Ferguson anticipates future spending spree for Man United

Sir Alex Feguson admits Manchester United may be forced to spend big in future campaigns to cope with the expected retirements of Old Trafford stalwarts.

The ageing Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will end their professional careers over the next couple of years, leaving the Red Devils with the difficult task of replacing three players who have played a privotal role throughout the Premier League era.

“There may be a time in the next couple of years where we have to stretch ourselves, particularly when Ryan, Paul and Gary retire,” said the 68-year-old.

“Then, it is a possibility we would need to get really top players in to galvanise the younger ones coming through.

“But at the moment we have the experience. We have players who have been through the whole gamut of emotions at this club and know how to deal with it.”

Manchester United signed Bebe, Chris Smalling and Javier Hernández for an accumulative fee of around £24 million this summer. However, United have shown noticeable restraint in the transfer market since the big name departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

“We are not at the point where we have to go overboard to get the best player in the world,” Ferguson explained. “There are enough really top players in the club at the moment.”