Gary Neville has urged Manchester United to sign two defenders before the summer transfer window closes at 11pm on Tuesday. The former United captain expressed concern about the team's back line following their 5-2 win over Ipswich on Sunday.
Midfield focus this summer
United have concentrated their summer spending on midfield, bringing in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba from Aston Villa, Chelsea and Brighton respectively for a combined £155 million. Manager Michael Carrick said he was "quite happy" with his squad after the Ipswich victory and hinted that further deals might not follow.
Despite this, United have so far failed to sign a left-back to provide competition for Luke Shaw. After missing out on top target Lewis Hall from Newcastle and baulking at Barcelona's asking price for Alejandro Balde, United face the prospect of going without a new left-back this summer.
Defensive vulnerabilities exposed
While United's attack impressed at Old Trafford, with Bruno Fernandes scoring a hat-trick, their defence looked vulnerable and conceded two goals for the second consecutive week against a newly-promoted side. Shaw was beaten by Abdul Fatawu for Ipswich's opener before Lisandro Martinez was robbed for their late consolation.
Neville, who commentated on the game for Sky Sports, was concerned by what he saw and believes immediate action is necessary. "Manchester United's back four can be got at," he said on The Gary Neville podcast. "We knew that because it's the same defenders as last season and the season before. They conceded 50 last season, so it's not going to change unless they play better - which let's hope they do - but also that the midfield two protects them more."
"That has to happen or else they'll concede a lot of goals. They've conceded four in two [Premier League games] already, they've conceded a lot of chances against Ipswich in the first half and this is not going to be a team that's going to be in the top half of the league, more than likely, so that would be the concern."
Advancing funds for defensive rebuild
Neville acknowledged that United have rebuilt their attack last season and their midfield this season, but feels they may wait another 12 months to rebuild the defence. He suggested that if one or two defenders are available, United should try to advance that money into this window and spend less next season, as it would make a massive difference.
He pointed to the end of the Ipswich game when Diogo Dalot and Shaw went off, leaving Leny Yoro at right-back and Noussair Mazraoui at left-back. "That's not ideal at all," Neville said. "One of them [Yoro] is makeshift full-back at best, there's no lack of willingness for him to play there, but he's not a full-back. Mazraoui can play left-back, but he's not the left-back that you want there."
