With £80million burning a hole in Sir Alex Ferguson’s sky rocket, TEAMtalk’s Ian Watson suggests what Manchester United could do with the cash.

With Cristiano Ronaldo destined for Spain and Carlos Tevez packing his bags, many say the duo’s exits are a sign that Manchester United’s dominance of English football has run its course.

Some people never learn apparently. Those writing off United have once again forgotten that in Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils have at the helm the hungriest and most successful manager in English football. Armed with an £80million transfer warchest, the Scot will certainly fancy his chances of making it four-in-a-row next term.

However having the cash is one thing, spending it properly is a different kettle of fish.

Ronaldo’s exit leaves United short of not only a winger or a forward, but more importantly, a matchwinner. A star who can turn a game on its head with a flash a brilliance, a player who can be relied upon to haul the team out of trouble, which is a trick the Portuguese star has performed many times over the past three seasons.

The issue for Ferguson is, regardless of the size of the wedge burning a hole in his pocket, there are very few of those type or quality of players in the world game, and fewer still that might be available.

The Scot has had a year to plan for Ronaldo’s exit and it seems that he believes Frank Ribery is the best candidate to fill the number seven shirt at Old Trafford.

That makes sense. Ribery is a player who fits United style well. The Frenchman can play anywhere across the midfield, he’s direct, dominates the one v one and he gets goals. Sadly for Ferguson, all those attributes come at a heavy cost, with Bayern Munich rubbing their hands at the prospect of United, Real Madrid and Barcelona preparing for a bidding war.

The presence of the Spanish giants in the auction causes another major problem for Ferguson, and one he perhaps hadn’t accounted for. Ribery is said to prefer a move to La Liga to join the parade of the world’s finest players so the United boss will have to be at his most persuasive if the 26-year-old is indeed to grace the Theatre of Dreams next season.

If Ferguson can pull off the Ribery deal, much of the £80million received for Ronaldo would have to be deposited straight in Bayern’s bank account. But the spend cannot stop there.

Antonio Valencia is said to be a done deal but the Ecuadorian’s price tag (in the region of £16million) has raised a few eyebrows. Ferguson obviously rates the Wigan winger very highly, though, and with his style, versatility and age, the United boss sees Valencia’s potential as reason enough to splash the cash.

Valencia’s pace will also prove crucial next season. With Ronaldo occupying more of a central role for much of the last year, United often lacked a cutting edge in wide areas, which I believe goes a long way to explain their struggles in the final third last term. Valencia appears to be a slightly cheaper equivalent of Ashley Young, who Ferguson rates highly, and a more polished version of Nani, who stalled badly in what was a critical campaign for the Portuguese flyer last term.

Tevez’s exit leaves a much smaller hole than Ronaldo but a hole nonetheless. The Argentinian’s desire for a new challenge means United are now two bodies short in attack, and Ferguson knows he needs to bring in at least one forward to supplement Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney.

Karim Benzema has long been linked with the champions but I’m not certain he is the right man for the job.

First of all, he won’t come cheap. To get the Lyon striker, it will mean United having to break their £30.75m transfer record for a player whose record somewhat contradicts his lofty reputation.

The 21-year-old finished joint second in the Ligue 1 scoring charts last term with 17 goals in what isn’t one of the strongest leagues in Europe. There is no doubt Benzema has wonderful potential but for that amount of money, United need a more finished article and a player who can hit the ground running in the Premier League.

So what are the alternatives? Ferguson will have identified exactly what type of striker he needs, and in Berbatov and Rooney, he has two forwards brilliant at dropping off the front and playing deeper. What United lack, especially with Ronaldo gone, is an out-and-out goalscorer.

He doesn’t have to be tricky or cute outside the box. The United squad is overloaded with that type of player. He does, however, need to know how to work space in the penalty area and have the ability to finish the chances when they come along.

Again, there aren’t many around in world football that you wouldn’t have to break the bank for. Rooney looks likely to get his chance to shine in a central role next term so whoever comes in might have to be more content to conform to the needs of the squad more than Tevez apparently is.

With that in mind, I believe Ferguson could do worse than look to the North-East.

