Sir Alex Ferguson is a reluctant mover in the new year sales, but with Manchester United scheduled to announce record profits next month, he will ask the Glazer family to back his team’s title challenge by stumping up the money for a new full back, with Philipp Lahm, of Bayern Munich, his ambitious top target.

Having irked Bayern during their protracted pursuit of Owen Hargreaves, United are circumspect about their chances of signing Lahm, particularly before the summer, but the 24-year-old is regarded by Ferguson as the ideal signing next month. He is equally comfortable on either flank, so he would offer high-quality cover for Patrice Evra at left back and would be a credible long-term successor to Gary Neville at right back, particularly because Wes Brown, who has deputised for the injured Neville for the past nine months, is running out of time to agree a new contract.

Reports in France yesterday suggested that Willy Sagnol, another Bayern full back, was a target for United, but sources at Old Trafford indicate it is Lahm who has caught Ferguson’s eye. United have yet to speak to Bayern about the player, but they intend to do so towards the end of the month if they feel a deal is plausible. Branislav Ivanovic, of Lokomotiv Moscow, is an alternative target and another whose versatility appeals to Ferguson.

United spent heavily in the summer, but the manager will ask the Glazers to loosen the purse strings again next month. It helps that United are preparing to announce record turnover for the financial year ending June 30. David Gill, the chief executive, predicted this year that United would achieve “dramatic growth” and the club are expected to announce record revenue of more than £200 million and profits of at least £60 million, with the Glazers enjoying significant increases in the club’s match-day and commercial revenue as they move towards their ambitious target of profits of £108.9 million by 2011.

These are sums that are likely to turn Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the Liverpool owners, green with envy, particularly after United’s 1-0 win at Anfield on Sunday, which preceded the board’s clear-the-air meeting with Rafael Benítez that evening. Those talks at Anfield went as well as could have been expected, but Benítez’s position in the long term remains insecure, with a vote of confidence from Gillett, speaking at a Liverpool Former Players’Association dinner on Sunday night, expressing regret at the damage done.

“This [the fallout with Benitez] wasn’t supposed to happen, but it has happened and now the focus has to be on finding a common platform to continue our co-operation,” Gillett said. “Rafa is the one we want as a manager further on and we have faith in him. I’ve been married over 40 years and have first-hand knowledge about how to solve an argument.”

On meeting Benítez’s desire for funds in the January transfer window, Gillett was more vague. “The window opens soon and we might use the option that gives us, or we might not,” he said.

The greater priority for Gillett and Hicks, if Liverpool are to challenge United’s financial supremacy in the long term, is to sort out the club’s bid to move to a new stadium in Stanley Park.

Rick Parry, the chief executive, confirmed yesterday that, because of the costs involved, the stadium will be a “slightly downgraded version” of the stunning designs revealed by a Texan company in July, but Liverpool have asked AFL, a British firm, to submit a new design with a 70,000 capacity.