Sir Alex Ferguson is targeting another ‘two or three’ players to maintain Manchester United’s position at the top of the Premiership, although Owen Hargreaves, whose move to Old Trafford was thought to be a foregone conclusion, may not be among them.

It seems the newly crowned champions have been put off by the size of the fee demanded by Bayern Munich, who want £20 million for the England midfielder.

That price may be forced down as Hargreaves wants the move to Manchester and Bayern have failed to qualify for the Champions League, an arena where Ferguson badly wants to do well.

“Hargreaves would give us an alternative; maybe we should play three in midfield because our away form in Europe is not good enough,” he said.

“The real competition comes when you pay £27 million for Michael Essien. Chelsea can do that. We are trying to identify players as quietly as we can and do the deals as quickly as we can.

“I think this team will get better and, if they stay together, it will give them a real chance. We have three, maybe two, targets. But there is competition for the best players and, if there is competition, they cost.”

Chelsea’s players will form a guard of honour for Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, just as United did when Jose Mourinho’s side came to Old Trafford in May 2005 as champions.

“I am pleased with that,” said Ferguson. “Jose was very complimentary in his post-match interviews and I expected that. I am sure he understands that winning and losing are twins and you have to deal with them in the right way, the same way.”