Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has admitted that the Red Devils will miss the influential presence of defender Patrice Evra, who has left the club to join Juventus.
The Frenchman brought down the curtain on a trophy-laden, eight-year stint at Old Trafford to complete a £1.2million switch to Turin despite only penning a fresh 12-month contract extension in the summer.
He seemingly felt first-team football was still on the cards until the club swooped to sign England defender Luke Shaw from Southampton.
The teenager occupies the same position as Evra and has been identified by the club as the man to make the left-back slot his own for years to come, sparking the 33-year-old’s departure.
Holland international van Persie took to social media site Twitter to offer his thoughts on the transfer.
He said: “Patrice Evra I wish you all the best at your new challenge, we will miss you here!”
After a brief disagreement with Juve about personal terms, everything was ironed out yesterday and he will be presented to the Italian media in the coming days.
He became an integral part of the United set-up following his arrival from Monaco in 2006.
There were fears in the Evra camp that the move would collapse following the surprise resignation of Juve head coach Antonio Conte, who parted company with the Turin giants only 24 hours after the start of pre-season training.
He has since been replaced by former AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri, who was happy for the deal to proceed despite being in the hot seat for a matter of days.