Manchester United last night appeared to be closing in on a deal to sign Owen Hargreaves after Bayern Munich admitted the England midfielder was leaving them.
Hargreaves looks set to complete a £17m move to the Premiership champions, with the German media reporting he will sign a four-year contract.
Bayern have had a disappointing season, failing to defend their Bundesliga title and missing out on qualification for next season's Champions League.
The club's intentions to make sweeping squad changes during the summer had already been expressed. But senior director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said 26-year-old Hargreaves was one of the players the Bavarian giants had hoped to keep.
Rummenigge said: ''A player like Owen Hargreaves would have looked good in our team next year. In the defensive midfield position Owen is one of the best in the world.''
Hargreaves, born in Calgary, Canada, has been tracked by United ever since impressing for England at last year's World Cup finals.
Bayern have kept a tight hold on their asset until yesterday, when club president Franz Beckenbauer confirmed the player was leaving.
''Owen Hargreaves will go,'' Beckenbauer said. ''It's also the wish of the player.
''Everything is right and it is also financially right.''
Asked if reports about the £17m fee were true, he said: ''It will be around that size.''
The midfielder represented hometown club Calgary Foothills FC from 1994 to 1997 and had been contracted to Bayern until 2010.
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