Lucas deal imminent

Manchester United have reportedly finally clinched a deal to sign highly-rated Brazilian starlet Lucas Moura from Sao Paulo.

United have been trying to recruit the 19-year-old for some time but now at long last it would appear the two clubs have reached an agreement which will see him make a £30m move to Old Trafford. Lucas is understood to be in Manchester today for his medical after being given special permission to leave Brazil's Olympic squad to wrap up the formalities of the transfer. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has taken a personal interest in concluding the deal after staying behind in England while his squad jetted out to Norway on Saturday for a pre-season friendly against Valerenga. United haven't officially confirmed the reason for the Scot's absence, although they have stated in an article on their website that Mike Phelan will take charge of the game as Ferguson is busy on "other club business." The boss will however, be back in the dugout for his side's warm-up match against Barcelona in Gothenburg on Wednesday. Earlier in the week, Sao Paulo's vice-president Paulo de Jesus Lopes played down talk of a rival bid from Inter Milan, while admitting that United needed to up their offer to stand any chance of signing the player. He told Lancenet: "I'm not aware of this information. I was with (Sao Paulo president) Juvenal Juvenicio (Wednesday and Thursday). "We sat only to negotiate with Manchester United, but their offer was not good enough."