Manucho: High hopes

Angolan striker Manucho has spoken of his delight at securing a deal that should see the 24-year-old join the Reds after January's African Cup of Nations.

The centre-forward, who has topped the Angola league's scoring charts for the past two seasons playing with Petro Atletico Luanda, told MUTV he's living in dreamland after agreeing to a move to Old Trafford.

"I have been a fan of Manchester United from when I was very young so now I will work very hard to get into the first team," Manucho said.

"I am very happy to be here and I have worked very hard to make my dream a reality. I have found the adaptation easy because all the players have given me their support… and players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson all speak my language [Portuguese]."

Although Manucho's work permit still needs to be granted, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is confident the player has the necessary traits to make an impact in the Barclays Premier League.

"He's a very quick, aggressive forward, a big lad about 6"2'," Sir Alex told MUTV. "We've had him on trial for three weeks and he's done very well. We're delighted to have made an agreement with his football team."

Manucho isn't expected to see much first-team action this season, although Sir Alex conceded it all depends on how well he settles into life at United.

"I think he'll need a few months to adjust," he said. "In saying that, he's done very well in training and you never know how players will progress.

"I said the same thing about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he arrived. I thought I'd give him a year or two in the Reserves but after three or four games he was in the first team.

"It all boils down to the boy himself, how he adapts to the change and how he commits himself to learning. Every young player has to learn."