Manchester United to make no more signings this summer says David Gill

Despite banking £80m by selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid two months ago, United have so far spent only £20m on new faces having paid £17m for Wigan midfielder Antonio Valencia and £3m for Bordeaux winger Gabriel Obertan, with Michael Owen arriving on a free transfer. United manager Ferguson claimed last month that the club had no intention of paying inflated prices in a market dominated by the seemingly limitless funds of Manchester City and Real Madrid. A move for Lyon forward Karim Benzema, Ferguson's number one summer target, was aborted when Real entry into the race pushed the player's price tag beyond the £35m mark. And Gill insists that United are happy with their squad after backing Ferguson's stance on the unlikely possibility of further recruitment between now and the closure of the transfer window in 20 days' time. Gill said: "We're pleased at the moment with the squad we have and a number of young boys are coming through. We have high hopes for Federico Macheda and Danny Welbeck. "We've also bought in Valencia, Obertan and Mame Diouf from Molde. He will join up with us in January. "That's where we're at, although it's worth reiterating that people should trust Sir Alex when it comes to what the squad needs. Just because we have a lot of money in the bank, it doesn't mean we have to spend it. "Do I see things the same as the manager? Very much so. We are not in the market for paying a lot of money for players who are 27, 28 or 29. "We don't think it's good value. That would be their last contract and at the end of that contract they won't be worth a lot of money, but we're happy to pay significant sums of money for players up to the age of about 25." Ferguson has admitted that United must alter their style of play following the sale of Ronaldo, who scored 68 goals in his last two seasons at Old Trafford. United have already been paid the full lump sum of £80m for Ronaldo, contrary to the usual format of fees being paid in instalments over the length of contract, but Gill insists the one-off payment was a key criteria to the deal being struck with Real. He said: "We insisted on that and we felt it was appropriate, especially given that we didn't want to sell Cristiano – he wanted to go. We felt we had a strong negotiating position. "And given what was going on in the financial world at the time, I much preferred getting the money up front as opposed to worrying about bank guarantees."

Source: Telegraph

---