David Gill, the Manchester United chief executive, admits the club's prospective new signing, Bebe, has "come from nowhere" and only seriously arrived on the club's radar earlier this month.
Bebe's imminent arrival - contingent on his passing a medical - comes just a matter of weeks after he signed for Vitoria Guimaraes on a free transfer and Gill is frank about the whirlwind nature of a deal that is reportedly worth in the region of £7 million (Dh40,134m).
"He's a player we've been following, but he really came on the scene in the last week or so," Gill told MUTV. "We looked at him, spoke to a number of people about him and then went out and secured the deal yesterday.
"It's exciting. He's a potential player, and a lot of Manchester United's focus is about getting players who have the potential and then getting them under the great coaching of Alex [Ferguson], Mick [Phelan], Rene [Meulensteen] and other people. He can fulfil that potential with Manchester United and I think it's going to be exciting. Let's hope it works out."
As Bebe arrives at Old Trafford, Danny Welback has left to join Sunderland.
But Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, remains on the lookout for another striker after recouping £8m from the sale of Kenwyne Jones, the Trinidad & Tobago international, despite the arrival of the 19-year-old, who joins the Black Cats on a season-long loan.
"It would be unfair to say that he [Welbeck] is the replacement for Kenwyne," said Bruce. "There's still a couple of weeks to go in the market and hopefully the money is there to go and spend it."
Bruce revealed he would be interested in Craig Bellamy, the Wales forward, who appears to be surplus to requirements at Manchester City, although he could be out of the Black Cats' price range. Celtic are also interested in taking Bellamy on loan.
* Press Association
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now