Manchester United have been urged to sign Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton to complement the captures of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans and as part of a double £130m raid on the Eagles, while Michael Carrick has also been urged to bring in an impressive RB Salzburg attacker who shone at the World Cup.
The Red Devils have been forced to adopt a patient approach when it comes to strengthening their midfield this summer after seeing three top targets – Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Elliot Anderson – all move elsewhere for combined fees of £301m, and with the price of those deals deemed too costly for co-owners INEOS.
However, that frugal approach looks to have paid dividends. A £50m package was struck with Chelsea for Brazilian midfielder Santos, while Manchester United have also shrewdly triggered a £35m exit clause in Tielemans’ contract to pluck him from Aston Villa.
Carrick and Co., though, are not done yet, and they still want to sign a third midfielder to ensure they have a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title and going deep in the Champions League.
And while the likes of Aurélien Tchouaméni, Ayyoub Bouaddi and Manu Kone have been strongly linked, former assistant boss Rene Meulensteen wants them to look closer to home and target a move for £80m-rated Wharton instead.
“United need to sign at least two, if not three, midfielders this transfer window. That’s the position where they have to really, really strengthen, especially with more competitions coming up,” the Dutchman told Tipman Tips.
“What United needs is diversity in its recruitment, instead of bringing three of the same type of players in. You’ve already got Kobbie Mainoo, who’s a good ball player and he brings good energy to the team. So, what they need is a player who is very dynamic and strong.
“I always like good, technically gifted footballers in the midfield. I’ve liked Adam Wharton for United for a while now because he is so good on the ball and very calm under pressure.
“He finds any of those front five with one decisive pass, and he rips the opposition right open, and I love that.”
Meulensteen is also not averse to a move for Carlos Baleba, while he has also recommended the club targets a new centre forward to cover for Benjamin Sesko, with two names suggested by the 62-year-old…
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With regard to Baleba, Meulensteen commented: “Baleba is again a very young, very promising player, very dynamic, quick, but slightly different to the others I’ve mentioned.”
Once that third midfield signing is done, Meulensteen would like his former club to consider signing another striker or two to provide cover and competition for Benjamin Sesko, with a proven £50m-rated Premier League striker a must-buy for the Red Devils this summer.
He said: “I still think they need to do something in the striker position as well as midfield reinforcements. I would rather see United bring in a more experienced striker. Now, I don’t think he will be tempted to leave Bayern this summer, but if United could attract someone like Harry Kane, then suddenly you are in a great position to start challenging for the title.
“Kane is probably out of reach at the moment for United, but you then look for somebody that has that Premier League pedigree, for instance, [Jean-Philippe] Mateta. A strong striker, proven himself in the Premier League again this season. There are different attributes that he brings – you can play through him, he can score a goal himself.”
Deals for both Wharton and Mateta could set United back a combined £130m, and Meulensteen added: “You can’t just keep relying on young players in attack, otherwise you keep on throwing people up there like (Bryan) Mbeumo or (Matheus) Cunha, who obviously can do the job, but they’re not real strikers.
“The young striker from RB Salzburg, Kerim Alajbegović, who’s a very promising talent, but again very young, and it’s not a certainty that he will fit in straight away. Not only at Man United but also in the Premier League, because it’s such a different league to all the others.”
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Man Utd can mount title challenge with the right signings – Meulensteen
Meulensteen also thinks in an ideal world United would strengthen in central defence, while also casting doubts over whether Senne Lammens can be the answer in goal for several years to come.
He said: “I still think at the back, obviously there are good options there, but the one thing that United has suffered through over recent years has been an instability in that area. Too many injuries, constantly mixing the defence.
“One day it’s Leny Yoro, and then it’s Ayden Heaven, and then it’s Harry Maguire, and then it’s Lisandro Martinez, and then it’s Matthijs De Ligt. So that’s something that definitely needs to change at United.
“Lammens, who’s come in, has done extremely well. I was possibly one of the sceptical ones, you know, at first I thought I still have to wait and see, but he’s done well. Is he going to be the permanent, top goalkeeper that United need for years to come? I think that remains to be seen, but yeah, he’s started well.”
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The former Red Devils coach also thinks a strong summer window could amount to a rarely-seen title challenge at Old Trafford, and perhaps even give Carrick a chance to end the club’s long 17-year wait to win the English crown.
He said: “Of course, it starts with clever recruitment, obviously, and making sure that those players have all added value.
“United cannot afford to bring players in where everybody, after three months of scratching their heads, is thinking to themselves, why did you buy him? And yes, I do think that United is still capable of attracting those big-name players, especially now that they’re back in the Champions League.
“So yeah, if Michael and United’s recruitment is right, where everybody can say that the team has definitely strengthened, and if they get off to a good start, because that is important, they will be there or thereabouts for the title next season, I really do think that. Because I think Michael has created a nice base, a nice foundation to build upon.”