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Fergie won't spend unless top targets are available

Sir Alex Ferguson admits he was forced to reveal all about Darren Fletcher's health problems © Getty Images

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Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out a knee-jerk reaction signing to fill the hole left by Darren Fletcher, insisting he will only dip into the market if a previous target becomes available.

Manchester United recently announced that Fletcher will take a break from football to deal with long-term health concerns. The Scotland international joins Tom Cleverley and Anderson on the sidelines.

The absent trio leave United light for midfield options going into a busy Christmas period, and it has been speculated that Ferguson will need to buy to bolster his options.

However, Ferguson insists he will only spend significant amounts of money if he can lure one of the players he has been following for a while. Such a comment suggests he will stay dormant unless the likes of Wesley Sneijder or Luka Modric can be tempted from their current employers.

Asked if there would be new arrivals in January, Ferguson said: "Not necessarily. I don't know why people keep going on about it. [I won't buy] unless someone appears we have always been interested in, but there isn't."

Ferguson also explained that the club were forced to reveal details of Fletcher's illness, after investigators began to discover that his absence was being caused by something more serious than a mere virus.

"That was the big decision," Ferguson said. "It got to the point where we had to address it in a different way. We spoke about a virus to protect Darren but it got to the point people were delving. It was getting uncomfortable so we decided to make it public."

Dimitar Berbatov returns from an ankle problem to strengthen United's attacking options for the trip to QPR this weekend. Highly-rated youngster Paul Pogba could also be in contention for an appearance.

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