Ferguson on look-out for new face

Alex Ferguson can finally embrace a new face into the Manchester United fold – and it appears the Red Devils boss is not finished yet.

After finalising Michael Carrick’s £18.6m (€27.2m) switch from Tottenham last night, Ferguson is now ready to wield United’s cheque book again.

Far from being satisfied to have secured midfielder Carrick – his number-one summer transfer target – Ferguson sees the 25-year-old’s arrival as merely a step towards getting the squad he feels is required to bring the Premiership title back to Old Trafford after a three-year absence.

“I wasn’t too worried about not signing anyone before now because you have to trust the players you already have,” said Ferguson. “But there is a great spirit here and if we could add a couple, it would be a real bonus for us.”

Ferguson has already been strongly linked with Villarreal’s Marcos Senna this week, while Corinthians duo Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez are also being touted as potential United targets.

And now, the prospect of landing former Arsenal skipper Patrick Vieira has resurfaced again as the Frenchman’s proposed move from scandal-hit Juventus to Inter Milan would seem to have hit the buffers.

The midfielder was quoted in The Times to have said: “Every player wants to play for a club like Manchester United at the highest level.

“After nine years at Arsenal it might be difficult, but everything can happen in football. Now I’m not sure where I’m playing next season.

“I’m still looking for a new club. There might be some sort of conclusion in the next 48 hours and it’s a very important decision for me.”

There is even a slim possibility a second new arrival could be confirmed when Carrick is unveiled tomorrow, although, for now, Ferguson is happy enough to hail the Wallsend-born midfielder, now the fifth most expensive player in United’s history and the man chosen to wear Roy Keane’s sacred number 16 shirt.

“Michael has settled down fine,” said Ferguson. “I told him I was giving him the number 16 jersey and he was delighted with that.

“It showed great courage because sometimes players are a bit superstitious about things like that. But he was keen, and said he would gladly take it.”

The completion of the Carrick deal formed part of a momentous Monday for United, with Cristiano Ronaldo returning to training for the first time since the World Cup and Wayne Rooney making a goalscoring return to action at Macclesfield.

Exactly 30 days since Ronaldo annoyed Alan Shearer and Frank Lampard among others by his active role in Rooney’s dismissal during England’s quarter-final defeat to Portugal in Gelsenkirchen, the winger began the lengthy process of building bridges with his team-mate, and with his club, whom he twice stated publicly he wanted to leave in favour of Real Madrid.

Rooney at least appears to be prepared to forgive and forget, with the striker apparently more concerned about getting back onto the pitch again.

After pestering Ferguson into giving him a game at Moss Rose, Rooney was also handed the honour of skippering United for the first time even though the visitors starting line-up included Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar.

The striker’s mere presence guaranteed a capacity crowd – and extra revenue of around £25,000 (€36,600) for the cash-strapped League Two outfit. And he rewarded those who came to see him with an inspired goal as United recorded a 2-1 win.

“Wayne produced some terrific moments,” said Ferguson. “He has scored a goal as well, so I’m very happy for him.”

Danny Swailes levelled for the hosts not long after Rooney’s strike, but United were not to be denied and Frazier Campbell netted the winner 17 minutes from time.

The victory was marred by a serious-looking injury to young midfielder David Jones who was taken to the local hospital for an X-ray on what appeared to be a broken arm.