Manchester United's crocked captain Nemanja Vidic has hailed the form of Antonio Valencia.

Vidic feels Valencia has been the key man in their title surge.

"He's a great player to play with," he said. "First of all he's a team player who works hard for the team and makes a difference up front.

"He's done it so many times this season and it seems like he's made a step up and improved.

"I would say he is our best player this season.

"There are one or two others, like Wazza's had a great season and has scored a lot of goals.

"But Antonio has done really well. It's important he's fit and plays all the games because we need him at this time of the season."