MANCHESTER UNITED are on the verge of signing goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer.
The 35-year-old left Leeds United at the end of his contract in June, despite starting 22 Premier League games last season.
Ineos are in advanced stages of bringing Darlow to the club as United number one Senne Lammens needs support for next season.
Howling goalkeeper Andre Onana has rejoined Trabzonspor on loan and Altay Bayindir is expected to leave amid interest from Turkish top-flight side Besiktas since January.
Leeds were pushing to renew Darlow’s terms to retain the 15-cap Welsh goalkeeper, with Everton also circling.
But Darlow will become the seventh player to switch to Elland Road for Old Traffordincluding Rio Ferdinand, Eric Cantona, Gordon McQueen and Alan Smith.
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Darlow is now on the verge of becoming the 16th player in history to cross the bitter divide of the Pennines.
He will be the first star to move between fierce rivals since Daniel James’ £25million move to Elland Road in 2021.
The most important point is that Darlow helps United move one step closer to meeting UEFA’s quota of local players for the Champions League.
While Darlow is Welsh, he considers himself an “association-bred player”, having spent his early years developing at Nottingham Forest.
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Another option for United was Sam Johnstone, who began his career in United’s academy but has two years left on his contract at Wolves.
Darlow evicted summer signed Lucas Perri as Leeds’ first-choice goalkeeper last season, starting every game from mid-January until the end of the season.
He kept five clean sheets, suffered just four defeats and helped the Yorkshire team to a comfortable 14th place finish.
United have already agreed deals for two new midfielders, including Ederson from Atalanta for £35m along with a £50m move for Chelsea’s Andrey saints – which came just 24 hours before the Darlow deal heated up.
Darlow has made 38 appearances for Leeds since joining the club from Newcastle United in 2023 on a three-year deal.
He made 111 appearances for Forest early in his career and spent nine years at Newcastle, where he appeared 100 times, before joining Leeds.
United goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who was named Bristol City’s player of the year after an excellent loan spell, is the subject of interest from several clubs.
Vitek is expected to leave United on loan or permanently to earn regular minutes.
Tom Heaton, 40, has signed a new one-year deal at Old Trafford and will provide important training support.
While Dermot Mee, 23, signed a new two-year contract last week and is a valuable member of the goalkeeping department.
