Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has identified Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch as the player he would most like to see move to Old Trafford from the club's bitter rivals. Speaking on the Overlap podcast, Neville made the selection as Manchester United continue their search for midfield reinforcements following Casemiro's summer exit and a serious injury to Manuel Ugarte.
United's Midfield Overhaul
Manchester United have already secured the £50 million signing of Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea, confirmed on Monday. The club is also set to complete the acquisition of Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans after activating the Belgian's £35 million release clause. However, a proposed move for Atalanta's Ederson remains in limbo despite a £38 million fee being agreed with the Serie A side in early June. The 27-year-old has expressed a strong desire to join United and hinted during the World Cup that the transfer was all but confirmed.
According to the Manchester Evening News, United may seek to renegotiate the Ederson deal after medical tests raised concerns about a knee injury he sustained last season. Regardless of the outcome, the club intends to sign a third midfielder to complement Santos and Tielemans.
Neville's Verdict
When asked which Liverpool player he would sign for United, Neville explained his reasoning: "It's harder because [Florian] Wirtz, Isak aren't jumping out to me, [Hugo] Ekitike yeah, [Dominik] Szoboszlai maybe, [Alexis] Mac Allister hmm. I'd go Gravenberch. If you said to me now, I'd take Gravenberch because I think he's the best of the three midfielders and we need a midfielder desperately."
He added: "The forwards are good but I wouldn't swap them over [Bryan] Mbeumo, [Matheus] Cunha, Bruno [Fernandes], Amad, I'd don't think I'd be jumping to take any of them. I think they've got potential to do brilliant things but they've not proved it yet."
Historical Context
Michael Owen was the last player to represent both Liverpool and Manchester United when he joined the latter in 2009. The striker went on to win the Premier League title and League Cup during his time at Old Trafford.
Neville on Klopp
Neville was also asked which manager in world football he would most like to have played under. He responded: "[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 continued: "You knew they were electric in attack, speed, particularly in that two or three-year period when they had [Sadio] Mane, [Mohamed] Salah and [Roberto] Firmino at their peak. That was a proper front three, that. The runs of Salah and Mane and the goals, then you've got Firmino just dropping in and pulling centre-backs out and then they go in behind. It was devastating, honestly, it really was."
Neville also praised Liverpool's defensive setup: "It was an aggressive backline. If you think of the three, the two full-backs and [Virgil] van Dijk, [Andy] Robertson at his peak, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk and then you had [Joel] Matip or someone… but they were three brilliant defenders and Alisson was the best goalkeeper in the world. So for me, the style of football, the personality of Klopp, yeah, I'd say Klopp."
