Alex Ferguson confident Robin van Persie will make Manchester United debut against Everton

Robin van Persie will make his Manchester United debut against Everton on Monday according to Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Manchester United manager is confident the Dutch striker will complete his move from Arsenal in time to be available for the Premier League match at Goodison Park.

"He is on his way up from London for a medical later this afternoon," the United manager said today.

"We hope that goes according to plan. His agent is in discussions with (United chief executive) David Gill right about now.

"We hope all the things will be tied up, although sometimes medicals do take a bit longer. I am sure he will be available for Monday's game."

It was announced last night that a fee had been agreed between United and Arsenal for the 29-year-old. It followed a conversation on Monday between Ferguson and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, in which the United manager attempted to pave the way for a deal.

Wenger had insisted he would not allow the player to go for less than £30m but Manchester United's final offer is believed to be nearer to the £20m that was set aside for the forward. It could rise to £24m.

Ferguson went on to liken his new strike force pairing of Van Persie and Wayne Rooney to that of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke in 1999 - the year United won an unprecedented treble.

"They (Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie) are two fantastic players and it will be great to have both of them," said Ferguson.

"It gives us more strength and more combinations up front.

"In 1999 I had Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the four best strikers in Europe.

"We are going towards that now with Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Robin, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa.

"It is a fantastic collection of players and hopefully I pick the right combinations

"It is great to have a player of Robin van Persie's qualities to come into the squad. I am very pleased."

The Independent reported today that Manchester United are believed to have prepared a deal which, including image rights, will land the player near the £200,000-a-week salary he wanted over the course of a five-year contract.

A statement on United's website last night said: "Manchester United is pleased to announce it has reached agreement with Arsenal Football Club for the transfer of Robin van Persie. The deal is subject to a medical and the agreement of personal terms. A further announcement will be made in due course."

Arsenal added their own statement: "Arsenal Football Club can confirm that terms have been agreed for the transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United. Van Persie will travel to Manchester on Thursday in order to agree personal terms and complete a medical ahead of the proposed move."

Ven Persie, who scored 34 goals last season, was entering the final year of his contract at the Emirates and had announced he would not be signing an extension.

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