Sky:
Chelsea scout Piet de Visser insists Manchester United paid over-the-odds for Nani.
The Dutchman, a personal adviser to Blues owner Roman Abramovich and one of their main scouts, is known as one of the best judges of talent in Europe.
Talking to Dutch television, de Visser revealed that he and Chelsea were well aware of Nani - but he was not worth the money that United paid.
"Of course we knew about Nani for a long time," he told Tien TV.
"He is a talent, but if you look at the European Championship in Portugal and the current tournament in the Netherlands - Nani has not shown any progress.
"Therefore I think Manchester United have paid too much money for a player who has talent, but has not developed since last year."
The Sunday Times:
All Portugal's disappointed players walked past reporters after Wednesday's 2-1 defeat by Holland in the European Under-21 Championship here - all except Nani, that is, who was escorted secretly on to the team bus to save him facing the media. Then again, what could he have said? Manchester United's new £17 million whizz-kid was all but anonymous as he failed to make any lasting impression at the Euroborg Stadium.
It was left to childhood friends, such as Manuel Fernandes, recently of Everton, and Miguel Veloso, who grew up with both Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo at Sporting Lisbon, to provide a perspective on the young man of whom so much is expected.
With his predilection for dribbling, his pace and a multi-million-pound price tag, Nani has been hailed as the "new Ronaldo", even by United fans yet to see him play. Any watching his peripheral contributions in this tournament would understand why Fernandes urges caution. Veloso believes Nani, if allowed the protection of patience, can ultimately be as good as Ronaldo.
Fernandes, who played in the same Amadora streets at 7 years of age, said: "Nani has always had a lot of talent, even when we were growing up. He will be a great player. Of course, Cristiano inspires us all, everyone needs to look at him because he is one of the best in the world.
"Nani isn't the new Ronaldo. One is Ronaldo; the other is Nani. You cannot put both players in the same package. A lot of pressure has been put on to Nani in comparisons with Ronaldo but he must be left to do his own thing. He is very strong and that is why a team like Manchester United wanted him."
Nani, 21, scored as Portugal's seniors beat Belgium 2-1 a fortnight ago and may be suffering from "David Bentley fatigue syndrome" as he readjusts to under-21 level. But, brought up as one of eight siblings by a single mother, he will not be found wanting for mental strength, according to Fernandes.
Veloso is confident Nani will be given the necessary leeway to find his feet at Old Trafford. "Manchester United have the example with Cristiano Ronaldo where he had time to come and develop and we are thinking the same will happen with Nani," the midfield player said. "I know Nani well, as I have worked with him, and I am sure he will develop his qualities in time to be as much of a good player [as Ronaldo]."
Sunday Mirror:
He grew up playing football in the dusty streets of a slum known as The Ghetto.
As a scrawny youngster, Nani's friends laughed when he told them he would one day play for Manchester United.
But this month the Portuguese wonderkid shook hands with Sir Alex Ferguson after agreeing a £17million move to Old Trafford - completing an astonishing rags-to-riches story.
Next season the 20-year-old winger will line up alongside superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney at Old Trafford.
The glitzy lifestyle he is now guaranteed - not to mention his £30,000-a-week salary - could not be further removed from his povertystricken childhood.
Abandoned by his parents, Nani - real name Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha - was raised by a loving aunt in a crumbling one-bedroom home in a crime-ridden district of Lisbon.
Proud Antonia Almeida, 47, told Sunday Mirror Sport: "Nani grew up surrounded by hardship and suffering, but the fight for survival has made him the young man and player he is today."
Nani was born in the impoverished Amadora neighbourhood of the Portuguese capital, the youngest of nine children.
His parents Maria and Domingos had emigrated from Cape Verde, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.
Nani was just five when his father left for a holiday in Cape Verde and never returned. But two years later a chance meeting at a football club changed the youngster's life forever.
Antonia said: "Nani's father left and a few years later his mother moved to Holland, and so I raised him as if he were one of my own children.
"For as long as I remember, he was always playing football.
"He would play for six or seven hours a day, anywhere and with anyone, pretending he was his hero Luis Figo. He even slept with his football in his bed. When he was eight he went to watch his older brother play at the local team, Real Sport Clube Massama, and couldn't resist kicking the ball himself.
"He dribbled the ball around some of the older lads. One of the coaches spotted his talent straight away and asked him to come back. Within a year he was signed up. And since then his life has been all about football.