Tuncay was one of the few positives in Middlesbrough’s dreadful season and is thought of very highly within the game. The 27-year-old can finish, possesses the ability to play wide and leaves nothing in the tank when it comes to his work rate, which may go some way to appease the United fans who kicked up such a ridiculous stink over Tevez’s exit.

Tuncay is looking for a move away from Teesside and is available for somewhere in the region of £5million, a figure that would likely see United at least recoup their investment or turn a profit in the future. The Turk is cheap, but not as cheap as another goalscorer just a bit further up the A19.

Michael Owen has had a calamitous year and a shambolic stay at Newcastle. But the 29-year-old gets goals.

During his time on Tyneside, the former England striker found the net 26 times in 70 league appearances, a ratio of a goal every two-and-a-half games. That’s a not-too-shabby record for a forward playing in a wretched team.

Owen knows his way around a crowded penalty box and that can’t be questioned. The serious doubts remain over Owen’s fitness record and his desire to rediscover his former glories.

Yes, Owen would be a gamble but what do Ferguson and United have to lose? The former England striker has a lot to prove and if he is as keen to prove himself as he says he is, a hungry striker at the right side of 30, with 40 England goals and on a free transfer is far from the footballing equivalent of going all in with a dud hand.

It’s a maverick suggestion, but Ferguson has never been afraid to look beyond the obvious. Given his lack of other options, Owen would surely jump at the chance of playing for United on some kind of performance-related deal and if he can stay relatively fit, he would get goals in a side as creative as United.

A summer shopping haul of Ribery, Valencia, Tuncay and/or Owen would still leave United with loose change from the Ronaldo fee and go a long way to improving United’s fluency and potency in attack.

Ribery is the main man, though, and Ferguson must do whatever it takes to tempt the Frenchman to resist the lure of La Liga.

Bayern Munich have rejected an opening bid believed to be worth around £40m from Chelsea for the France winger Franck Ribéry in what is likely to prove the first salvo of protracted negotiations in the Londoners’ pursuit of the first marquee signing of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign at Stamford Bridge.

Bayern confirmed yesterday that a bid had been received and, having fallen well short of the German club’s valuation of the player, reiterated their intention to retain the 26-year-old. However, Chelsea remain hopeful that they will eventually secure the Frenchman, particularly as Ribéry’s other suitors appear to be falling by the wayside. Manchester United have rejected claims from the Bundesliga club’s chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, that they have tabled an offer and Real Madrid have indicated – publicly at least – that they consider the winger overpriced.

Barcelona could yet enter the running for Ribéry, though the main barrier to Chelsea securing his services appears to be whether they can persuade Bayern to sell their prized asset, who is under contract until 2011. “Chelsea have lodged a bid,” said Rummenigge. “I don’t want to talk about sums of money because it is not in our interest. The amount is irrelevant. There is always going to be the perception that Bayern Munich are trying to push the price up and that there is a certain value at which we’ll have to accept, but I’ll say it again: we want to keep Ribéry. A player has to respect his contract. We are relaxed and proud that we have one of the best three players in the world under contract.”

It remains to be seen whether Jose Bosingwa, signed from Porto last summer for £16.3m but since identified by Bayern as a potential recruit, could be used as a makeweight in any deal as Chelsea concentrate their efforts on securing Ribéry, having seen attempts to lure numerous other high-profile players frustrated. Kaka joined Madrid for £59m and preliminary discussions had taken place with Valencia over the Spain striker David Villa, though their asking price proved prohibitive. Indeed Real, too, have since indicated publicly that they are reluctant to meet Valencia’s valuation.

Interest in Milan’s Andrea Pirlo, who had expressed a desire to follow Ancelotti to London, and Alexandre Pato, as well as Sergio Agüero of Atlético Madrid, also appear to have cooled and no attempt will apparently now be made to secure Gennaro Gattuso from the Rossoneri.

Daniel Sturridge and Yuri Zhirkov are still expected to join from Manchester City and CSKA Moscow respectively, and negotiations with Internazionale are ongoing over the sales of Ricardo Carvalho and Deco to the Italian club. Inter are understood to have offered the 28-year-old Argentinian defender Nicolás Burdisso in part-exchange, though the Londoners are believed to be resistant to the idea.

