Antonio Valencia joining United was the worst-kept
secret - everyone expected him to come to Old Trafford.
Still, he's an important signing and the timing of
his move is great as it means he can go on the Asia Tour later this
month. He'll get to know his team-mates much better by living
around them in the hotels. The players are all together, all the
time, they're in each other's company for every minute of every
day.
I'm sure Valencia won't be our only summer signing, we might need a
striker as well. But a wide player was certainly something we
needed, so he's a great addition to the squad. He's quick and
could be a full-back's nightmare - the last thing you want to do as
a defender is play against someone who's quick, running at
you.
When he played against United at Old Trafford in January, he gave
John O'Shea one of the biggest chasings John's ever had. The only
time I'd ever seen someone do that to John before was when Ronaldo
did it for Sporting Lisbon in a friendly in 2003!
Valencia's goal return, only three for Wigan last season, doesn't
matter. I think when you're playing with better players, there'll
be more possibilities for you to score goals. But another
great talent in football that's often overlooked is creating
goals.
People have a go at Berbatov because he's not as energetic as
Tevez, but he scored 12 goals in the league and also how many did
he make? The art of making chances is almost as important as
scoring goals.
I think it's great when someone wants to join you as much as
Valencia does. We have a lost a couple of big players and like it
or not, money played a big part in it. But this lad wants to come
and play for Manchester United.
Berbatov was another exception to the point about money. All the
rumours on deadline day last summer were that Manchester City were
trying to hijack the deal with a bigger offer but Berbatov said,
'No, I want to play for Manchester United'. When you get foreign
players saying that, I think it's a bonus.