Sir Alex Ferguson's need for a new striker has been exacerbated by the news that Ruud van Nistelrooy may be out until early October. Originally expected to be back from a hernia operation in the next three weeks, Van Nistelrooy's diagnosis has been revised to twice that length, prompting Ferguson to widen his search for another high-calibre forward.
Ideally his first choice would be Wayne Rooney but Ferguson is acutely aware he might have to lower his sights because of the financial implications in trying to lure the England player from Everton. So the deposed champions are considering recruiting a foreign striker, possibly on loan while Van Nistelrooy is unavailable. Rooney remains a target but a move is unlikely to be imminent.
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer out for the season and Louis Saha for at least three weeks, Ferguson had hardly touched down in Romania for tonight's Champions League qualifier with Dinamo Bucharest before indicating he would instigate talks with the club's chief executive David Gill about the release of transfer funds.
Ferguson said they were "going to have to take stock of the situation" regarding his strikers but whether significant money is made available will depend, first and foremost, on how United fare over two legs against the 14-times Romanian champions.
Qualifying for Europe's premier competition would guarantee at least £15m in revenue and on that basis alone Ferguson and his weakened squad, with nine players missing through injury, suspension or international call- ups, cannot afford any slip-ups tonight.
Ferguson has described this close season as the most problematic in his time at United. But the biggest difficulty facing United might not be Dinamo's ability but the sub-standard pitch. Last night they trained elsewhere because of an electrical storm and Ferguson did not want the surface to be made any worse.
"We should be good enough to get through but you can always have these stumbles," said Ferguson. "Remember what happened in Budapest when we controlled the whole game and lost to a last-minute goal. This team could do that to us as well." He was referring to two seasons ago when United lost 1-0 to Zalaegerszegi.
One reason for optimism is the impressive pre-season form of Alan Smith, who is likely to play an even more prominent role now that Solskjaer's damaged right knee will consign the Norwegian to a year-long rehabilitation programme. Ferguson said: "Alan's revelling in being at a new club and I can't speak highly enough about how he has settled in; he's been a revelation."
Of Solskjaer he added: "It's a terrible blow for the lad. When a player is 31 and ruled out of the game for a year it is a fear. But Lothar Matthäus was 33 when he ruptured his cruciate knee ligaments, he got up at 4am every day to get fit and played until the age of 36. In that respect he can be an inspiration for Ole and hopefully he will make a comeback.
Dinamo Bucharest (3-4-1-2, possible): Gaev; Ciobotariu, Alistar, Iordache; Irimia, Tames, Margaritescu, Semeghin; Petre; Niculescu, Danciulescu.
Manchester United (4-4-1-1, possible): Howard; P Neville, G Neville, Silvestre, O'Shea; Fletcher, Keane, Djemba-Djemba, Giggs; Scholes; Smith.
