Ferguson has room for one addition

Alex Ferguson is intent on making one further addition to his Manchester United squad this summer.

Ferguson unveiled his two close-season recruits, Shinji Kagawa and Nick Powell, at Old Trafford yesterday and confirmed both men will be part of United’s squad for their summer tour of South Africa and China when it leaves Manchester on Monday.

Much is expected of Kagawa in particular following his £17 million (€21.5m) arrival from German double winners Borussia Dortmund, especially now Ferguson has confirmed he expects the Japan star to bring a much-needed creative element to his team.

However, now the European Championships are over and the transfer market is beginning to crank up a couple of gears, Ferguson is ready to spend again, despite the club itself admitting last week its massive debt is having an impact at Old Trafford.

“When the European Championships or the World Cup is on, there is always a delay in the transfer industry,” said Ferguson.

“Now all that is over we are still trying to get maybe one player in.”

Leighton Baines was the immediate name that sprang to mind given how heavily the Everton defender has been linked with United this summer.

However, United’s recent transfer history does not indicate the amount they would have to pay for Baines would be invested in a second-choice left-back, which would place a question mark over the future of Patrice Evra.

Ferguson, however, refused the opportunity to reveal even which position he was looking at, just as a Red Devils official quickly moved on from potential questioning over that Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is intended for launch in the United States in the coming weeks.

It was that move which contained the phrase “our indebtedness could adversely affect our health and competitive position”, which was the first official admission that the massive debt burden the Glazer family have lodged against United could be a problem.

That debt currently stands at £423m (€535m), although no explanation was ever offered as to how the Glazers managed to pay off £249m (€315m) of high-interest payment-in-kind notes in 2010.

It means no one outside the club can be entirely sure whether Ferguson would have to sell more players, in addition to Park Ji-sung, who left for QPR last week, before further purchases can be sanctioned.

Despite this, United are still expected to be a major Premier League force this term, with Ferguson’s hunger doubtless fuelled by the agonising manner in which his side lost their title to Manchester City last season.

“Red wine helps,” was Ferguson’s reaction to being asked how he felt about the two goals City scored in stoppage time to end a 44-year wait for the title.

Kagawa should be a valuable asset though, having made a significant contribution to back-to-back Bundesliga triumphs at Dortmund.

“It is a good time for him to come to us,” said Ferguson of the 23-year-old. “He plays behind a striker, is very quick and has a good vision of the game.

“His goalscoring record for the last two years has been very good.”

Ferguson sees no reason why Kagawa should fail to be involved in the season’s opener at Everton on August 20, which, if yesterday is anything to go by, will attract a healthy number of his countrymen to watch the first competitive United game by a Japanese player.

“I definitely feel the attention of the media globally now I am a member of a great squad like Manchester United,” said Kagawa, who has pledged to learn the language quickly. “Everything here at the club shows me I have come somewhere really big.’’

Less encouragingly for United though is the news that Darren Fletcher’s career is hanging in the balance after Ferguson confirmed the midfielder has still to launch a comeback from his chronic bowel complaint.

United have already been forced to reject one claim on a social media site earlier this year that the Scot was about to announce his retirement.

But, whilst he continued to express hope for his fellow countryman, there was little in Ferguson’s assessment of the situation that suggested Fletcher could win his fitness fight, saying: “It is unfortunate because he is such a magnificent professional and such a nice lad. If it doesn’t work for him he knows he has a position at the club.”