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By Neil Maidment
LONDON, July 23 (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said Luiz Felipe Scolari's Chelsea squad has already peaked with the new Premier League season less than a month away.
Scolari, 59, has inherited a squad brimming with experienced internationals, but with nine of them 30-years-old or over, including new signing Deco, Ferguson believes there is little room for improvement.
"Maybe they've plateaued in a way. How can they accelerate beyond what they've done up to now when you see the ages they've got?," Ferguson was quoted as saying in The Times on Wednesday.
The average age of United's first-team squad is 25.4 compared to Chelsea's 27.3 and United, League and Champions League double winners last season, only have five players over 30.
"I'm not saying necessarily they're (an) old (team) because with the modern-day training methods, you should be playing into your thirties, but I don't see outstanding progress in a team that's in their thirties," Ferguson added.
Other than John Obi Mikel, 21, and Salomon Kalou, 22, Chelsea have no established first-team players under 25, while United have Anderson, Carlos Tevez, Darren Fletcher, Nani, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo within their ranks.
United are currently touring South Africa while Chelsea are on a tour of Asia. The title rivals meet at Stamford Bridge on September 21.
