Manchester United transfer special: who will join in the summer and who will leave?

By David McDonnell in Mirror Football Blog

Published 22:45 08/04/10

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Before Manchester United's agonising Champions League exit, Sir Alex Ferguson insisted he would not be embarking on "wholesale buying" this summer.

But as he sifts through the wreckage of a failed European campaign, Fergie must confront the uncomfortable truth that his current squad is simply not good enough to rule Europe.

Fergie is happy to tell anyone who cares to listen that he can spend the £80million from the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid if he wants, having decided against doing so last summer because of inflated prices.

Such financial prudence is admirable but, if the money is there to spend rather than being used by the Glazers to service their debt, Fergie's frugality will count for nothing if United end this season with only the Carling Cup to their name.

Major reconstruction is not necessary but the quarter-final exit to Bayern Munich, cruel as it was on away goals, exposed the lack of depth in United's squad and their continued over-reliance on Wayne Rooney.

Elimination by Bayern, on the back of their 2-1 defeat to title rivals Chelsea, means United find themselves at crisis point and even Fergie admitted such a setback cannot be considered a mere hiccup.

After Wednesday's win over Bayern that felt like a defeat Fergie said: "It's not a blip. If you lose three games it can't be a blip. It's unusual for our club to lose three games.

"We have a situation now where we're out of the European Cup and we have to win our next five games in the Premier League.

"It's straightforward. There's no other issue for us. We have to go for it now."

United have those five games left to salvage something from this season, the Carling Cup not considered a good enough return at a club where success is measured only by the big prizes.

But even if United win their remaining five matches, it may still not be enough to be crowned champions, with Chelsea having established a two-point lead with victory at Old Trafford.

Regardless of what happens in the title race, Fergie is already looking to the summer, where he must make at least three new signings to address the glaring deficiencies in his squad.

United need a striker, goalscoring midfielder and goalkeeper to take over from Edwin van der Sar, who turns 40 in October and is likely to play a lesser role next season, with France No.1 Hugo Lloris Fergie's preferred choice to replace him.

In recent years Fergie has bemoaned United's lack of a free-scoring central midfielder in the mould of Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard, and Aston Villa's James Milner may provide the United boss with the answer.

Fergie has been impressed with Milner's emergence as a central midfielder this season and his age profile - he is still only 24 - along with a value of around £20m, could see the United boss move for him.

Chris Smalling will arrive this summer from Fulham in a £10m deal, but the young defender's first-team opportunities will depend on Rio Ferdinand's fitness, whether or not Nemanja Vidic stays and how Jonny Evans progresses.

Karim Benzema's failure to make an impact at Real Madrid may yet see Fergie get the France striker at the second attempt, after refusing to meet Lyon's £35m asking price last summer.

Valencia striker David Villa remains a target for Fergie and will be available for around £25m, but Benzema's physical strength and dynamic style may be more suited to the Premier League.

As for those heading out of the Old Trafford door, Dimitar Berbatov's failure to hold down a regular place is likely to see him offloaded, taking over from Juan Sebastian Veron as the most expensive flop in United's history.

Rooney's inclusion from the start against Bayern, even when only half-fit, was the ultimate insult to Berbatov, who was thrown on as a last-ditch measure with 10 minutes to go.

Michael Carrick, at fault for Bayern's crucial first goal at Old Trafford, is another who has failed to progress this season and is likely to be sacrificed as Fergie reshuffles his personnel.

Anderson, who arrived from Porto for £18m three years ago, has a questionable attitude and is set for a swift return to his native Brazil this summer.

If Owen Hargreaves returns to full fitness, Fergie's central midfield options would be bolstered, particularly with Darron Gibson - scorer of the first goal against Bayern - making great strides.

"No wholesale buying is needed here as we have a very good squad that just needs tweaking here and there," said Fergie. "Looking at potential squad additions is an ongoing process.

"It's not just confined to a certain time of year, although we obviously don't reveal our plans. We have some ideas at the moment but not many players will be joining the club."

Evolution, not revolution, has been the theme of Fergie's United dynasty, but he faces some major decisions this summer if he is to add another European Cup to his glittering CV before eventually calling it a day.

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