Anita completes £6.7m Newcastle switch as Dutch midfielder passes medical

Newcastle have completed the signing of Ajax midfielder Vurnon Anita for £6.7million.

The 23-year-old Holland international has signed a five-year deal at the Sport Direct Arena.
The Dutchman can play in defence but has been brought in primarily to operate in central midfield and he is confident he can enjoy success with the Magpies.
'I won almost everything in Holland so the step was not difficult to make, Anita, who came through the Ajax youth system and has won the Dutch title with them in each of the last two seasons, told Newcastle's official website.

New boy in Toon: Vurnon Anita poses after signing for Newcastle United

 

'Now I think we can also win trophies with Newcastle and it's time to do that.'

Magpies manager Alan Pardew said: 'We are delighted to secure the services of Vurnon.'
Anita joined the Ajax youth academy in 1999 and made his first-team debut in 2006.
Born on the island of Curacao, he had established himself as a key player at the Amsterdam Arena, winning back-to-back Eredivisie titles in 2011 and 2012.
Pardew added: 'He is an exceptionally talented footballer with great technical ability, which is exactly what I'm looking at in a player.
'And, at 23 years old, we hope his best years are at Newcastle.
'He has come through the Ajax youth system which is world renowned for bringing up players the right way, and I am sure he will fit seamlessly into the squad of players we have here.
'Vurnon has done his pre-season, and indeed already played one competitive game, so he's up to speed and ready to play when I need him.

Going through the paces: Anita undergoes his medical before signing for Newcastle

'Ajax are a fantastic club and to take a player out of there is difficult, especially one of their better players.
'So I thank Mike (Ashley, the Newcastle owner) and the board for getting that over the line because we needed an extra player.
'We might need another one yet, but for sure that has strengthened us.
'I wouldn't mind it (the transfer window) closing now - I'd be quite happy to keep all my players. But if we manage to add another one that would be the icing on the cake really.'
Asked if the possibility might still be there to sign Lille's France full-back Mathieu Debuchy, for whom Newcastle have already had bids rejected, Pardew said: 'I think, like with all transfers this summer, no-one is going to say it's over or done until September 1, when we all either have a deep sigh of relief - which I might do - or we are rubbing our hands together over what has been a great window.
'For us, so far it has been a good one. We haven't lost any of our great players and have brought in three or four, so so far, so good.'

Up and running: Anita (centre) trains with his new team-mates

Those Pardew will be most delighted to still have at his disposal are the likes of strikers Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba and midfielders Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, who emerged as stand-out performers for Newcastle last season as the team exceeded all expectation by securing a fifth-placed top-flight finish.
Approaches for the club's star names may yet be forthcoming before the end of August, but the manager has warned potential suitors they would have to pay big money.
'I think it (keeping players) is key to a club like ours, where we are vulnerable to the Champions League clubs and the salaries and fees they can pay,' Pardew said.
'But as I've said all along here, Mike Ashley and the board don't sell cheap, so they would have to come and pay us a hell of a lot of money to take one of our players.'
Pardew could in fact be without the aforementioned quartet of players for the Saturday tea-time clash with Spurs, with Cisse, Ba, Cabaye and Ben Arfa all needing to have their fitness assessed.
Centre-back Fabricio Coloccini should be able to play, though, despite suffering a knock in last weekend's friendly defeat to Cardiff, while fellow defender Steven Taylor and midfielder Sylvain Marveaux are both back in the squad after long-term injury lay-offs, and Anita - along with the three other new recruits - is available to make his debut.

The Rooney and Robin show: On paper it's a dream partnership... but will the strike duo live up to their Hollywood billing?

Between them last season, Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney scored 57 league goals and created 13 more for their teammates. They were first and second respectively in the Barclays Premier League top scorers' chart, playing at the peak of their powers.
Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United fans everywhere will be forgiven a wry smile this morning at the prospect of the two most devastating strikers in English football lining up for their club.
They will believe that City's short dynasty of success is already drawing to a close, the title a foregone conclusion.

