Football story by Gareth Bowman, Sat, 31 Dec 2005 17:12:00 GMT


Nemanja Vidic has passed the medical test and has agreed to terms with Manchester United and is all ready to complete the switch to Old Trafford, but is waiting for a work permit. Although United have not disclosed the financial terms of the deal, it is speculated to be in the region of £7 million.

The Serbia and Montenegro international, who is currently with Spartak Moscow, should be available for the FA Cup third round match with Burton Albion, if everything else progresses smoothly. Vidic is one of the famous four of Serbian defenders who conceded just one goal in their qualifying rounds for the World Cup.

Sir Alex Ferguson will welcome his inclusion into the squad since he is facing a defensive puzzle as Mikael Silvestre and Wes Brown are struggling at the back and he had to face the ignominy of an early exit from the Champions' League.

Vidic will fit in nicely with Rio Ferdinand at the back. Ferdinand has been in fine form and has scored two goals lately, he is a world class defender despite a dip in form a couple of months ago. It appears that Lyon are interested in Silvestre and could end up getting him in the transfer window in January though there has been no commitment from either side.

Brown could be on borrowed time since he has really not settled in despite getting many chances. United lost a lead twice at Birmingham and had to settle for a 2-2 draw, which saw them slip 11 points behind leaders Chelsea and all but put paid to their chances of challenging them in the Premiership.

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