Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he still
regrets not landing Owen Hargreaves this summer.
Despite Hargreaves claiming he would be keen on a move to Old
Trafford, the Bundesliga champions resisted United's offers and
have held onto him at the Allianz Arena.
The 25-year-old has suffered a broken leg since, but Ferguson still
insists the acquisition of the Canadian-born player would provide
him with a full complement of midfielders in his squad.
"If we had got Owen Hargreaves it would have given us a complete
variation of the type of midfield players you need in the modern
game," Ferguson told the League Managers' website.
"We focused on Michael Carrick and Owen right away. We got one and
didn't get the other.
"We are disappointed we didn't get Owen but we have people like
Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea developing. Paul Scholes has also
returned, Ryan Giggs is showing his maturity and experience, which
is helping everyone and you also have a younger player like Kieran
Richardson."
But the fiery Scotsman also paid tribute to another of his
midfielders, Park Ji-sung.
The energetic South Korean is currently out of action with ankle
ligament damage and Ferguson says it has been a big loss for his
squad.
"Ji-sung is probably one of the most under-rated players I have
ever had at this club," the boss added.
"The players love him, even all the staff say 'you can't leave Park
Ji-sung out of your team'. He has become a very important
player."
Ferguson, now nearing his 20th anniversary at the United helm, will
hope his team can continue their stellar start to the season
against arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
