Gary Neville Asks Man Utd To Prioritise Centre-Back Signing Over Sancho
A central defender needs to be high up on Manchester United’s scale of preference and not an offensive-minded player, according to Gary Neville.
United produced a shaky defensive display in their opening Premier League game against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday, conceding three goals and being run rugged by Wilfried Zaha in a 3-1 loss.
The Red Devils’ backline failed to contain Palace’s attacking trio of Zaha, Jordan Ayew and Andros Townsend as Roy Hodgson’s men won at Old Trafford for the second season running.
While their rivals are flexing their muscles in the transfer market, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have largely been inactive, with Ajax Amsterdam star Donny Van De Beek, who scored the consolation goal against Palace, their only summer signing to date.
Borussia Dortmund forward Jadon Sancho has been linked with a move to the club all summer but a deal has not been struck with the Bundesliga outfit yet.
After seeing his former club put in an inept display against the Eagles, Neville is adamant United need to bring in defenders better than the ones currently at their disposal even if it means shelving the Sancho deal.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: "There is going to be big pressure on the back of this."
"You can talk about Jadon Sancho all you like, but until they get a centre-back in that can run and defend one on one, you're never going to win the league.
"They're not going to win the league with that centre-back pairing. They have to get a mobile, quick, dominant centre-back in alongside Lindelof or Maguire."