You've got to hand it to them: Van Persie and Rooney will lead United's attack this season

What if they are a perfect match? What if they are the new Yorke and Cole of the Treble season, what if they work instinctively together like Rooney did with Ronaldo in winning the Champions League in 2008?
Presumably United will sweep all in front of them with an avalanche of goals, galloping away with trophies at home and abroad. It's a scary thought for the rest if it does work.  

Dutch of class: RVP will wear the red of United this term

Ferguson will have thought long and hard about how well the pair will dovetail. To pursue Van Persie with such vigour all summer, to personally intervene to try and smooth the ground with Arsene Wenger and to sanction a £24m transfer fee for a player approaching 30 suggests he believes they will work spectacularly well together.
What this says about his faith in Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez to provide the goals to wrest the title back from City, having regularly and publicly expressed his pride in their development, is an interesting sub-plot. The new super subs, perhaps?  It will almost certainly mean the end for Dimitar Berbatov, now fifth choice striker.
A glance at the statistical comparison between Rooney and Van Persie shows eerie similarities. In 2011-2012, they had an identical shot accuracy percentage of 58 and there are only tiny fractions between their minutes per shot and chance conversion numbers.
This is not to say they are identical. Van Persie is ruthlessly clinical inside the penalty area (93 per cent of his league goals came from 18 yards or less last season), Rooney is renowned for spectaculars from outside. Van Persie is strong with both feet, Rooney is effective in the air. Van Persie offers a threat from set-pieces, Rooney is a recognised penalty taker. But this does not automatically mean they will complement each other – how will they be accommodated in Ferguson's system?
Rooney's partnership with Ronaldo worked because he was made to curb his own attacking instincts to rampage around in a deeper position, allowing the Portuguese to provide the goals. But things have moved on – Rooney is now centre stage and he's unlikely to give this up lightly.
Rooney didn't gel with another Dutchman, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, during his early career at Old Trafford and his link-ups with Berbatov, Hernandez and Welbeck have come nowhere near the almost-telepathic understanding of other United strike partnerships from the past.

Moving on: The Holland international has ended his stay with Arsenal after agreeing a move to Manchester United

 

Given the nature of the two players' games and the positions they score from, surely Rooney will now have to cede his position at the focal point of the attack and play behind Van Persie?

Though undoubtedly as brilliant as creating chances as converting them, Rooney may not take too kindly to being shifted around again.
Deprived of a full pre-season to gel together, it could be difficult for Van Persie and Rooney to find that magic instantly.

Dream partnership? Van Persie and Rooney are expected to form a deadly partnership for Man United

The season is upon us and such is the expected closeness of the title race that eyebrows will be raised if United don't win convincingly at Everton on Monday night.
But while United now possess a strike force to compete with City's, it doesn't disguise the weakness of the players behind them.
Van Persie and Rooney will inevitably create chances for one another but the majority of their openings will have to come from midfield. Plenty of chances will come from the flanks, via Nani, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia, but an aerial bombardment won't suit Van Persie. Expect more threaded passes in and around the box.   

New signing: But Kagawa won't provide the steal at the heart of United's midfield

 

But it is in the centre of midfield where problems remain. In City's 1-0 win over United at Eastlands on the last day of April, Ferguson's five-man midfield was overwhelmed by Roberto Mancini's four. Yaya Toure and Gareth Barry looked embarrassingly superior to Park Ji-Sung and Paul Scholes.

The fact lingers that United have not signed the kind of commanding central midfielder capable of running the show – an enforcer like Toure.
The only summer acquisition in the central area is Shinji Kagawa and unfortunately his game is more about defence-splitting passes than breaking up attacks.
United enter another season reliant on Scholes, who remains stately in his poise and passing but can no longer dominate a midfield, Darren Fletcher, just returning from a lengthy lay-off, and Michael Carrick.
In the delight of signing Van Persie, there will still be many who believe the money would have been more wisely spent on a world class midfielder.
At least Nemanja Vidic is back from the injury that precluded him from the second half of last season.
But with this signing coming so close to the start of the new season, we won't have to wait long to find out whether the Van Persie-Rooney partnership – or as it is being dubbed in the Dutch press: The fat man and Robin – will be as lethal in reality as it is in theory.

