Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he failed in a deadline-day move to resurrect a deal to sign Marcos Senna from Villarreal.

Senna had been placed at the top of Ferguson's hit-list as the Manchester United boss looked to strengthen his midfield in the summer. However, with his attempt to land Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich getting tantalisingly close, Ferguson told Senna and his club he could not push through a proposed transfer for the 30-year-old.

Ferguson told United Review: "We did work very hard on trying to bring Owen Hargreaves to Old Trafford, right up to the day the transfer window closed. Similarly, we made another late bid for Marcos Senna at Villarreal, but you cannot force clubs to sell and so we open our campaign with what we have got."