Ferguson satisfied despite defeat by minnows

Kaizer Chiefs 0 Manchester United 0 (Kaizer Chiefs won 4-3 on penalties)

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson declared himself satisfied with his side's three-match tour of South Africa, despite his side’s shoot-out defeat against the Kaizer Chiefs in Pretoria.

After a goalless 90 minutes, United's Ben Foster and Chris Eagles both missed their penalties – handing the Chiefs a 4-3 triumph.

But the defeat – and a largely drab performance – could not dampen Ferguson’s delight at the efforts of his young side over the past week, which he believes will stand them in good stead for the future.

“We got exactly what we expected out of the tour,” he said.

“This has been a great experience for some of our players. They have come out here, been part of the first-team squad and worked really hard.

“Of the 19 players I had on this trip, 15 could play for the next 10 years. I hope they will do that at Manchester United.”

With the majority of his first-team stars set to return to training on Monday following their post-World Cup break, Ferguson must now decide which members of his young party will remain at Old Trafford and who will leave on loan.

Danny Simpson and Northern Ireland duo Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson will definitely be joining Dong Fangzhou at Royal Antwerp, while Ferguson has already decided midfielder David Jones will be part of the Red Devils squad next term.

More doubt surrounds Foster, originally earmarked to spend another season at Watford. However, with a publicised bid for West Brom’s Tomasz Kuszczak now rejected, Ferguson is reconsidering.

“We have to think about keeping Ben because there has been no progress with Kuszczak,” confirmed the United boss.

“West Brom have turned down our offer, so it has to be a consideration that Ben stays with us.”

The immediate future of Giuseppe Rossi also remains open to question.

Much may depend on whether Ruud van Nistelrooy signs for either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, as most pundits expect.

Ferguson reports there has been “no further progress” on Van Nistelrooy, who is expected at United’s Carrington training base on Monday.

The United boss also distanced himself from suggestions that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who missed today’s game with a slight thigh strain, is mulling over a lucrative move to Brondby.

“I have not heard about that one,” he said.