We'll be deadliest in Europe with Van Persie, says Fergie ahead of £24m deal

Sir Alex Ferguson has claimed Manchester United will possess arguably Europe's most fearsome strikeforce when Robin van Persie arrives.

Van Persie arrived at London St Pancras train station on Thursday morning before setting off to Manchester to complete his medical.

He should be ready to make his Manchester United debut at Everton on Monday.
Ferguson has spoken about the new-look attacking options of Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, and the comparisons with the 1999 set of Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Speaking at a press conference, Ferguson said: 'They (Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie) are two fantastic players and it will be great to have both of them. It gives us more strength and more combinations up front.
'In 1999 I had Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the four best strikers in Europe.

Let's go: Robin van Persie was filmed arriving at St Pancras off the Eurostar

In the red: How Robin van Persie will look in a Manchester United shirt in our mocked-up picture

 

'We are going towards that now with Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Robin, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa.

It is a fantastic collection of players and hopefully I pick the right combinations It is great to have a player of Robin van Persie's qualities to come into the squad. I am very pleased.'
United sealed the signing of the summer when Arsenal agreed to sell Van Persie to their Barclays Premier League rivals for £24million.
After weeks of negotiating with Arsenal and the Holland striker, United have beaten Manchester City and Juventus to Van Persie’s signature and the 29-year-old will have a medical at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Launch: Sir Alex Ferguson was speaking at the club's link-up with sponsor bwin

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Ferguson said: 'He is on his way up from London for a medical. We hope that goes according to plan.
'His agent is in discussions with (United chief executive) David Gill right about now. We hope all the things will be tied up, although sometimes medicals do take a bit longer. I am sure he will be available for Monday's game.'
Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal were powerless to stop Robin van Persie signing for Manchester United.
Wenger has the best part of two weeks to spend some of the money before the transfer window is closed. He said on French TV on Wednesday night: ‘It’s sad to lose a player of his quality. He had only one year left on his contract so we didn’t have the choice.’

On the move: Bookmakers Coral were quick to set up this stunt outside the Emirates

United front: Sir Alex Ferguson has finally got his man by agreeing a deal for Robin van Persie

Asked who he would recruit, Wenger said: 'We already signed Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.'
Van Persie is the first Arsenal player to join United since Viv Anderson in 1987 and the move has riled Gunners fans, who took to Twitter to abuse him.

United are understood to have agreed a £15m downpayment for last season’s Footballer of the Year and Players’ Player — who scored 30 Premier League goals for last season. That will rise to £24m depending on appearances. Van Persie is expected to sign a four-year contract worth over £200,000 a week.
A statement on United’s website said: ‘Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal for the transfer of Robin van Persie. The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms.’

In signing Van Persie, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has laid down a clear marker ahead of the new season. It is the first time the club have paid  for a big name since Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham for £30.75m in 2008.
Having decided two or three years ago they would not sign players over the age of 27, United have signified just how far they are prepared to go to wrest the title back from City.

Final hurdle: The protracted deal will be concluded when Van Persie has a medical on Thursday

City manager Roberto Mancini will be particularly irritated that United have been allowed to steal his top target from under his nose, and this will test his strained relationship with the club’s football administrator Brian Marwood still further.

Van Persie was on Wednesday night with Holland, who lost a friendly 4-2 to Belgium. He is expected to fly to Manchester early on Thursday morning.

His departure will leave Arsenal fans angry that yet another of their star players has decided to depart in search of an improved salary and better prospects for  winning major honours.

