• Ferguson gives new striker Ronaldo’s shirt number
• Owen will line up alongside Rooney and Berbatov

Sir Alex Ferguson has handed Michael Owen the prized Manchester United No7 shirt. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Newcastle United striker will take over Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt and his place in an attacking line-up containing Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.

The United youngsters Daniel Welbeck and Federico Macheda will both be given a chance to prove they are worthy of the accolades that have been bestowed on them. “They are both young players – but young players with ability always get a chance here,” said Ferguson.

The United manager confirmed he made a bid for Karim Benzema, only to be rebuffed by the Lyon forward, who instead became part of Real Madrid’s extraordinary spending spree.

With a world record £80m burning a hole in his pocket following the sale of Ronaldo, United had the funds to compete. But Ferguson refuses to be drawn into a bidding war for any player beyond the level he thinks is acceptable. He has already recruited Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan in addition to Owen.

“There are some amazing numbers being talked about, not all of them realistic,” Ferguson said. “It is very difficult to get value now. In a way we benefited through the sale of Cristiano, although that figure was non-negotiable.

“But I feel we have a good squad, which meant there was no need for knee-jerk reactions. We asked about Benzema and we had a value for him. Lyon have done well because they got €42m [£36.3m] but I think we took a sensible view.”