Wayne Rooney will team up with Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United in one of the most potent strikeforces in European soccer.
The trouble is -- when?
Van Nistelrooy hasn't kicked a ball all season after a hernia operation and Rooney is recovering from a broken bone in his foot.
Neither striker -- who each scored four times at Euro 2004 -- is expected to be in action for a month, and United is already seven points behind Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League title race with just four games gone.
Rooney signed for United on Tuesday in a deal which will amount to close on ?30 million (US$54 million) when all the terms are fulfilled and all the bills have been paid.
At age 18, he is a rising star of the future and has joined one of the few clubs that can make him reach the top. One of the stars of Euro 2004, Rooney has masses of potential so long as he keeps his temper and doesn't fall into bad company.
"It was a tough decision to leave Everton, the club I've supported and played for all my life, but I'm excited to be joining a club as big as Manchester United," said Rooney, who has signed a six-year contract.
"I feel this can only improve my career, playing with top players in top competitions like the Champions League and I can't wait to meet up with the team."
Rooney was due to appear before reporters at a news conference at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
"I am very excited, I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years," said United manager Alex Ferguson.
Rooney joins Van Nistelrooy, Alan Smith and Louis Saha in an impressive squad of strikers as Ferguson bids to launch a stronger title challenge than last season, when his men finished 15 points behind Arsenal in third place.
Having made his debut at age 16 and become the youngest scorer in the Premier League's history, Rooney eclipsed Michael Owen as England's youngest international and youngest scorer. On the down side, he became the youngest Premier League player to receive a red card.
His departure from Everton, the team he supported as a boy, has angered the Toffees fans who thought he would have stayed there his entire career. But Rooney was determined to leave when Newcastle and Manchester United came in with offers and promised him European soccer.
United went on to outbid Newcastle and the Magpies' failure to recruit one of the best young talents in English soccer was one of the reasons they fired Bobby Robson on Monday.
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