Former Wigan Athletic boss Paul Jewell is proud to have brought Antonio Valencia to England.

Valencia is now starring for Manchester United, but Jewell admits there was little competition for the Ecuador winger when he was at Recreativo.

"I was over in Germany for the whole World Cup," Jewell told manutd.com. "I went to watch Ecuador against Poland and this lad stood out, playing in central midfield. I thought he was a good player and when I found out he was 20 I couldn't believe it. I watched him for the rest of the tournament, pursued it and we got Antonio on loan with a view to buying him.

"The daft thing is that there was no competition for him. I think he definitely slipped through the net of the big clubs. I was really impressed when I saw him because he had such a great understanding of the game."