Manchester United’s new signing Victor Valdes has thanked the Old Trafford club for the opportunity to regain his fitness and restart his career, as reported by ManUtd.com.

He said: “For me it is a pleasure to sign for Man United. It has been a hard recovery time from my injury and the first thing I want to say is thank you to Louis van Gaal for letting me work again with him and his team.

“This change is very important for me because my injury was very, very hard.

“United and everybody around United saved me and they looked after me, so I am very grateful for everybody around the world and for the manager for giving me the chance to be a United player.”

The former Barcelona goalkeeper joined the Manchester side officially today, after spending a long period on trial with the Red Devils, during which time he sought to prove his recovery from injury to boss Louis van Gaal.

Prior to Man Utd’s interest, Valdes had been linked heavily with a move to Liverpool to replace current first choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has struggled with his form recently.

That possible move has now been scuppered.

Valdes found himself out of contract with no club to join at the end of last season after his mooted move to AS Monaco collapsed in the wake of a serious injury he suffered prior to the World Cup.

The former Barca man is expected to play second fiddle to the highly rated David De Gea, and his arrival could displace Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos.

Former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has hinted at a shock switch to Manchester United, having implied that he will soon be ready for a return to first team action, as reported by the Daily Star.

Despite being consistently linked with a switch to Liverpool in the press, Valdes began training with the Old Trafford side last month in an attempt to rebuild his fitness.

He underwent surgery in March to deal with significant damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, missing out on the World Cup and an agreed switch to French side AS Monaco as a result.

Louis van Gaal invited him to train with the Red Devils in the build up to his first team return.

It now looks as though he could make that return with Man Utd, with the player suggesting that he is almost ready for action.

Great training session Today. Almost Ready! Thanks for your supportive messages throughout these months. They have helped me a lot!

— Victor Valdes (@1victorvaldes) November 9, 2014

If he can convince Van Gaal that he is fit, a permanent deal might be on the cards.