Football in Brief: Young to complete £17m United move

Ashley Young is set to become a Manchester United player (GETTY IMAGES)

Ashley Young is expected to tie up his £17m move to Manchester United this week when the personal terms are finalised with the midfielder.

The Old Trafford club hope to make an announcement in the next few days that they have signed the 25-year-old England winger for whom a deal has been in place for some time with Aston Villa.

United are also trying to tie down a deal for Lens' 18-year-old central defender Raphaël Varane in the next few days, although they could face a challenge from Real Madrid.

Mackay promised transfer funds

Cardiff City chief executive Gethin Jenkins has said new manager Malky Mackay will have money to spend to improve the squad, after the former Scotland defender was confirmed as Dave Jones' successor.

Jenkins said the board will provide Mackay with the funds needed to strengthen the squad ahead of the new Championship season. "There is a transfer budget available," Jenkins said.

Mackay's priority will be to bolster a squad that has seen a number of departures, including the likes of Michael Chopra and Chris Burke.

Villas-Boas 'too costly' for Inter

Porto's Andre Villas-Boas will not become the new coach of Internazionale partly because of an expensive release clause in his contract, Inter sporting director Marco Branca said yesterday.

Media reports said Branca had flown to talk with the coach of the Portuguese and Europa League champions after Leonardo signalled he was quitting Inter for a less stressful sporting director role at Paris St-Germain.

"The presence in his contract of a very expensive break clause, among other things, excludes the possibility of him sitting on the Inter bench," Branca said.

Belize suspended

Belize face being kicked out of the qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup after their Football Federation had its Fifa membership suspended.

Fifa has banned Belize because of what it calls "governmental influence".