Who will replace Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez?

UNDOUBTEDLY, the most significant event of Alex Ferguson's annual three-week break in the south of France was sanctioning the ??pounds;80 million ($190m) sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

Then came the loss of Carlos Tevez, who will not be extending his stay at Old Trafford.

Now Fergie has the problem of turning the departure of two key players into a positive story for the fans to swallow.

Never mind if the Argentina ace was not worth the money United were being asked to spend to secure his services on a permanent basis, or that Ronaldo's theatrics will not be missed by many.

Fergie needs some significant additions to the squad, especially with neighbours Manchester City flashing the cash in the transfer market.

After last season's transfer talk over Ronaldo, it was a definite possibility that the Portuguese winger would be on his way, so a contingency plan would no doubt have been drawn up.

A move for Wigan's Antonio Valencia was always likely and the final touches are now being put to a deal that will set United back around ??pounds;16m.

However, it might be too much to ask a player who scored just three Premier League goals last season to replace a player of Ronaldo's significant abilities, especially in front of goal, as was evidenced by his performance at the JJB Stadium in May when the Ecuador flyer missed a sitter in the defeat to United.

The better bet is Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, who was supposed to move to Old Trafford when Ronaldo moved to the Bernabeu, if statements from Bayern are to be believed.

The replacement of Tevez is more sudden, but Karim Benzema has been touted as a potential replacement while Klaas Jan Huntelaar is another option, but the Dutchman is more of a Ruud van Nistelrooy-type figure and Ferguson appears to be building his teams in a different way.

How to stay ahead of the rest?

IT IS unlikely any of the above questions will phase the United boss.

After nearly 23 years at the Red Devils helm he is beyond that. He is probably not even concerned by what is happening at City. Of more concern to him will be keeping ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal to seal an unprecedented fourth successive league title.

He will also be concerned about reaching a third Champions League final in succession to show United are a better side than the one beaten so clinically by Barcelona in Rome. And if Ferguson reaches 1 Sep with Valencia still his only new face, more than a few United fans will be slightly concerned of how he will achieve these ultimate aims. -- PA Sport. How to convince his targets to move to Old Trafford?

IT IS by no means certain Ribery will leave Munich this off-season, and even less so to Old Trafford with Real looking to hijack the move and Bayern's hard-bargaining stance not helping United's cause.

Benzema is also proving elusive, suggesting he would prefer to go elsewhere, and even then in a year's time.

If Fergie wants them, he might need to approach both players personally to engineer a move, in much the same way he did with Dimitar Berbatov last year.

Phasing out the old guns, bedding in the fledglings

AT THE back of Ferguson's mind will surely be the knowledge that Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar will all be preparing for what is expected to be their final seasons of top-flight action, with Gary Neville not far behind.

A year ago, it looked like their replacements were all ready.

But doubts have since emerged over Nani (poor form), Anderson (over-run in the Champions League final) and Ben Foster (injury).

That leaves Ferguson with more big decisions to make, especially as further question marks exist over Owen Hargreaves, who is hoping to return from two years wrecked by a tendinitis problem, and record signing Dimitar Berbatov, who was so inconsistent in his debut season.

How to get the best out of Wayne Rooney?

WITHOUT Ronaldo and Tevez, much of United's attacking thrust will come from Rooney.

It came as no surprise to learn Rooney felt Ronaldo's astonishing world-record transfer in particular could work to his advantage.

Most observers feel the same, but in order for Fergie to get the best out of him the United manager may have to accede to the striker's wishes and play the England man in his favourite position - up front.