ManUtd moves in to sign Barca's winger

Manchester United is increasingly confident that they have finally structured a deal to sign the Barcelona forward Pedro for an initial fee of €26 million (£18.5 million). Ed Woodward, the United executive vice-chairman, was absent from Manchester on Monday with strong suggestions that he had travelled to Barcelona to conclude the transfer. Woodward is due back at Old Trafford on Tuesday to attend a lunch with the directors of Club Brugge ahead of the Champions League play-off against the Belgian club. Pedro’s last involvement with Barcelona was expected to have been Monday night’s second leg of the Spanish Super Copa in which his present club hoped to overturn a 4-0 first-leg defeat by Athletic Bilbao. The move to United is now expected to go through this week. It appears that United have structured a deal that reaches the €30 million buy-out clause in the 28-year-old’s contract which Barcelona insisted had to be met. Arsenal and Liverpool are also panting after signing the gifted playr whose contract with the Spanish giant expires, 2019.