Tuesday 26 July 2011

Manchester United chief executive David Gill: We are looking to sign one more player

Despite Ferguson claiming his spending was done, Gill reveals that United are interested in filling one more position in the squad, with two or three players on their wishlist


Manchester United chief executive David Gill has revealed that the club are looking to sign one more player this summer.


United have already strengthened heavily since winning the Premier League in May, spending around £50 million on David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young, and speculation has been rife that the Old Trafford club are interested in Inter's Wesley Sneijder and Arsenal's Samir Nasri.

And despite manager Sir Alex Ferguson claiming yesterday his summer spending was done, Gill stated that United are still interested in signing one more player.


"Yeah, we knew that [it would be busy]," Gill told MUTV. "Edwin [van der Sar] made it known that last season would be his last so we had planned for a new goalkeeper well in advance. With the others [Jones and Young], the opportunities came along and we were comfortable with that. So we've made three signings.

"We're looking at one more player to bring in. Nothing's happening - nothing imminent - on that at the moment, but we'll see what happens when we get home [from the tour of America].There'll be 31 days of the transfer window to see if anything develops. But I'm not working on anything at the moment, in that respect."

Gill added that while nothing is happening at the moment, the club could sign someone soon, but only if that player is a world-class acquisition. "We've been looking at a particular position and two or three players in that position, but nothing's imminent at the moment," he said. The important thing to understand, and Alex has made it clear, is that we need someone who's going to improve the quality of the squad.

"We've got a great squad and to get into that squad you need to be a world-class player. There's no point, if you can't get the players you want, in buying someone for the sake of buying someone. But you never know - there's often movement in August. I'm not sitting here saying I'm working on anything because I'm not, but that situation could change quickly when we get back to Carrington [the club's training ground]."

Friendly Match Vs MLS All-Stars [Preview and Live Stream]

United tackle the best the MLS have to offer in the star-studded fixture...





Form guide

MLS All-Stars had only lost on penalties to Everton in five exhibition matches against British teams before United rolled into town last year. Sir Alex's side inflicted a 5-2 defeat in Houston which will be extremely difficult to match this time around. Nonetheless, United have won all three of this year's tour games after coming from behind to sink Chicago Fire at the weekend.

Ins and outs

LA Galaxy ace Landon Donovan is set to miss out with a calf injury while Hans Backe has a choice between Kasey Keller and Faryd Mondragon in goal. Ex-Red David Beckham skippers the side. Javier Hernandez will not be thrown in by Sir Alex despite linking up with the rest of the squad but the manager has healthy competition for places ahead of selecting his XI. In attack alone, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Mame Biram Diouf are all competing for a start.

Last meeting

United's 5-2 victory at the Reliant Stadium in 2010 came courtesy of goals from Federico Macheda (2), Tom Cleverley, Darron Gibson and Javier Hernandez. Italian hitman Macheda won the 'MVP' award for his two-goal display.

Top man

Beckham may still be the pass master and a United favourite but Thierry Henry could prove to be the biggest threat to the United defence. The Frenchman caused plenty of problems for the Reds in his Arsenal days and, even though he is 34 next month, but we've had a full squad here. We've trained well and, during the games, played some good stuff. Basically, it's all about getting the fitness work in to try and prepare for the upcoming season." - Wayne Rooney.

Any sub-plots?

Beckham is rightly adored by the United faithful and will enjoy playing against his former team again. Some romantics would dearly love him back at Old Trafford after he vowed never to represent another English club but he looks set for another couple of years in the MLS.

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