Antonio Valencia, left, celebrates with Ecuador teammate Pablo Palacios during their World Cup qualifying victory against Argentina. The winger has been signed by Manchester United from Wigan Athletic.
Antonio Valencia, left, celebrates with Ecuador teammate Pablo Palacios during their World Cup qualifying victory against Argentina. The winger has been signed by Manchester United from Wigan AthleticShow more

United capture Valencia from Wigan



Manchester United have made their first signing of the summer after confirming a deal has been done for Antonio Valencia. The Ecuador international, 23, has signed a four-year contract after moving for an undisclosed fee. Valencia, who joins from Wigan where he scored three goals last season, is expected to help fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo following the star winger's £80 million (Dh491m) move to Real Madrid. Valencia's signature is reported to have cost United in the region of £16m with the winger describing the move as a "dream". "Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me," he told the club's official website. "I have enjoyed my time at Wigan, but I am thrilled to have the chance to challenge for the biggest honours in club football here. "Playing in front of 76,000 fans alongside players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs will be an amazing experience. I can't wait to get started." United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he had tracked Valencia's progress since his arrival at Wigan two seasons ago. "Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan," he said. "I am sure his pace and ability will make a significant contribution to the team." *PA Sport

TOURNAMENT INFO

Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances