Tosic gives Fergie wing options

Rooney has frequently found himself shunted into the winger's role as Ferguson looks to bring more balance to his Manchester United side, but the Scot has told Rooney to operate in a more advanced role this term, a move that has brought more consistency from the England star.

Ferguson said: "There is no harm in having three or four wide players given the pace of our game. We don't consider Ryan (Giggs) a wide player now, which leaves us with Park Ji-sung, Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo. We have tried Wayne Rooney there and we played Darren Fletcher wide right. But in terms of natural width Zoran is a natural."

Tosic is part of a double capture from Partizan Belgrade that has also seen the arrival of Adem Ljajic in a deal that could eventually cost £17million.

Ferguson confirmed it marks the beginning and the end of United's January transfer business.

While 17-year-old Ljajic will remain in Serbia for another 12 months to continue his development, Tosic has had his work permit granted is already training with his new team-mates.

As Tosic has not played a competitive game since December 10, Ferguson feels it will be at least a month before the winger is ready to make his senior debut.

However, the United chief does feel the 21-year-old has the ability to muscle his way into his plans quite quickly given the outstanding form that has earned him 12 international caps.

"The boy has some very good attributes," said Ferguson. "He has a good understanding of the game itself and a decent goalscoring record.

"He has scored quite a few goals from free-kicks as well, so we just need to give him time to develop."