Hargreaves to disrupt Midfield next Season

In his tenure at Manchester United Sir Alex Ferguson has built one of the best football clubs in the world. Ups and downs occurred along the way but under Sir Alex the good far outweighs the bad. United look poised for another league title and are in the hunt for the Champions League title. This looks to be another good year for the Red Devils. Sir Alex's problem is going to be trying to meet his own lofty standards next season.

The season is not yet complete but rumours abound as to which of United's key players are going to return next season. Tevez wants more first team football, Ronaldo looks poised to join Real Madrid, and Berbatov is an enigma at best. If all three of these players move on then Sir Alex's judge of talent will be tested.

The wild card in the United midfield will be Owen Hargreaves. If Sir Alex can wave his magic wand and get a full season out of Hargreaves at his best then things get much easier. This scenario is very unlikely, therefore, Ferguson will have to buy at least one quality central midfielder. Once again, with the debt United has amassed, will the money be available?

Since it is unlikely that Ferguson will have the funds necessary to buy enough high profile players to fill out the squad as he would prefer, this coming summer transfer window will be a showcase for his scouting team and Sir Alex's eye for talent. The United squad is delicately poised at the moment. The players that come in will have to be able to hit the ground running and the players who had sub par seasons will have to turn things around if United is to maintain it's current dominance. If the transfers start slow and players like Nani and Anderson don't step up and play consistently well, United could find themselves fighting the likes of Everton to stay in the "top four".