‘Put someone like Gary Neville in charge’ - Paul Merson sends message to Man United

Paul Merson has claimed that Gary Neville would be perfect to oversee the recruitment of players at Manchester United given their struggles to sign players capable of improving their fortunes on the pitch.

The Red Devils have splashed the cash on the likes of Antony, Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund in recent transfer windows but have not benefitted from most of their recruitment.

Man United also spent around £206 million on the signings of Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui during the last summer transfer window, but they have won just three of their opening 11 games of 2024-25, with manager Erik ten Hag under pressure.

It remains to be seen whether this current crop of players can get the Red Devils to the pinnacle of English and European football again, but the recruitment of the club has to improve significantly going forward, and Merson thinks their former captain could be perfect for the job.

“I would have put someone like Gary Neville in charge of the recruitment,” Merson told Sky Sports.

“Gary has been at that club all his career and he knows football inside out.

“You put someone like him in charge, even Rio Ferdinand, someone like that or even both of them together, and you go ‘Right, we want to build this club, what players should we be bringing in?’”

Both Neville and Ferdinand have both been vocal about the struggles of Man United in recent years, and they would be willing to help to get their old club back to the top.

However, while the duo are brilliant pundits, whether they have what it takes to run the perfect recruitment for the Red Devils remains unknown, and they could also have reservations about taking up such a huge role.

Man United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has brought in CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox to help turn things around for the club, but they have only been around for a few months and it could take a while before the recruitment gets better and measure up to the needed standard.