Manchester United have made a long-term decision not to sign any players aged 26 or above for large transfer fees because of new financial stipulations that have been put in place at Old Trafford to shape the club’s recruitment policy. Dimitar Berbatov, who was 27 when he signed from Tottenham Hotspur last September, has been described as the “last of his kind” in a move that has immediate implications for their attempts to replace Cristiano Ronaldo.

The restrictions automatically mean that Sir Alex Ferguson’s admiration for Franck Ribéry will not manifest itself in a concerted attempt to sign the France international. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich’s chairman, said yesterday that United, Chelsea and Barcelona had all lodged bids but the Premier League champions say that is not true.

Instead, the policy from now onwards is that the club will have a strict age-before-ability approach in which they will sign players in big-money deals only if they will retain a significant market value some years after signing a five- or six-year contract.

Karim Benzema, the Lyon striker, would fit into their strategy, being 21, but Ribéry is considered too old even though he turned 26 only two months ago and is approaching what are generally considered the best years of a footballer’s career. United’s thinking is that Ribéry would cost close to £60m and have no significant resale value, leaving Chelsea, who have tabled a formal bid believed to be around £40m, hopeful of signing the France international, particularly as Real Madrid’s interest appears to have cooled.

The same policy applies to David Villa, the outstanding Valencia striker who is on the market at the age of 27 for a fee of around £45m, as well as the man who scored the first goal against United in the Champions League final, Barcelona’s 28-year-old forward Samuel Eto’o. Both are ruled out unless there is a rethink at Old Trafford.

United are aware that the policy may not go down well with those supporters who are expecting high-profile replacements to fill the void left by Ronaldo’s impending world-record transfer to Real Madrid. However, the club insists it makes sound business sense not to bring in a player for £30m or more who cannot be sold for another high valuation some years after signing his contract.

This explains why United did not make any effort to sign Kaka, the Brazil international and former world footballer of the year, when he became available for £59m from Milan, even though Ferguson has now admitted he knew for virtually all of last season that Ronaldo would be leaving this summer. Kaka was 27 in April and that does not fit into United’s strategy of not buying expensive players whose values will then plummet.

Berbatov was considered an exception to the rule when he signed for £30.75m but Ferguson is now working under the knowledge that his chief executive, David Gill, and the club’s American owners, the Glazer family, expect him to pursue younger players who could conceivably make the club a profit.

Ronaldo was 18 when he signed from Sporting Lisbon for £12.2m six years ago and United, despite being renowned for wanting to keep their better players, are placing a heavy emphasis on bringing in people who could feasibly make them money. The policy has been gradually evolving over recent years, with Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Nani all 25 and below when they were signed.

United are now targeting Antonio Valencia, Wigan Athletic’s 23-year-old Ecuador international, to take over from Ronaldo on the right side of their attack but face competition for the 23-year-old from Madrid and an unnamed club, believed to be Bayern Munich. “It all rests on where the lad wants to go to: Man United, Real Madrid or the other European club,” said Wigan’s chairman, Dave Whelan. “We can’t force him where to go. We will have a meeting with United and Real Madrid in the next three or four days, see what offers are on the table and then present them to the lad and he will decide where he wants to go or if he wants to go. We would never stop a player from going to a top club. The lad comes back from holiday this weekend and I expect it will be another 10 to 14 days before a deal is done.

“Real Madrid have been in contact once a week for the last six weeks. I thought them agreeing a deal with Ronaldo would fulfil their requirements but it hasn’t done, as they’ve been in touch again since then. There have been fees spoken about but have we had a bid put in black and white? No.” Whelan added that he would not increase the asking price for Valencia in light of Ronaldo’s £80m sale.

Ferguson is also still hoping to persuade Carlos Tevez to sign a permanent deal with the club, despite the Argentinian saying publicly and privately that he has no plans to return to Old Trafford when he becomes a free agent on 30 June. Tevez, also a target for Manchester City, Chelsea – who do not believe they will land him – and Liverpool, is 25 and United’s initial reluctance to pay the £25.5m fee wanted by the investors who own his economic rights partly derived from a concern about what he might be worth to them towards the end of a five-year contract. Gill has already publicly stated that he thinks Tevez’s valuation is a “bit toppy.”

