Manchester United are confident of signing Greek whizkid Sotirios Ninis. The Sunday Mirror says United are ready to trigger an £8million clause in the 20-year-old Panathinaikos contract after Sir Alex Ferguson identified him as the answer to his team's need for a creative midfielder.
The Reds have already opened negotiations with the Athens club about taking Ninis to Old Trafford for next season.
Ninis, who was born in Albania, is already a regular in Greece's international team.
He is also one of three club captains at Panathinaikos and has attracted interest from Real Madrid and AC Milan.
But United are now in pole position after telling the Greek side they will pay the get-out clause in the four-year contract that Ninis signed in 2008.
Any Greek club that wants Ninis has to pay £15million. But that figure drops to £8million if he moves abroad.
