Fergie gets his dream ticket as Carlos inserts the final piece into Euro jigsaw

Manager Ferguson and his assistant Carlos Queiroz have devised a new system of play over a summer that has already seen United invest £75million in their bid to retain the Premiership and conquer Europe for the first time since 1999.

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Having toyed with the idea of buying the target man they lost when Ruud van Nistelrooy moved to Real Madrid last summer, United will instead place their faith in a 4-3-2-1 system that has Rooney, 21, as its spearhead with Tevez, 23, supporting from the left and Ronaldo, 22, from the right.

Ferguson continues to contemplate a move for a traditional centre-forward — such as Bolton's Nicolas Anelka or Blackburn's Benni McCarthy — and may be given licence to buy one if he can shift the likes of Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson, Gabriel Heinze and Mikael Silvestre from his bulging first-team squad.

But regardless of this, United will build their attacking play around the Tevez/Rooney/Ronaldo triumvirate that will be in place once the Argentina forward completes his transfer in the coming days.

With a supporting cast of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Louis Saha and newcomers Nani and Anderson also on the United roster, it is difficult to remember a time when any English club were blessed with so much attacking talent.

Is this the emergence of the new Galacticos? Ferguson will certainly not pursue entertainment and goals at the expense of defensive security — as Real Madrid did at the start of the decade — but the comparison with the Spanish club's merging of Ronaldo (the Brazilian one), Zinedine Zidane, Raul, Luis Figo and David Beckham is pertinent.

Tevez's compatriot Ossie Ardiles was still digesting the sensational news of United's latest capture when contacted at his Hertfordshire home by Sportsmail yesterday but was in no doubt that Tevez will take the Premiership champions to the next level.

Former Tottenham star Ardiles said: "Tevez is a wonderful player. He was the saviour of West Ham last season and now could be the man who will make United even greater champions than they already are.

"People expected him to be amazing straightaway when he joined West Ham but it took him a while to settle. Once he did he was amazing. So imagine what he could do in a great team like United. He will be truly sensational for them.

"This is the type of team he wants to play for. Like Brazil's Corinthians were, United are a team that will give him the great stage that he craves. He will be a success very quickly, there is no doubt about that.

"It will not be a problem that United have assembled so many small, skilful players. He will fit in. He will be the conductor of the orchestra.

"People talk about United not really having a tall player but I'm sure that Sir Alex knows what he is doing. He won't worry about that.

"There is clearly a philosophy that he is following at the club and Tevez will be a part of that."

Though less than half the £75m outlay scheduled for Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson and now Tevez is due to be paid up front, United's ambition and decisiveness in the transfer market this summer has been impressive.

It is clear that the roles of Portugal winger Nani and Brazil's Anderson will be restricted as they settle into life at United in their first season and that Hargreaves job will be as central as theirs may be peripheral.

With so many expansive players, there will be an onus on Hargreaves to shield his back four while the likes of Tevez and Rooney will be required to further their reputations for making defensive contributions.

Ardiles said: "Tevez is like Rooney in some ways. Not just in terms of skill but in terms of hard work. He will play non-stop for 90 minutes and is a real worker. Just like Rooney.

"He will chase back when United don't have the ball and make life very difficult for the opposition. He'll do that as soon as the other team have the ball.

"When you play with big players you will only improve so I'm sure that Tevez will make the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo even better.

"The pressure on those players will be slightly less now Tevez is around. It means that if they are not at their absolute best every day there will be somebody else to win the game.

"United are the champions and now they can get even better. What a frightening but exciting thought. It will be very hard for the other teams now."