Owen Hargreaves will complete his £17million move to Manchester United on July
1.
The England international's exit from Bayern Munich was confirmed by Franz
Beckenbauer three weeks ago, since when Hargreaves' arrival at Old Trafford was
viewed as inevitable.
Pictured at the Red Devils' Carrington training ground last week, the
26-year-old flew out to his native Canada on Tuesday, leading to speculation he
would finally sign a five-year contract at some point over the next seven days.
However, a combined statement from United and Bayern revealed all the elements
of the deal have now been concluded, with Hargreaves putting pen to paper when
he returns from holiday at the end of June.
'Manchester United is delighted to announce that it has agreed terms with FC
Bayern Munchen for the transfer of Owen Hargreaves,' said the statement.
'The player has also agreed terms with the club and passed his medical.
Owen will formally sign his contract with Manchester United when he returns
from his holiday at the end of June and will join on July 1, 2007.'
Coming less than 24 hours after deals 'in principle' were announced for
brilliant young Brazilian Anderson and Portugal winger Nani, it leaves Sir Alex
Ferguson only requiring a senior striker to complete his squad for next season.
Samuel Eto'o would be Ferguson's first-choice should he get any indication
from Barcelona that they were willing to part with the Cameroon international -
who will be required for African Nations Cup duty in January.
The United manager is also an admirer of Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov and
Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Ajax, although both men appear settled at their current
clubs.
Jermaine Defoe, currently on international duty with England, remains a
possibility, although it does not appear Michael Owen is on United's radar at
present.
Even if he eventually fails to solve his striking dilemma, Ferguson can look
back with satisfaction on his close season business.
In securing the services of Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani on long-term
contracts, not only is the Scot bolstering his current squad ahead of their
Premier League title defence, he is also looking to a future without Paul
Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Hargreaves arrival will provide vital support for Michael Carrick, meaning
Scholes can be used slightly more sparingly than he was this season.
Ferguson made a concerted effort to bring Hargreaves to Old Trafford after the
World Cup, in which the midfielder turned out to be one of England's few success
stories.
Hargreaves left no-one in any doubt he wanted to make the move, only for
Bayern to block the deal fearing supporter unrest after losing Michael Ballack
to Chelsea.
Ferguson was hopeful of resurrecting the deal in January but those plans were
scuppered when Hargreaves - who has family from Bolton - broke his leg on club
duty against Armenia Bielefeld in September.
However, there was little doubt the United boss was determined to push the
transfer through once the season was over and Bayern's failure to qualify for
next year's Champions League only made it more certain Hargreaves would end up
at Old Trafford.
