Former Manchester United Target Douglas Costa Joined Shakhtar Donetsk

Young Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa signed a five-year deal with Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk who are also the reigning champions of UEFA Europa Cup. Costa, who is also called ‘New Ronaldinho,’ joined the Ukrainian side for a fee worth £5.8million from Gremio. Manchester United had been tracking the player for a year and even asked for a 3-week trial at Old Trafford which Gremio turned down. Manchester United scouts were not reportedly very happy with his motivation and work rate lately. However, Douglas Costa is still hoping to join a big club like Manchester United in the next 12 months as he has stated upon reaching his new destination in Ukraine.

Costa said, 'I won't stay at Shakhtar for a lifetime, but for one or two years. The plan is for this (joining Shakhtar) to be a stepping stone to reaching my goal, which is to play for a big club in Europe.'

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was keen to land the 19-year-old and even sent their former defender Jaap Stam to watch the player in Brazil. Douglas Costa looked very promising when he broke into the senior side of Gremio, but failed to live up to the expectation.