Manchester United need to sign five players this summer to be able to challenge for the Premier League title, believes club legend Gary Neville.
It has been an uneventful transfer window so far for the Red Devils, with Odion Ighalo extending his loan deal the only move officially completed thus far, although Donny van de Beek will finalise a £40m transfer from Ajax imminently.
The Dutch midfielder will fill one of the holes that Neville feels remains in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad, but there are still four more positions that require improvement and the former England defender says it is ‘frustrating’ that signings have not been made yet.
Neville has picked out the right wing, central defence, left-back and centre-forward as positions as areas in which United are still lacking quality.
‘The Manchester United squad, as it stands today, cannot challenge for the Premier League title this season,’ Neville told Sky Sports.
‘The squad needed four or five improvements and it still needs four or five improvements. I’ve been saying that for a year and I’ve even nominated the positions I feel they need to improve.
‘They have to sign a world class centre-back. For me, another midfield player. I also think a right winger, a centre-forward and you have to look at left-back because of Luke Shaw’s injuries and the fact he has obviously been in and out of the team in the last two or three years.
‘So, I think there are definitely four or five players required and to not get three, I think it would be a problem because of what the other clubs are doing.’
It has been a quiet transfer window so far, unsurprisingly given the global pandemic and the unusual economic and structural situation at the moment in the Premier League.
However, Neville believes United’s rivals are all moving in the right direction and the Red Devils must keep up. Chelsea have already signed Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell this summer while Manchester City are heavily linked with Lionel Messi, which would really pile the pressure on their local rivals.
‘If Liverpool get Thiago [Alcantara], if Manchester City do what they are looking like they are going to do and with Chelsea doing what they’ve done, they are your competitors and they all look like they are improving and moving forward,’ said Neville.
‘So, United have to do business but I do believe more in the strategy of what’s happening, they just have to get the deals over the line.
‘That’s not always easy but they have to try and do it quickly to give Ole the time to build to get this team moulded for the start of the season.’
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