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Ferguson has funds for one big-name player - Gill

Sir Alex Ferguson has money at his disposal © Getty Images

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Manchester United chief executive David Gill has insisted that manager Sir Alex Ferguson has the funds to sign one world-class player - but has blamed "a lack of value in the market" for United's inactivity throughout the summer transfer window.

The Reds have spent a combined total of £20 million on Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez but are yet to make the marquee signing that many United fans crave. But Gill hinted that United could yet make one big signing before the window closes on August 31.

Wesley Sneijder and Mesut Ozil have been linked with moves to the club as Ferguson seeks a long-term replacement for Paul Scholes, but the manager is yet to find a player available at a reasonable price. This is despite Ozil reportedly being available for as low as £10 million, given that he has just a year left to run on his current deal with Werder Bremen.

"The money is there if we believe there is a player who can improve what we believe is a very good squad," Gill said. "The team has been together for a number of years and done very well. In order to improve it a player has to be of a very high quality."

"We are always looking at players. We are looking 365 days a year - it doesn't just start when the transfer window opens. We are looking at it. We studied a lot of players at the World Cup, but we knew about a lot of them before that.

"Overall I think Sir Alex is very comfortable with the squad composition. That's not to say something won't happen, but I think it is a 'might', not a 'will'. We will see what happens over the next six weeks."

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