Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed his frustration at Manchester United's failure to land any of their transfer targets so far this summer, stating that the club must strengthen the squad to remain at the top.
United's only signing during the close-season has been £19 million striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, a deal that had already been effectively agreed a year before.
The signs are that Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastien Veron is on the verge of joining the Premiership champions from Lazio for £23 million but Ferguson is still eager to bring in more world class players for his final season at the helm.
"This is a very important summer for Manchester United," said the Scot.
"I made the point at the end of the season that we needed to bring in a number of top quality players and many of the players here have said the same themselves.
"It would be a real kick in the teeth for our fans, the players and everyone else here if we didn't succeed in buying a couple of top quality players."
The United boss believes that the club must bring in the star names to keep the fans happy, especially with it being Peter Kenyon's first year in charge of the purse strings.
"This is also an important summer for Peter Kenyon," Ferguson added.
"It is his first close-season in the transfer market since he got the job last year and it is his first chance to let the United fans see that he is trying his best.
"They will be waiting with baited breath to see what happens and there will be real disappointment for everyone if nothing happens."
Ferguson was keen to capture French defenders Lilian Thuram and Bixente Lizarazu, as well as showing an interest in the their unsettled countryman Patrick Vieira and Newcastle United's young midfield dynamo Kieron Dyer.
Thuram chose to join Juventus while Lizarazu appears to be happy at Bayern Munich for the time being, as Dyer does with the Magpies, and with Arsenal likely to do everything in their power to prevent Vieira from joining their fiercest rivals, United's overtures have proved to be fruitless thus far.
Ferguson insists that the team needs new faces to keep things fresh in the Old Trafford dressing room.
"As a group they still take a hell of a lot of beating but there comes a point where that stops and you have to go on from there," he explained.
"They need a new challenge, and they need new and big-name players in the dressing room to provide that, otherwise it could be very difficult for the players in the new season."
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