Boss hails new free-kick expert

Sir Alex Ferguson is excited by new signing Zoran Tosic's free-kick ability and can't wait to have 4 natural wingers at his disposal.

The United boss hinted that Tosic's arrival from Partizan Belgrade will also mean he won't have to call on Wayne Rooney or Darren Fletcher to fulfil wide roles in the future.

Ferguson hopes the Serb will give him all the options he needs out wide alongside the likes of Park Ji-sung, Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"There is no harm in having three or four wide players given the pace of our game," he said.

"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's reputation as a free-kick taker has also caught the manager's eye as he has been looking for a left-footed option to compliment the right-footed Cristiano Ronaldo when situations arise on the edge of the box.

"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."

Ferguson does not expect Tosic, who could cost up to £16million in a double deal with Partizan team-mate Adam Ljajic, to make his debut until February.

"We'll give him time. He's not played since 10th December so he'll need time to adjust and get used to the tempo of our game and also the training," he said.