The signing of Wilfried Zaha turns up the heat on Antonio Valencia at Manchester United.

United won't welcome Zaha from Crystal Palace until the summer, but his arrival will heap pressure on fellow winger Valencia.

The Manchester Evening News says United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has always been generous in his praise of Valencia and handed him the iconic No 7 shirt last summer.

But the Ecuador international has suffered an alarming dip in form in recent weeks and has not started a Premier League game since the turn of the year.

He was notably left out of the starting line-up for United's two biggest games this month against Liverpool and Tottenham - and made minimal impact when coming on as a substitute.

Zaha will provide even more competition to the 27-year-old, whose regular starting place is not as secure as it once was.