"In his year at West Ham, Tevez proved himself to be an absolutely top player," reflected Ferguson.
"Every time I saw him playing for West Ham last year, I thought to myself, I just wish we had done it last year.
"But there were too many complications at the time."
On the other new players.
"I think the four signings will be good ones," he said.
"We knew Hargreaves was going to happen for a long time. We hoped it would be last June, then January but we finally got it done in May.
"Nani and Anderson were quick decisions.
"We saw an opening regarding their contracts and weren't prepared to wait.
"Anderson broke his leg last year but if we had let him start the season after his broken leg, everyone would have been after him."