Gary Neville believes Ruben Amorim can rely on Bruno Fernandes and just one other Manchester United star as the club prepares for a huge summer, while Alan Shearer has named three signings that must be made.
Man Utd hit a new low in the Premier League on Sunday as they were beaten 4-1 by Newcastle United at St James’ Park. The defeat – Man Utd’s 14th in the league this term – means the 2024-25 campaign will officially be their worst in the Premier League era.
United can only reach 56 points, two less than their previous lowest tally, which was the 58 they gained in the 2021-22 season.
Newcastle have also completed the league double over the Red Devils for the first time since 1931.
United’s season rests on the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash with Lyon on Thursday at Old Trafford. Joshua Zirkzee thought he had won the first leg for United in France, only for a second Andre Onana error on the night to give Lyon a last-minute equaliser.
Winning the Europa League is United’s only way of qualifying for Europe for next season, as it would put them in the Champions League. This would in turn give Amorim a major boost as he tries to convince top stars to join United this summer.
Following the awful loss on Tyneside, ex-United captain Neville named Fernandes and Amad Diallo as the two players he ‘would hang my hat on’ – with Amorim ready to offload a plethora of stars this summer.
“They’re not a very good team, simple as that,” he said on NBC Sports. “There have been Manchester United teams over the years when the biggest problem has been that they’ve not given it their all. The problem with this group of players is that they’re giving it their all.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of effort. They’re so below the standard and quality you need at that football club.
“Other than Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo maybe, I can’t think of any of them that I trust or would hang my hat on.
“It’s a really desperate situation because the squad is so poor in quality. They’ve got old and young players that are nowhere near it and then there’s a group of players in the middle. It’s a worrying situation.”
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It was claimed over the weekend that United could sell as many as nine players this summer in order to give Amorim a £200million ‘war chest’ to revamp his squad.
Alejandro Garnacho, Casemiro and Andre Onana are among the players at risk of being axed.
Fellow pundit Shearer has urged Amorim to sign new players in three key positions to help fire United up the table next season, while also discussing the Portuguese coach’s future.
“They’re going to have to stick with him,” Shearer said on The Rest Is Football podcast. “I mean, they’ve made the decision, he’s the manager. They’re going to have to give him two or three transfer windows, and also, crucially, they’re going to have to load him with a load of money to go and spend.
“Because they’re in desperate need of a centre-forward, they’re in desperate need of a goalkeeper and in desperate need of legs in midfield. I mean, we go through the whole team. It needs fixing. It’s a huge job, so they have to stick with him.
“But I do think sometimes and look at him, and he is asking players to do something they can’t do, and they’re really struggling in the system that he wants them to play. Clearly, they’re not very good at doing that.”
Man Utd news: Chelsea striker battle; Antony approach fails
Meanwhile, United are fighting Chelsea for the signing of a Premier League striker this summer.
TEAMtalk can reveal Chelsea have new approaches for the star, though United are putting up serious competition.
One player who is expected to be sold by United in the summer is flop winger Antony, currently on loan at Real Betis.
There has been a new approach for the Brazilian, though it has been quickly rebuffed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
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