Sir Alex Ferguson admits he still regrets not landing Owen Hargreaves this summer.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admits he still regrets not landing Owen Hargreaves this summer.The Red Devils targeted the Bayern Munich midfielder throughout the close season, as they look to end Chelsea's recent dominance in The Premiership.
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.
