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Manchester United have signed Vitoria Guimaraes striker Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, better known as Bebe.

Personal terms have been agreed with the 20-year-old and he will move to Old Trafford for an undisclosed fee.

The Portuguese forward had also been closely linked with Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid but he will join fellow new signing Javier Hernandez as Sir Alex Ferguson bolsters the Red Devils' forward line.

Bebe made a name for himself at Vitoria after joining from Estrela da Amadora and, despite his tender years, has a strong physical presence as well as technical aptitude, vision and good passing skills.

The 20-year-old will certainly also add value to Ferguson with the Premier League's new regulations, as he does not need to be registered in the Red Devil's squad of 25 due to his U-21 classification.

Credits: EspnStar

UPDATE: The Guardian reports that the club spent £7.4m to sign Cacém-born (Portugal) forward Bebe. The deal was finalised today, with the player becoming the eighth senior striker on the club's books.

United have paid the buyout clause to release Bebe – who was raised in an orphanage after spending part of his childhood on the streets and has represented Portugal in the homeless World Cup – from his five-year contract at Guimarães only five weeks after he joined the club from Estrala da Amadora in the Portuguese third division.

He has been recommended to Sir Alex Ferguson by his former assistant, Carlos Queiroz, the Portugal national coach, and a deal has been rushed through for Bebe to become the third signing of the summer at Old Trafford. It takes the club's spending to around £25m following the arrival of Chris Smalling from Fulham and Javier Hernández from Chivas de Guadalajara, with Ferguson still retaining a strong interest in Mesut Ozil, the Germany international.

The United manager was at Craven Cottage to see Ozil play in a pre-season friendly for Werder Bremen on Saturday and, although he tried to pass it off as watching a Premier League opponent in action, the Guardian has established he stayed back at the end of the match to talk to officials of the Bundesliga club in the boardroom. There remain a number of obstacles to clear, not least the fact that Chelsea are interested, along with Real Madrid and, potentially, Barcelona.

Bebe is described as a fast, technically gifted striker, right-footed and strong in the air, measuring 6ft 2ins. He has shown his potential with several goals in pre-season but his signing still represents a major surprise given Ferguson's recent insistence that he did not want to add to his squad and the player's low profile in Portuguese football.

Queiroz has convinced Ferguson that he may have unearthed a future gem and Bebe will provide competition for Wayne Rooney, Hernández, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda, with Mame Biram Diouf having joined Blackburn Rovers on a season-long loan and Daniel Welbeck on his way to Sunderland.

Credits: RedManc

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