Without Benzema on board, the first-choice strikers for next season will be Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, so any new signing would either have to be better than them both – names, please – or that rare breed of footballer who will not kick up a stink if he’s used primarily as an impact substitute.

In Owen, United would appear to have found that middle ground: a player who brings much but asks little. Yes, there have been plenty of injuries. But he was rushed back far too often during his time at Newcastle, such was his importance to their increasingly desperate cause. At United he can take his time and iron out any niggles. Should he be injured and then be joined on the sidelines by either Rooney or Berbatov, then Sir Alex can call on Danny Welbeck or Kiko Macheda.

And how those two young bucks will benefit from training alongside Owen. Not only can they call on coaching from Reserves boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, they can now train alongside Michael Owen – and is there a better finishing school around than learning from those two?

As for Owen’s motivations, he has a chance to resurrect a once glittering career in which he became famed as England’s finest goal-poacher since Jimmy Greaves. He has another crack at the Champions League and can play his way back into the England set-up in World Cup year. Surrounded by better players and playing alongside a more potent supply line, he can still improve. It’s not even a case of teaching an old dog new tricks, since he’s still the right side of 30.

There are naysayers among supporters and the media, which is inevitable with an injury-prone former Liverpool striker who hasn’t enjoyed a memorable, prolific season in four years.

The crux of any gripes with United’s summer would appear to lie