‘They need to invest again but do it properly’: Gary Neville urges Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to spend big after leading Manchester United back into the Champions League as he hails ‘a big day’ for the Old Trafford boss
Gary Neville believes Manchester United ‘need to invest properly’ to prosper in the Champions League next season and close the gap to Liverpool and Manchester City in the Premier League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side secured their return to Europe’s elite competition with a 2-0 win at Leicester City on the season’s final afternoon.
But they ultimately finished 33 points behind champions Liverpool and 15 behind City with former United defender Neville saying the squad still needs improvement.
Manchester United clinched a Champions League place following their 2-0 win over Leicester
Gary Neville believes United will have to invest wisely in the transfer market this summer
Neville believes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be backed in the summer transfer window
However, he cautioned that United can’t afford to repeat the poor recruitment made when Jose Mourinho led them back into the Champions League in 2018.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: ‘I think it’s a big day for Ole, it gives him some peace and demonstrates progress.
‘They can play a different way now, they were very basic in his first six months.
‘With [Mason] Greenwood emerging and [Bruno] Fernandes, they look like they can win games in different ways.
‘They need more players in their squad. The last time they finished in the top four was under Jose Mourinho and they spent £170million in that summer and didn’t invest it wisely.
Bruno Fernandes netted the opener from the spot on 70 minutes to put United in front
Jesse Lingard secured the crucial victory for United with a second goal in the closing moments
‘They need to invest it again but do it properly this time to get nearer to Liverpool and Manchester City.
‘They need to improve the first XI. That’s not a detriment to the first XI from today.
‘It’s about making sure they get in players who want to play for the club. United have never really done that.
‘Ole seems to have brought that back in the past 12 months and it’s working, it’s better.’
United signed Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James last summer and further strengthened with the January purchase of Fernandes.
They have been linked with the Borussia Dortmund and England forward Jadon Sancho this summer though his £100m price tag may prove prohibitive.
