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«Манчестер Юнайтед» требуется усиление

It has been a frustrating summer in the transfer market for Manchester United, and I think they need one or two more players if they want to contend for silverware this season.

The club's top brass insist that the £80 million they received for Cristiano Ronaldo is still available for Sir Alex to spend, although there are those who doubt this.

Whatever the truth, United have been surprisingly quiet since they brought Dimitar Berbatov to Old Trafford in 2008, and I'm not sure they go into this season with enough ammunition to win back the Premier League title.

Great players as they are, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are on the down slope of their careers and United really need some fresh blood in midfield, especially with the news that Owen Hargreaves has suffered yet another injury setback.

I had my career cut short by injuries so I know how frustrating it must be for Hargreaves. But, nearly two years after he last completed 90 minutes for the first team, it is hard not to fear the worst.

In previous seasons, Sir Alex might have been able to get a player like Wesley Sneijder, but now he is prohibitively expensive.

Mesut Ozil looks an excellent talent, but United face competition for his signature from Real Madrid - and when Real set their sights a player they don't usually end up disappointed.

Wayne Rooney won several games almost single-handedly last season, and it is neither fair nor realistic to expect the same again this season - especially in light of the burnout that torpedoed his World Cup.

I would love to think Dimitar Berbatov can contribute more this season, but it just seems the Bulgarian does not have the right mentality. When Eric Cantona came to United, he had that cocksure arrogance and self-belief.

He was completely unafraid of failure and became the most influential player in Premier League history. Berbatov has played within himself from the moment he arrived, showing only frustrating glimpses of his audacious quality.

Michael Owen is so injury prone at this stage of his career, anything from him would be a bonus.

But United have signed somebody who possesses the pace of the old Michael Owen in Javier Hernandez.

He is the first Mexican to play for United, and he has high expectations to live up to. He is extremely quick and knows how to finish, but he needs a run of games and a good start if he is to establish himself.

Look at Diego Forlan, obviously a brilliant player - his faltering start to life in English football effectively put paid to his United career. It was never going to work out for him at Old Trafford, but when he went to Spain he was an instant success.

Hernandez is far from the player Ruud van Nistelrooy was when he joined United, but if he can make a similar sort of immediate impact it would be a huge boost.

Further back I think Jonny Evans has a key role to play considering Rio Ferdinand's injury woes, and the right-back position is still very much up for grabs.

Wes Brown, Rafael da Silva, Gary Neville and even Chris Smalling will be in contention. Each have their qualities, but none is the complete package.

Again, world-class performers like Maicon and Philipp Lahm have proved to be outside United's financial reach.

Personally, I'd like to see Smalling get a run in the side. Although it isn't his best position and I wonder if it might have been better for his development if he had stayed at Fulham.

United are not alone in their watchful spending. Arsenal have been typically frugal, Liverpool have scooped up a couple of free transfers, and Chelsea's only notable move has been to swap Joe Cole for Yossi Benayoun.

I think clubs are getting scared of spending money as the financial reality of the economic downturn starts to bite - particularly for those clubs in debt.

At the same time, Manchester City continue to splash out and are distorting the market and pushing up prices.

Why would Aston Villa sell James Milner for the £12 million he is probably worth when they can get double that amount from City?

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