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LONDON -- Manchester United is closing in on signing Juan Mata after bidding 37 million pounds ($61 million) for the Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata, the teams first move in the January transfer window. Justin Upton Jersey . United is waiting for its English Premier League rival to sign off on the club-record deal for the 25-year-old Spain international, a person close to negotiations said on Thursday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been finalized. Mata is yet to have a medical examination at United, which is in no rush to complete the deal as its next match is not until Tuesday against Cardiff. The transfer would eclipse the 30.7 million pounds United paid to sign striker Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham in 2008, and show that the American owners are willing to spend to revitalize a struggling team. Matas move could speed up now Chelsea has struck a deal with Swiss club Basel to sign Mohamed Salah. The Egypt midfielder still has to agree to personal terms and pass a medical with the London club. In a sign that Matas departure from Chelsea is nearing after falling out of favour, the clubs player of the year for the last two seasons did not train with the first team on Wednesday. "He has great skill, great imagination, flair and goal-scoring ability," former United defender Gary Pallister said. "A lot of people cant quite understand why he has not been in Jose Mourinhos team after being player of the year for the last two seasons. "He is the kind of player Manchester United fans want to see ... and can get people off their seats in anticipation of the things he can do with a football." Signing Mata would be a coup for United manager David Moyes, and lift some of the gloom surrounding recent performances. The bright spot is still remaining in Champions League contention going into the round of 16 against Olympiakos next month. But the team is seventh in the league, 14 points behind leader Arsenal, and facing a fight to secure one of the four Champions League places. Having already exited the FA Cup, United missed out on a spot in the League Cup final on Wednesday when Sunderland won a penalty shootout at Old Trafford. One fan was so distressed about the loss that he called an emergency number and asked to speak to former manager Alex Ferguson, who retired in May after more than 26 trophy-filled years in charge of United. "Last night, at approximately 10:30 p.m. a man from the Crumpsall area of north Manchester rang 999 in a drunken state demanding to speak to Sir Alex Ferguson about last nights result," Greater Manchester Police said on one of its Facebook pages. "Obviously, it can be a sad and depressing moment when your football team loses a game, however can we all please remember that 999 is to be used for emergencies only." Jason Heyward Jersey .C. -- Major League Soccers Vancouver Whitecaps and the City of New Westminster have signed a memorandum of understanding towards bringing a United Soccer Leagues Pro franchise to the British Columbia city. Bob Uecker Authentic Jersey . Canada dropped a 24-21 decision to Zimbabwe before bouncing back with a 10-7 win over Spain. All three sides finished with seven points apiece in Pool E to move on to the final eight while the Philippines was last with only three points.SAINT JOHN, N.B. - The Shawinigan Cataractes snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs in a matchup of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League division cellar dwellers on Thursday. Alexis DAoust, Alex Pawelczyk and Alexandre Delisle-Houde scored for Shawinigan (16-34-8), which had period leadds of 1-0 and 3-0. Evan Gattis Authentic Jersey. Marvin Cupper made 26 saves for the Cataractes. Oliver Cooper ruined Cuppers shutout bid with his goal for the Sea Dogs (17-37-4) at 14:19 of the third period. Sebastien Auger made 35 saves for Saint John. Shawinigan was 0 for 3 on the power play, and the Sea Dogs were 0 for 6. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
