Paul Scholes believes Louis van Gaal will have to omit Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie or Radamel Falcao after declaring that he does not see how all three can play in the same Manchester United team.
- Payne: United's spending spree harms their academy hopes
- Mitten: Departures highlight human element of transfers
- Patterson: Focus on attack papers over cracks
Former United player and coach Scholes, who stands third in the club's all-time appearance list with 718 games, believes the club's 153 million-pound summer spending spree gives them a squad capable of finishing in the top four.
But he thinks that manager Van Gaal will have to choose between his three big-name strikers after Colombia international Falcao -- who cost Monaco 60 million euros a year ago -- arrived at Old Trafford on a season-long loan deal on deadline day.
Rooney has been appointed United captain by Van Gaal while Van Persie skippered his Netherlands team who came third in the World Cup, but Scholes wrote in his Independent column: "When I watched Radamel Falcao play for Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco I saw a striker with excellent movement and a goalscoring record that is simply out of this world.
"Falcao creates competition in United's forward line. There is no way that Louis van Gaal can play Rooney, Robin van Persie and Falcao together. It will have to be two from three and which two it is hard to say as yet."
United also signed Angel Di Maria, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw this season, and Scholes believes they now have a group of players who are capable of qualifying for Europe's premier club competition again.
"Credit has to go to [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward, who has left Van Gaal a squad that should be capable of finishing in the top four," he continued. "I don't think the league title is realistic but Champions League football is the aim. Now it is over to Van Gaal to shape the team."
United sold Danny Welbeck to Arsenal for 16 million pounds on deadline day, though Scholes said he felt the striker could have stayed at Old Trafford for a further five years.
Yet he warned the Gunners that their new forward -- who netted 29 in 142 appearances for United -- is never likely to score 20 goals a season.
"Naturally, I was sad, as a United fan, to see Welbeck leave this week," he added. "My feeling was that if he could have got through this transfer window and stayed at the club he could have been a part of United's future over the next few years.
"It shows how highly regarded Danny is that a club as big as Arsenal signed him. He will be a good signing for Arsene Wenger. Danny will never be a 20-25 goals-a-season man but he could get Arsenal 10 to 15."