The Times:
Call it wishful thinking, call it amateur psychology, call it desperation, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes that a more open Barclays Premiership title race might be in prospect this season because of Chelsea's growing preoccupation with the Champions League.
Whether or not his team are equipped to profit from such a situation is open to question — with Ruud van Nistelrooy on the verge of leaving for Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, Cristiano Ronaldo continuing to agitate and with no reinforcements having arrived to date — but the Manchester United manager, while not accusing José Mourinho of taking his eyes off the prize, has little doubt that Chelsea's signings of the experienced Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko point towards a more Europe-orientated strategy.
"They've added two very experienced players to their squad and they're talking about signing Roberto Carlos. I think I can understand that in terms of their European challenge or the European hopes they have."
The Telegraph:
Sir Alex Ferguson has opened up the possibility of a genuine Premiership title race this season by claiming that Chelsea's decision to adopt a blue-chip summer signing policy signals a shift in focus at Stamford Bridge that has placed Champions League success rather than domestic dominance at the top of manager Jose Mourinho's list of priorities.
"Ours is a very young squad and we hope to see an improvement that will bring us closer to challenging Chelsea, because I still think they are the team to beat. They have added two very experienced players in Ballack and Shevchenko and they're also talking of signing Roberto Carlos, but I can understand that in terms of their European challenge. These signings suggest to me that they are going to concentrate on Europe and try to win that.
"They want as much experience as possible and they won't be far away, but we will have more experience, too, because the young players are maturing and are playing at a good competitive level. With Juventus and AC Milan out of the way it's a very open European Cup this year, and you could say that applies to us as well."