Ian Wright names and shames £111m duo who Man Utd must replace
Ian Wright has advised Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to spend his transfer budget on new defenders this season after naming two current stars not up to the standards required.
United started the season with a humbling 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace. It was a result the Eagles fully deserved – not that Roy Hodgson was surprised.
With just under two weeks remaining of the transfer window, United only have Donny van de Beek to show so far.
They are widely reported to be still trying to sign Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund. However, those plans may be shelved for a year with an alternative set to sign on loan from the Championship.
They are also hoping to bring in a new left-back, with Alex Telles their top target.
However, Wright insists United ought to spend their money on strengthening their defence. He thinks Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof simply are not good enough for the Red Devils after they were run ragged by Palace.
And he thinks if United fail to address the issue, teams will continue to exploit this area of weakness.
“I think you look at Maguire and Lindelof, for me you’ve got to target them now as much as you can,” Wright told Premier League Productions.
“People are talking about who Man United might buy, you talk about forwards – at the moment, they’ve got to start focusing on that centre-half pairing.
“If you get any of those two isolated in any situation, you’re probably going to get something out of it.
“I thought some of Maguire’s positioning [against Palace] was poor and Lindelof, just weak, weak in certain situations.
“They’ve got to sort out that centre-half pairing, for me.
“The fact is, that is not good enough. At this level, with what Man United are supposedly meant to be trying to do, people are talking about Jadon Sancho coming, what’s the point?
“You’re going to get Jadon Sancho but still have two centre-halves who got absolutely roasted [against Palace] without actually trying too hard.”
United signed Maguire for £80m, while Lindelof cost £31m from Benfica.
Luke Shaw transfer message
Luke Shaw admits Manchester United’s squad needs a lift and has urged Ed Woodward and the board to bring in more players before the window closes.
Shaw believes new signings are a must if they are not to go backwards this season. The comments were made to TV2 and reported by the Manchester Evening News.
“We have a very good group but, personally, I think we need more players to strengthen the squad,” Shaw said.
“It can give us a boost. When you look around at how other teams are strengthening their teams… We must also do it to keep up with the others.”
Shaw also had a strong reason why they looked so disjointed against Palace.
