Manchester United are on the brink of signing former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes on a free transfer.
Valdes, 32, has impressed manager Louis van Gaal enough in a 10-week spell training with United to earn an 18-month contract at Old Trafford, sources told ESPN FC.
He will provide cover for United's first-choice goalkeeper David de Gea, who has been ever-present this season, even if his arrival may prompt speculation that Real Madrid will move for the 23-year-old.
Valdes moved to England in October when Van Gaal gave him the chance to continue his rehabilitation from a cruciate ligament injury at Carrington.
He was invited with a view to becoming a signing, assuming he could prove his form and fitness, and has now satisfied Van Gaal, who first managed him at Barcelona.
The Spain international has not played first-team football for nine months since he was hurt in Barcelona's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo with an injury that forced him to miss the World Cup.
Valdes had already announced his intention to leave the Camp Nou when his contract expired. He made 535 appearances for Barcelona, winning La Liga six times and the Champions League three times.
He will become Van Gaal's seventh signing, after Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo, Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind and Radamel Falcao, and his first of the January transfer window.
His move could also bring an end to the Old Trafford career of Anders Lindegaard, who has been De Gea's deputy.