Gary Neville expressed his surprise at Manchester United's decision not to focus more on strengthening their defence this summer. The former club defender believes that returning to the Champions League significantly increases the demands for squad depth for Michael Carrick's side.
Neville stated:
I understand they've been quite consistent: they strengthened the attack last year and the midfield this summer. But when you’re heading back into the Champions League and have a few injury-prone players in defence, it raises questions.
The pundit specifically highlighted the team's reliance on Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire:
I always think of the worst-case scenario: what happens if you lose two defenders? What if Luke Shaw gets injured? That would be a serious issue. And what if Harry Maguire gets injured? That’s another massive problem.
According to Neville, Manchester United should have spent part of their future budget now:
I’d like to see a left-back and a centre-back to give Michael Carrick some backup. It would make sense to bolster the defence with at least one or two players.
I am shocked that Manchester United didn’t sign at least one defender. Ideally, they’d have brought in a left-footed centre-back capable of playing on the left, but there aren’t many of them around at the moment. It seems like that’s not going to happen — there are practically no signals coming from Old Trafford.
One player that United had been tracking this summer was Lewis Hall, but Newcastle are unwilling to let the defender go at the last minute and reportedly value him at around £75 million.
