Paper Round: United plot Valencia raid


Manchester United are closing in on a bumper £50 million double swoop for Valencia pair David Villa and David Silva.

It was one of the most laboured transfer rumours of the summer, when United and a host of other clubs were reportedly in for the talented duo, but with Valencia still strapped for cash, the speculation has reared its head once again.

United have been struggling for attacking flair since selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and have just three established strikers on their books - Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen.

Valencia have admitted they may be forced to sell Villa, but could also cash in on Silva at the same time. (Daily Mirror)

Portsmouth have been hit by a transfer ban by the Premier League as a result of their debts to other English clubs. It will remain in place until those debts are paid in full. (Daily Mirror)

In other news, Italian giants Juventus are plotting a £6m swoop for Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta once the transfer window re-opens in the New Year.
The Argentine defender has been out in the cold after seeing Micah Richards re-established as first-choice right-back at Eastlands, prompting interest from the Old Lady. (The Sun)

Bolton and Celtic are eyeing up FC Utrecht's young Holland striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel who, if he is anything like as good as his name, will be well worth the £1.5m his club are asking. (The Sun)

Leicester have issued a 24-hour deadline to free agent Edgar Davids as the 36-year-old Dutchman decides whether to prolong his career at the Walkers Stadium. (Daily Express)

Liverpool are tracking 20-year-old Sampdoria midfielder Vladimir Koman, who is currently on loan with Bari. The goalscoring playmaker would set Rafa Benitez back around £4m. (Daily Mirror)

West Brom have agreed to sell flop Borja Valero back to Real Mallorca for £3.7m. The midfielder is currently on loan at the Liga club but can make the move permanent in January. (Daily Mirror)

And finally, Hull City have been warned by their accountants that their uncertain financial position is threatening the club's ability to continue as a going concern. (The Guardian)

Manchester United are planning to take advantage of Valencia's cash crisis and snaffle up David Villa. The Spaniard is one of the most coveted strikers in Europe - but what do we really know about him?

1) David Villa Sanchez was born on 3 December 1981 in Langreo, a small town in the Asturias region of northern Spanish. His nickname is El Guaje, which is Castilian for The Kid, and he has a daughter, Zaida, with his wife Patricia.

2) His career was almost over before it had even started, when he suffered a severe fracture to his femur as a nine-year-old. Fortunately, an unusual non-invasive treatment led to a complete recovery, and David was signed up by Spanish second division side Sporting de Gijon.

3) After scoring 50 times in three years, he was signed by Real Zaragoza in 2003. Villa was an instant success, scoring 17 times in his first La Liga season - including a crucial goal against Real Madrid on the way to the team's Copa del Rey victory.

4) He moved to Valencia in 2005 for £8m and started paying back his transfer fee immediately, finishing the 2005/06 season just behind Barcelona's Samueal Eto'o in the La Liga scoring lists with 25 goals.

5) In that first season he scored one of the fastest hat-tricks in La Liga history, netting three times in five minutes against Athletic Bilbao on April 23, which you can see below:

6) Displaying impeccable timing, he also scored a hat-trick against Levante during his 100th game for Valencia.

7) His strike-rate is truly phenomenal. At Valencia Villa averages far better than a goal every other game, and notched an outstanding 31 goals in 40 appearances last season. Throughout his career he has racked up 213 goals in 423 appearances for his clubs.

8) He'd be hard pushed to beat the stunning effort below from the half-way line against Deportivo la Coruna, mind:

9) He made his debut for Spain in a 5-0 victory over San Marino on February 9th, 2005. He quickly ousted Spanish legend Raul from the senior squad and has gone on to win 45 caps so far, scoring 29 goals in the process, including this stunner in a friendly against Italy:

10) Clearly unfazed by the big stage, he's shone at the two major international tournaments he's so far been involved in. Alongside Fernando Torres, Villa was Spain's joint top scorer at the 2006 World Cup with three goals, and the tournament's top score at Euro 2008 with four. Sadly he missed the final after picking up an injury in the previous game against Russia.