Their prodigious talent is reflected in a combined cost of
£31million, but Nani and Anderson have been warned they can expect
to spend most of the coming season warming the bench at Old
Trafford. After stunning his Premiership rivals with the most
spectacular transfer coup of the summer, Sir Alex Ferguson was
thought to have earmarked his two expensive newcomers for key roles
in Manchester United's title defence.
But assistant Carlos Queiroz provided an insight into the United
manager's capacity for forward planning by revealing: "Sir Alex is
looking at the next decade rather than just next season and he sees
Nani and Anderson as part of the long-term future. It will be at
least a year before they can consider themselves regular
first-teamers.
Manager Ferguson admitted to having monitored Nani's emergence
since raiding Sporting Lisbon for Cristiano Ronaldo, while £14m
Anderson is seen as a natural successor to Paul Scholes as the
attacking midfielder with an eye for goal.
Even at an overall outlay of £31m, though, he will not expose
either to the demands of the Premiership until he is convinced they
are ready. Asked about £17m winger Nani and Brazilian Anderson, in
an interview with Portuguese paper A Bola, Queiroz said: "They are
both incredibly talented, but nobody should expect too much too
soon. For now, they are not in our plans for the basis of the team.
If you are talking about the starting line-up, don't expect them to
figure too much this coming season.
"Perhaps in the 2008-09 season they will start coming into their
own. Owen Hargreaves is different. He is more experienced and was a
necessity for a particular role in midfield. "But these two are
young and we are happy to give them time to grow up in their new
surroundings and develop an understanding of Manchester United's
culture and mentality. That won't happen overnight. "We are
steadily collecting a group of players who can serve this club and
keep it successful for the next 10 years."
Queiroz is tipping Liverpool. Arsenal, Tottenham and even Newcastle
to add a competitive edge to the title race but is confident United
can not only repeat last season's triumph, but do it in style. He
said: "Liverpool and Arsenal are looking strong, and Tottenham and
Newcastle will be difficult to beat. But we will approach the
Premiership in the same way as always. Winning is crucial but is
not enough on its own. "We like to put on a show, win games with a
flourish and we will be doing our utmost to be creative and stylish
again."