Manchester United remain two players short of being regular Premier League title challengers, claims Gary Neville, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told he needs a right winger and another centre-half amid ongoing talk of interest in Jadon Sancho and Sergio Ramos.
The Red Devils have come back into contention for the English top-flight crown this season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side leading the way through 18 games.
A chasing pack is, however, bunching up behind them, with there all to play for over the second-half of an intriguing 2020-21 campaign.
Neville is not convinced that United have what it takes to sustain a bid for domestic glory, with key men needing to perform at the peak of their powers in order for the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City to be edged out.
He is, however, of the opinion that major honours can be secured if the Red Devils address their most pressing needs in upcoming transfer windows.
Neville told Sky Sports after seeing United held to a goalless draw at Anfield in their latest outing: “I look at the game on Sunday and think: how do you go from that to becoming title winners?
“I think one area is that United need to push up the pitch a bit more, up in the game a bit more. If you look at Liverpool, even with Fabinho and Henderson in defence, they are well up the pitch, on the halfway line.
“One more area is that the right-hand side is a problem. Juan Mata has played there, Dan James has, Paul Pogba has, Marcus Rashford has, Donny van de Beek's played there, Mason Greenwood's played there, and nobody has cemented it.
“We know Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted that right-wing position filled in the summer, and he didn't get it, and it's just posing a little bit of a problem. If there was a goalscoring right winger in that squad today, with Rashford and Anthony Martial, that I think would be a difference.
“So a centre-back that gets them up the pitch that 10 yards, and a right winger, they are the two positions I'd focus on.
“We know Liverpool's problems were a centre-back and a goalkeeper, and they signed Virgil van Dijk and Alisson. Manchester United just need that little bit of belief, and a couple extra players, and they're not as far away as it looks if City and Liverpool stay at this standard and don't jump back up to that 100-point standard.”
United are being linked with options to fill attacking and defensive spots in their squad, with much of 2020 spent pursuing a deal for Borussia Dortmund forward Sancho, while World Cup-winning centre-half Ramos could be snapped up as a free agent in the summer as his contract at Real Madrid runs down.