MANCHESTER United have agreed a �20m deal for Wigan winger Antonio Valencia should Cristiano Ronaldo be granted his wish to play in Spain with Real Madrid.

MANCHESTER United have agreed a �20m deal for Wigan winger Antonio Valencia should Cristiano Ronaldo be granted his wish to play in Spain with Real Madrid. (Daily Mail)

Equally, Valencia could end up on the right wing at the Bernabeu should Madrid fail in their attempts to get Portugal.

Real's technical director Miguel Angel Portugal will be an interested observer at the JJB Stadium tomorrow to watch their two targets in the Barclays Premier League.

Should Valencia go to Old Trafford, the deal would see Wigan take striker Fraizer Campbell in part-exchange and United acquire a winger who is very different to what they have at the moment.

While Valencia, 23, might not be able to match Ronaldo for fancy tricks and stepovers, his strength and durability are that of a young man who left home at the age of 16 and signed up for a military lifestyle with Club Deportivo El Nacional, a club run by

the Ecuadorean army.

Valencia also has the advantage of being established in the Barclays Premier League, unlike the other names on United's list of top midfielders and attackers from around Europe, like Karim Benzema, Kaka, Franck Ribery, Samuel Eto'o and David Silva.

Ferguson, who is watching Newcastle's Slovenian teenager Harris Vuckic with interest, can also point to the emergence of youngsters Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck this season, as well as the prospect of Serbian duo Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic coming into first team contention in the near future.