Gary Neville has named Ryan Gravenberch as the Liverpool player he would most like to sign for Manchester United this summer, highlighting his former club's urgent need for midfield reinforcements.
Neville's Pick for United's Midfield
During a Q&A session for The Overlap, the former Manchester United and England right-back was asked which Liverpool star he would take to Old Trafford. He said: 'There's a few but it's harder because Wirtz isn't exactly jumping out at me, Isak isn't jumping out at me, Ekitike yeah, Dominik Szoboszlai maybe… I'd go with Gravenberch. If you said to me, “United, now, who would I take?”, I'd take Gravenberch probably. He's the best of the three midfielders that United would need and we need a midfielder desperately.'
United spent around £200m on attackers Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, and Bryan Mbeumo ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, but failed to address central midfield frailties. With Michael Carrick appointed as head coach, the position has been identified as a priority.
Liverpool's Disappointing Season
Liverpool endured a highly disappointing year after their title success under Arne Slot, with a decline in performance costing the Dutchman his job in late May. The club had spent a record-breaking £446m on new recruits the previous summer, surpassing Chelsea's £400m in 2023. However, signings like Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak, Milos Kerkez, and Jeremie Frimpong fell short, while Hugo Ekitike suffered a devastating Achilles injury.
Neville on Liverpool's Attack
Neville said he would not swap Liverpool's current forwards for United's attackers. He added: 'The [Liverpool] forwards are good but I wouldn't probably swap them over Mbeumo, Cunha, Bruno, Amad… I don't think I'd be jumping at taking any of them. I think they've got potential to go and do brilliant things but they've not proved it yet so I'd go with Gravenberch.'
Neville's Admiration for Klopp
In a separate question, Neville was asked which manager he would most like to have played under. He replied: '[Jurgen] Klopp. I've said this before, I think Klopp with his football, his personality, I just love it. Mad. For five or six years you couldn't help but admire the team that I dislike the most, the team that I don't want to win. Every time you went and watched Liverpool it was a proper game of football, you knew they weren't holding back and you knew they were going to go for it.'
He praised Klopp's Liverpool side, calling the front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, and Roberto Firmino 'devastating' and highlighting the aggressive backline and Alisson as the best goalkeeper in the world.
Klopp's Potential Germany Role
Klopp is reportedly being lined up by the German national team after Julian Nagelsmann's shock World Cup exit to Paraguay. Neville expressed doubts about Klopp's ability to turn Germany around due to a limited talent pool compared to club management. He said: 'I wouldn't say [club management] is easy but you've obviously got the pick of the world, you can go and sign players from everywhere, whereas with Germany, if they haven't got a good crop coming through and they haven't got a good talent base for the next four or five years then there's nothing he can do really.'
Neville compared Germany's attackers unfavorably to England's, noting: 'I look at England's front players like Saka and Foden and Palmer and Kane and Rogers and Bellingham, and I think our players are better than Germany's.'