Van Persie follows Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, who left a year ago, although the club recovered from a poor start — including an 8-2 demolition by United at Old Trafford — to finish third.

Talisman: Van Persie bagged the vast majority of Arsenal's goals last season

Michael Carrick, who was on duty with England on Wednesday, was first to comment on the deal.

He said: 'Someone mentioned in the dressing room about Van Persie and if it goes through, it will be brilliant. He had a terrific season and he will further strengthen our squad. It is a great boost going into the new season.

'He is a world class player and we have always been about bringing in players of that ability.

'Can it make the difference between second and first? There wasn't much difference so hopefully we can go that step further! But the club has always had strength in depth and it is about the squad and not the 11 on the pitch.'

Red Van Man! Fergie finally seals £24m deal for Gunners captain RVP

Manchester United sealed the signing of the summer on Wednesday night when Arsenal agreed to sell Robin van Persie to their Barclays Premier League rivals for £24million.

After weeks of negotiating with Arsenal and the Holland striker, United have beaten Manchester City and Juventus to Van Persie’s signature and the 29-year-old will have a medical at Old Trafford on Thursday.

United front: Sir Alex Ferguson has finally got his man by agreeing a deal for Robin van Persie

 

Van Persie is the first Arsenal player to join United since Viv Anderson in 1987 and the move has riled Gunners fans, who took to Twitter to abuse him.

United are understood to have agreed a £15m downpayment for last season’s Footballer of the Year and Players’ Player — who scored 30 Premier League goals for last season. That will rise to £24m depending on appearances. Van Persie is expected to sign a four-year contract worth over £200,000 a week.
A statement on United’s website said: ‘Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal for the transfer of Robin van Persie. The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms.’

In signing Van Persie, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has laid down a clear marker ahead of the new season. It is the first time the club have paid  for a big name since Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham for £30.75m in 2008.
Having decided two or three years ago they would not sign players over the age of 27, United have signified just how far they are prepared to go to wrest the title back from City.

Final hurdle: The protracted deal will be concluded when Van Persie has a medical on Thursday

City manager Roberto Mancini will be particularly irritated that United have been allowed to steal his top target from under his nose, and this will test his strained relationship with the club’s football administrator Brian Marwood still further.

Van Persie was on Wednesday night with Holland, who lost a friendly 4-2 to Belgium. He is expected to fly to Manchester early on Thursday morning.

His departure will leave Arsenal fans angry that yet another of their star players has decided to depart in search of an improved salary and better prospects for  winning major honours.

Van Persie follows Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, who left a year ago, although the club recovered from a poor start — including an 8-2 demolition by United at Old Trafford — to finish third.

Manager Arsene Wenger has the best part of two weeks to spend some of the money before the transfer window is closed. He said on French TV on Wednesday night: ‘It’s sad to lose a player of his quality. He had only one year left on his contract so we didn’t have the choice.’

Asked who he would recruit, Wenger said: 'We already signed Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.'

Talisman: Van Persie bagged the vast majority of Arsenal's goals last season

Michael Carrick, who was on duty with England on Wednesday, was first to comment on the deal.

He said: 'Someone mentioned in the dressing room about Van Persie and if it goes through, it will be brilliant. He had a terrific season and he will further strengthen our squad. It is a great boost going into the new season.

'He is a world class player and we have always been about bringing in players of that ability.

'Can it make the difference between second and first? There wasn't much difference so hopefully we can go that step further! But the club has always had strength in depth and it is about the squad and not the 11 on the pitch.'

England 2 Italy 1: Defoe thunderbolt earns Hodgson's men morale-boosting win

When it was put to Roy Hodgson on the eve of this encounter that only now is he on trial, he sounded slightly aggrieved.
‘I thought I was being judged in the summer,’ he said, and while that was true to an extent he was also cut an awful lot of slack given how little time he had been in charge. The good stuff he was praised for, the less impressive stuff he was forgiven for. He got them organised and he made them difficult to beat, and that amounted to an achievement after 40 days and 40 nights.
Now, though, this is Hodgson’s England, not an England side suddenly inherited from Fabio Capello, and what can be taken from a pre-season friendly on neutral Swiss ground reflected well on the new man in charge. At the beginning of his first full season at the helm, he has made a decent start.

Hot Spur: Jermain Defoe came off the bench to fire a wonderful winner as England beat Italy

Match facts

England: Butland (Ruddy 46), Walker, Cahill, Jagielka (Lescott 61), Baines (Bertrand 78), Carrick, Lampard (Livermore 69), Johnson, Cleverley, Young (Milner 62), Carroll (Defoe 46). Subs not used: Caulker, Rodwell.
Scorers: Jagielka 27, Defoe 79.
Italy: Sirigu, Ogbonna, Abate (Schelotto 86), Balzaretti (Peluso 46), Astori, Aquilani (Poli 68), De Rossi, Nocerino, Destro (Fabbrini 84), Diamanti (Verratti 59), El Shaarawi (Gabbiadini 58). Subs not used: Perin, De Sciglio, Acerbi, Gastaldello, Consigli.
Booked: Fabbrini.
Scorer: De Rossi 15.

Referee: Sascha Kever (Switzerland).
Attendance: 15,000.

On a night when he blooded five new players, Chelsea’s Ryan Bertrand and Tottenham’s Jake Livermore among them, Hodgson secured England’s first win against Italy in 15 years.

It was nothing like the Italy side England ran into in Kiev 52 days earlier; an Italy side that outclassed England before eliminating them from the European Championship on penalties. Cesare Prandelli handed debuts to eight players, with both teams making six substitutions.

But a victory this remains and it was one from which the England manager can take plenty of positives.

He can take some satisfaction in the knowledge that he is now unbeaten in seven games over 90 minutes. Just as he can take credit for the way he approached this contest.

He was far more positive than he had been in Eastern Europe, organising his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation that encouraged the wide players to attack and saw Tom Cleverley impress in that space between central midfield and the striker, in this case Andy Carroll.

First blood: Italy's Daniele De Rossi jumped highest from a corner to hand his side the lead

In the end the the goals came first from Phil Jagielka and then Jermain Defoe, the decisive 79th-minute effort from the latter one that perhaps could have been diverted to safety by Salvatore Sirigu but was still a super strike.

But there were echoes of England’s performance against Germany in Berlin in 2008, this young side playing with the fluency and finesse their senior colleagues too often lacked at the European Championship. They actually retained possession of the ball for more than a few seconds and the occasional pass.

Now let’s not get too excited here. This team would have found it every bit as difficult to prise the ball away from Andrea Pirlo as Steven Gerrard and Co did in June, even if an extra man in midfield might have given them half a chance.

Back in it: Phil Jagielka brilliantly got his head to a corner to put England back on level terms

But we saw why Hodgson wanted Kyle Walker as his right back in Ukraine, and why Leighton Baines pushed Ashley Cole as hard as he did for that left-back berth.

We also saw the benefit of playing those five men in midfield, and the threat that can be posed when players of the quality of Ashley Young and Adam Johnson are encouraged to attack down the flanks.

Cleverley impressed in the centre but so, Hodgson no doubt noted, did Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick, while first opportunities to shine were seized by Jack Butland and John Ruddy. Ruddy made two super second-half saves, first to deny Mattia Destro and then Davide Astori. As a second-half substitute, James Milner also excelled.

Safe hands: Jack Butland became England's youngest debutant goalkeeper for a century

Captain's performance: Frank Lampard was back in England action as skipper having missed Euro 2012

Carroll did not have such a good night, and one can only wonder if the confidence he gained from selection for Euro 2012 has now been lost amid the uncertainty over his Liverpool future. Not being wanted, as seems the case now that Brendan Rodgers is manager, is never a good situation for a footballer.

