RELATIVES of England football star Owen Hargreaves cannot wait to see him line up at Old Trafford after his £17 million transfer to Manchester United.
BACK IN BRITAIN: Joseph Hargreaves, Owen's great uncle,
approves of his transfer from Bayern Munich to Manchester UnitedHe may have been born in Canada and spent his career to date in Germany with Bayern Munich, but the midfield anchorman's roots lie in Bolton.
His father, Colin, grew up in Elizabeth Street, Farnworth, and played for Bolton Wanderers' youth team before emigrating to Canada when he was 18.
And England international Owen, capped 39 times, still has relatives in the area.
His great uncle, Joseph Hargreaves, aged 86, a former paper mill worker from Radcliffe, said: "I'm thrilled he's coming to United and certainly looking forward to seeing him in the shirt."
Last year, Owen was asked during an FA webcast whether he would ever follow in his father's footsteps and sign for the Whites. The 26-year-old replied: "That would make my dad proud, but I know he's very happy with where I am at the moment, too. He doesn't put any pressure on me."
Joseph Hargreaves said that even though he is a Wanderers fan, signing for United was the right move for his great-nephew.
"I used to live a few streets away from Burnden Park and I'm Bolton through-and-through, but Wanderers are not progressing as a team," said Mr Hargreaves. "He's better at United."
Owen's father regularly visits the UK for his work and often calls in to see his relatives, but Mr Hargreaves has never met his great nephew.
"He came here once with his mum and dad, but I happened to be out. I was really disappointed, " he said. "But when he's played at Old Trafford in the past, he's always left me tickets."
