23 June 2011 – All the latest transfer rumours from Manchester United

The newspapers today have been running with the news that Ashley Young has passed a medical at Manchester United and an official statement is expected as early as Friday. Manchester United are said to be on the verge of signing the England winger in a deal thought to be around £17m. Ashley Young underwent a medical at Manchester's Bridgeweater hospital on Wednesday and the club expects to have all loose ends tied up by this evening at the latest.

Ashley Young had already agreed terms with Manchester United prior to his holiday and the winger is set to become an official Manchester United player on Friday. Manchester United beat off competition from Liverpool to sign the England man due to Young's ambition to play Champions League football. It will be the clubs second English signing this summer after sealing a deal for England under 21 international Phil Jones was agreed last week.

Reports in the Sun claim that French starlet Raphael Varane has snubbed a move to Manchester United in favour of a move to Real Madrid. The English champions were seemingly in pole position to sign the defender but it has been revealed that Varane has opted to move to Spain. Lens president Gervais Martel said: 'Even if Lens had stayed in Ligue 1, Raphael Varane would have left because he is a phenomenon. He is going to play for Real Madrid under the leadership of Jose Mourinho who he has already met, just as he has Real advisor Zinedine Zidane.'

It has been suggested that Varane has opted for Spain because of his belief that his opportunities would be limited at Manchester United and he made it clear to United that he would not accept sitting on the bench so early in his career. It was thought that Manchester United would loan the French defender back to Lens for a season at least, but the defender has seemingly rejected the chance to move to Old Trafford.

In other news, Dimitar Berbatov is set to have crisis talks with the Manchester United board and manager Sir Alex Ferguson to resolve his future. Speculation has been rife over the Bulgarian's future at Old Trafford after he was left out of the squad for the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona. The Manchester United forward is said to want to discuss that omission as well as ask Sir Alex Ferguson what his role will be at the club next season. Dimitar Berbatov finished last season as the Premier League's joint top goal scorer but lost his place to Javier Hernandez toward the back end of the season.