Behind him Cleverley was quick to respond to the responsibility he was given by Hodgson, while at the very back the youngest goalkeeper in England’s history also started well. When Alessandro Diamanti’s free-kick took a nasty deflection off Baines, Butland made a fine save.

Sadly, however, Italy scored from the resulting corner that Diamanti delivered. A lapse in England’s concentration, not least from Carrick, presented Daniele De Rossi with a free header that Butland was powerless to stop.

Sparse: England fans were in good voice despite the numerous empty seats around the stadium in Berne

Going close: England had plenty of chances to stretch their lead earlier than they eventually did

What would have pleased Hodgson was the way his young side then responded to going behind after only 15 minutes.

Johnson tested Sirigu with a reasonable effort and when Walker and Johnson combined well to win a corner, Jagielka got himself in front of Federico Balzaretti to beat Sirigu with a terrific diving header.
England grew in stature after that. Lampard threatened on two of three occasions, going particularly close with a free-kick that skimmed the roof of Italy’s net.

A free-kick from Milner then nearly ended in a goal. Sirigu spared Federico Peluso the embarrassment of an own goal before Joleon Lescott saw his follow-up effort deflect off the head of Peluso and hit a post.

You again: Italy manager Cesare Prandelli had masterminded England's downfall at Euro 2012

Defoe’s goal capped a fine piece of attacking football that started with a goal-line clearance from Bertrand — his first touch. Milner broke down the left before finding Defoe, the Tottenham striker turning Ignazio Abate on the edge of the box before unleashing a marvellous right-foot shot.

By then Hodgson was only too happy to be judged.

Next! Barca jet into London to begin negotiations over £12m Arsenal star Song

Arsenal are facing up to losing two of their top players for the second consecutive season after Barcelona made their move to sign Alex Song.

Nou Camp officials flew into London on Wednesday intent on tabling a £12million offer for the all-action midfielder.
And Sportsmail understands despite Song's major influence and the fact he still has three years left to run on his current deal, the Gunners will give serious consideration to selling the Cameroon international if they receive an offer between £15-20m.

On Song: Barcelona are to ramp up their bid for Arsenal star Alex Song

 

Arsene Wenger will be reluctant to lose Song, who together with Robin van Persie, was one the Gunners top performers last season.

Song, who currently earns in the region of £55,000-per-week, has been keen to discuss a new contract to put him among the club's top earners. And the Gunners could yet decide to offer Song an improved deal amid Barca's interest.

Arsenal will step up their interest in Yann M'Vila if Song departs.

Together with Van Persie's switch to Manchester United, Song's proposed move to La Liga will leave two gaping holes in Wenger's first-team plans.

Wenger was left with a similar problem last season after losing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri - as well as Gael Clichy - ahead of the summer transfer window.

All good: Song insists he is happy at Arsenal despite the interest from Spain

Real Madrid to seal Modric signing by the weekend with clubs close on fee

Real Madrid believe they have made a decisive breakthrough in their attempt to sign Luka Modric from Tottenham.

The latest offer for the Croatia midfielder to be turned down by Spurs was for £38million, comprising £30m in cash with the remainder in add-ons over the length of Modric’s contract.

Hands up who wants to leave Spurs: Luka Modric is set to sign for Real Madrid this weekend

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has been adamant he will not accept less than £40m and is also unhappy with the percentage of the money Jose Mourinho’s Spanish champions are proposing to pay in add-ons.
But Real have told Tottenham officials they are now willing to increase the cash portion of the fee — and are confident the deal can be concluded by the weekend, with Modric due to fly to Spain in the next 48 hours.

Impressive: Modric was in excellent form for Croatia against Spain in Euro 2012 and appeared at the Bernabeu with Spurs in the Champions League quarter-final two years ago (below)

  As revealed by Sportsmail last week, Modric has been training by himself away from the senior squad.

Meanwhile, Croatia manager Igor Stimac has accused Levy of breaking a promise he made a year ago to let Modric go to Real.