Michael Carrick signed for Manchester United this evening after the final details of his £18.6million move from Tottenham were finalised.

United officials confirmed the deal had been done, with Carrick coming through a medical and agreeing personal terms.

The 25-year-old has become Alex Ferguson's first summer signing and, while the initial fee is believed to be around £13million, Carrick could end up becoming the fifth most expensive player in Red Devils history.

Carrick has been assigned the number 16 shirt - which has been vacant since the abrupt departure of Roy Keane in November - and will be formally unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday.

Ferguson told MUTV: "Michael has settled down fine, I spoke to him today. I said to him 'I'm giving you the number 16 jersey' so he was delighted at that. I think that showed great courage because sometimes players are a bit superstitious about things like that but he was keen, and said he would gladly take number 16."

Asked how relieved he was to wrap up United's first signing of the summer, Ferguson added: "I wasn't too worried to be honest with you, as I said before you have got to trust the players we have got.

"They had a fantastic season last year in the second half of the season. There's a great spirit here and if we add a couple, it's a bonus for us."

Although Ferguson has yet to state when he expects Carrick to make his debut, it is likely to be in this weekend's four-team tournament in Amsterdam.

After spending most of the summer searching for midfield reinforcements, Alex Ferguson will be delighted to have finally captured his number one target.

The United boss will hope Carrick's passing ability can offer an extra dimension to his midfield, which saw an unlikely combination of John O'Shea and Ryan Giggs deployed at its heart during the latter stages of last season following Keane's departure.