The imminent (perhaps 'announced' by the time of reading) arrival of Dimitar Berbatov rectifies the only deficiency in Manchester United's squad. While his fee is excessive and perhaps as much as £10m above what United regard as a fair price, even at £28m the Bulgarian still represents value for money in the context that he plugs the one remaining gap in their arsenal.
The talking point should not be his price tag but why it has taken the Old Trafford hierarchy so long to finally address the shortage of strikers available to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Even during last season there was a suspicion that United's squad was a striker light and an injury to either Ronaldo or Rooney would expose a serious deficiency. Having won the treble in 1999 rotating four strikers, Ferguson cajoled United towards success in both the Champions League and Premier League using just three regular forwards - one of whom was a converted winger - and the ankle injury that Ronaldo then suffered was probably a consequence of the excessive burden placed upon him (between last August and the end of Euro 2008, Ronaldo featured in a total of 60 matches, starting all but a few).
Louis Saha's imminent departure is a contributing factor to the current shortage but it would be misleading to depict his loss as the cause considering the injury-prone Frenchman didn't appear post-March after losing Ferguson's confidence. Conversely, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's farewell three weeks ago shouldn't be glossed over because the Norwegian is precisely the type of fourth-striker cover that United's squad has lacked. Fraizer Campbell, recalled from a loan spell at Hull City, has a future but probably not at present so Ferguson's pursuit of another forward was inevitable.
The curiosity is that it has taken United so long to find the missing piece in their otherwise-completed jigsaw. With the operation on Ronaldo's ankle announced in June and Saha's departure long anticipated, Ferguson had ample time to realise - and stress to his own paymasters - that an ailment to either Tevez or Rooney would spell crisis.
Leaving the completion of the Berbatov deal until the final week of pre-season is a risk that should have been avoided weeks ago - not least because the Bulgarian would then have time to acclimatise to United's style and develop an understanding with Rooney and Tevez. It probably won't matter given their opponents are Newcastle, but the likelihood that United will start the season with Tevez as their only recognised and available striker smacks of recklessness if not complacency.
Yet now that Berbatov is on the verge of arriving, finding fault with United's squad is a task that should silence even the most delusional Liverpool supporter.
What other weaknesses existed last season have since been addressed by the long-awaited arrival of the Da Silva twins, Fabio and Rafael, and Ferguson's refusal to ratify the departures of Jonny Evans, Mikael Silvestre or the under-regarded Wes Brown. The retention of Brown and the fit-again Silvestre is worth emphasising because both players will act as cover at full-back as well as in the middle. Gerard Pique's return to Barcelona in June has thus become irrelevant.
Right-back is often termed United's 'problem position' but for Sir Alex the only difficulty will be identifying his first-choice option. Even if Gary Neville's injury woes continue, Ferguson will not be short of alternatives given the availability of Brown, John O'Shea, Owen Hargreaves and the promise of Rafael Da Silva. It is a telling indication of just how strong and deep the champions' squad is that Ferguson starts the season with as many as five different options to play on the right of his defence. How his peers must crave that sort of 'problematic' dilemma.
Ferguson faces another such selection quandary for the middle of his midfield once Anderson returns from the Olympics and Owen Hargreaves finally regains a semblance of satisfactory fitness. Once the Scot has picked two from Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Anderson and Hargreaves, he will then have to consider whether to select Nani or Giggs, Brown or Neville, Van der Sar or Foster, and, most probably, Tevez or Berbatov. And there's the matter of deciding upon a 4-4-2, a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-2-1.
What's a manager to do?
The only answer that can be given is that these are the questions which reveal why United are the champions and why the bookies expect them to retain their title for a third successive season.
All Bases Covered? How The Manchester United Squad Measures Up
Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar, Ben Foster, Tomasz Kuszczak.
Right-Back: Gary Neville, Rafael da Silva, John O'Shea.
Left-Back: Patrice Evra, Mikael Silvestre, Fabio da Silva.
Centre-Half: Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown.
Centre-Half: Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans.
Right-Midfield: Cristiano Ronaldo, Ji-sung Park.
Centre-Midfield: Michael Carrick, Anderson, Darren Fletcher.
Centre-Midfield: Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves.
Left-Midfield: Ryan Giggs, Nani.
Striker: Wayne Rooney, Fraizer Campbell, (Dimi Berbatov).
Striker: Carlos Tevez, Louis Saha, Manucho.
Pete Gill
The Forum's Official Manchester United Thread