The Red Devils' captain has demanded more signings before the season begins, and we've picked out some of those they should be looking to recruit
Bruno Fernandes had just picked up a trophy, but he was in no mood for celebration. Manchester United had sealed the Premier League Summer Series title after beating West Ham, Bournemouth and drawing with Everton, but the performance in Sunday's 2-2 draw with the Toffees had deflated the initial excitement that surrounded the Red Devils' pre-season tour, and Fernandes was not interested in beating around the bush.
He called out the attitude of some of his team-mates and made a call to United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to make more signings before the real action begins, despite the club splashing out £133 million ($176m) on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha while failing to make any money back on player sales.
"Our performance wasn’t the best and we were a little bit lazy today. We want to avoid that because with laziness you can pay at any moment," the United captain told NBC Sports. [The squad] is improving. But it’s not the place it needs to be. I don’t want to take a dig at anyone, but the club is doing the best they can in terms of the financial situation they talk about.
"It was crystal clear we needed more competition for the players that were here, more quality to get everyone to step up a little more to get to the XI, and I think that is what the club are trying to do. Hopefully we can get one or two players more to help with that."
Fernandes comments will probably not have gone down well with Ratcliffe and United's other directors, but the midfielder, who resisted a hugely tempting offer from Al-Hilal earlier in the summer, was speaking the truth. His team still looked vulnerable in defence, in goal and in central midfield, and with no further investment in the squad it would be difficult to see how they can gatecrash the Premier League's top four next season and qualify for the Champions League, which should be the main objective.
So here, then, are the players United should be looking to sign before the transfer window shuts on September 1, if not before they kick-off their campaign against Arsenal on August 17: