Originally posted by limpper:i got a video of him up there
music by MJ, how about that.
RIP.
if he can survive defenders in EPL.
maybe he can be a star