Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed reports linking the club with Bayern Munich’s Michael Ballack.

Ballack is out of contract in the summer and United have been linked with the captain of Germany.

However, Ferguson, who is keen to strengthen his squad in January, believes that Ballack is not the type of player he is looking for.

“He’s a great player and we have considered it and have had discussions with his people.

“But he is similar to players who play in that position already like Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes.”

“We want to target players in other positions.

“The biggest problem for us is numbers. We have been operating with a lot of young players in the team and we badly need a stronger squad.

“That is why we are targeting a couple of other positions.”