Sir Alex Ferguson may have worries about the fitness of a number of senior players — notably Wayne Rooney — before the opening game of the season against Fulham on Sunday, but of more immediate concern to the Manchester United manager is the desire to make at least one more addition to his squad.
Further talks have been scheduled with Villarreal today regarding Marcos Senna, the Spain midfield player, the outcome of which is likely to determine whether or not Ferguson moves for Owen Hargreaves, of Bayern Munich, or even Mahamadou Diarra, of Lyons
The odds would appear to favour Senna moving to Old Trafford — probably for about £4 million. Any bid for Hargreaves would be resisted by Bayern and complicate United's plans to sign another striker, although Ferguson will have been buoyed by the England midfield player's claims yesterday to wish to play in the Barclays Premiership. "It would be a great opportunity to play in England," Hargreaves, 25, said. "A lot of my family live in England and Wales and would appreciate it if I was there. It would seem a natural progression."
Quote from Ferguson:
"We are trying very hard to get another midfield player in.
"But, at the end of the day, I have a terrific squad of players with great ability.
"The boys have to accept the challenge. We are ready and hopefully they can do the business."
Senna:
"I can't wait, it's a dream come true.
"It has been an objective in my career to always look to improve and look for something bigger - and Manchester is the biggest.
"I think the situation will resolve itself this week and I am confident I will be a United player."