Nani tipped to shine in Premiership
MANCHESTER UNITED..The back-flips may have already been banned by Manchester United's disciplinarian manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but the £17.3 million Old Trafford new-boy Nani is likely to provide plenty of fireworks to replace his spectacular goal celebrations this season.
Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha, or simply Nani, has arrived at Old Trafford with the billing of 'the new Ronaldo' to live up to. Within half an hour of his United debut against Shenzhen on the club's pre-season tour of the Far East, the Portuguese international had already scored a gem of a goal to justify the hype, but his back-flip celebration was quickly banned by Ferguson, who has warned the 20-year-old not to risk injury by repeating the party trick in future.
With pace, trickery and an eye for goal in his locker, the former Sporting youngster will only add to the incredible attacking options that the Red Devils now have at their disposal following the close season acquisitions by Ferguson. Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson and Argentina forward Carlos Tevez will link-up with Nani and the already-established United superstars of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
United could be awesome in full flow this season and many expect Nani to be at the heart of everything. Paulo Sousa, the former Portugal midfielder who is now assistant manager of the national team, insists that Nani has everything needed to be a world star. "Nani is very explosive and very strong," he commented.
"He's fast and is going to be a great signing for United. I think that in the next five or ten years, he and Cristiano Ronaldo can become the best players in the world."
High praise
Ronaldo, whose departure from Sporting to United in 2003 smoothed the way for Nani to break into the team in Lisbon, echoes Sousa's claims about the youngster's talent. "I really hope he has the same success as me, or even more, because he's got the ability to do this. He's joining the right club to evolve as a player and as a person," said the 2006/07 Premiership's double player of the year recipient.
Ferguson has attempted to play down expectations by warning he will take time to adjust to the physical nature of the Premiership, and the winger's progress has been delayed in recent weeks due to an ankle injury sustained during the UEFA European U-21 Championship in the Netherlands. Having spotted Nani's prodigious talent when they were watching Ronaldo four years ago, United have clearly done their homework on the player and Nani admits that he is desperate to make the most of his move.
"The move to United all happened very fast," said Nani. "The clubs reached an agreement quite rapidly and from then on I knew my career would continue at Manchester United. They are one of the major clubs in Europe and any player would like to play in Manchester United.
"All I have to do now is keep working and giving my best to prove to be worthy of the confidence shown in me. But I know I'm young and I have still to learn many things."