Zinedine Zidane is in talks with Franck Ribery and has told his compatriot a move to Real Madrid would be too good to turn down.

Zidane, who revealed on Saturday that the Spanish giants were tracking the French midfielder, has now announced he is trying to convince Bayern Munich’s prized asset to make the switch to Santiago Bernabeu.

“I am in talks with Franck,” the former three times World Player of the Year, who is an advisor to Real president Florentino Perez, told Sunday’s edition of French newspaper Le Dauphine Libere.

“He is a fantastic player who has his place at Real. And playing in this team is a career opportunity, which, to me, you do not refuse.

“It would be a nice opportunity for Franck. It is up to him.”

Real are on the verge of signing Cristiano Ronaldo after Manchester United accepted a world record bid of £80million for the Portuguese forward earlier this week, while Brazil playmaker Kaka has already joined from AC Milan for a reported fee of £56million.

Ribery, who is also believed to be a United target, is likely to cost a similarly huge figure if reported bids for the 26-year-old are anything to go by.

And Zidane, who wore the Real shirt from 2001 to 2006, explained that teams must break the bank if they want to land football’s top stars.

“Bringing together the best players in the world has a cost,” he added.

Sir Alex Ferguson has got a £100million to spend on transfers after he personally gave the order for Cristiano Ronaldo to be sold to Real Madrid, the departure of Ronaldo will leave a big hole to fill in the United squad, which Sir Alex Ferguson will try to fill with the £80 million coming from by selling Ronaldo and £20 million will be handed over to him as transfer budget from the club.

Ever since the news of Ronaldo leaving the club has arrived the news papers are yelling just one thing out to Sir Alex Ferguson,

Spend, Spend, Spend

accordint to www.manutd.com (the clubs official web site),
United last night prepared to enter a bidding war with Chelsea for France international Franck Ribery which could go as high as £65m. Old Trafford boss Ferguson is also known to have Lyon’s £25m forward Karim Benzema on his hit list and he hopes to conclude the £16m signing of Wigan’s Antonio Valencia in the near future

the web site goes on to mention,
Wigan’s Ecuador winger Valencia has long been a Ferguson target and he will almost certainly join shortly while the United manager has not yet given up on persuading Carlos Tevez to stay on a long-term deal. As well as Benzema, Ferguson’s hit-list includes Barcelona holding player Yaya Toure. It is, however, the prospect of United going head to head with Chelsea for Bayern Munich’s Ribery that looks the most mouthwatering. Bayern have already indicated the 26-year-old is not for sale and it will take an offer of around £65m for the Frenchman to be prised away.

United have been linked with a host of top talents since Ronaldo’s potential departure was announced. The Guardian says Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o could arrive, while wingers David Silva (The Times) and Arjen Robben (Daily Star) are also being monitored.

according to www.footballtransferleague.co.uk,
ManU’s most probable out this summer is none other than Carlos Tevez according to the website Carlos Tevez can leave United for either of the following clubs

• Manchester City
• Liverpool
• Real Madrid
• Chelsea
• Tottenham
• Inter Milan

and the most probable INs are

• Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan)
• Karim Benzema (Lyon)
• Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
• Nicolas Bertolo (Atletico Banfield)
• Jose Rodolfo Pires Ribeiro Dodo (Corinthians)
• Neymar da Silva (Santos)
• Alexis Sanchez (Udinese)
• Walter Henrique da Silva (Internacional)
• Douglas Costa (Gremio)
• Victor Mongil (Real Valladolid)
• Aaron Lennon (Tottenham)
• Paul Pogba (Le Havre)
• Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Real Madrid)
• Kyle Naughton (Sheffield Utd)
• Arjen Robben (Real Madrid)
• David Silva (Valencia)
• Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona)

well £100million is a lot of money to burn, Sir Alex has got a huge responsibility on his shoulders to fill in Ronaldo’d boats. United fans will hope that he spend (which he usually does) spend this much of money in the right way to keep his squad tough for the next season.

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