Gary Neville urged Manchester United to sign four players and ‘trade’ Mason Mount after the Premier League victory over Liverpool.
United qualified for next season’s Champions League and all-but secured third-place in the Premier League with a thrilling 3-2 win over Liverpool.
Michael Carrick’s side raced into a two-goal lead with Matheus Cunha opening the scoring and Benjamin Sesko doubling United’s advantage inside 15 minutes.
A routine home win looked inevitable at that stage but Liverpool rallied after a dismal first-half, bringing the score level through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo.
Manchester United were in danger of surrendering a first-half lead to lose a home game for the first time since 1984 but Kobbie Mainoo rifled home a 77th-minute winner to seal a 3-2 victory.
Despite overseeing United’s return to the Champions League, Carrick will have been ‘disappointed’ be aspects of his team’s performance against Liverpool, according to Neville.
Neville says his former teammate Carrick ‘needs to rebuild the defence and midfield’ – should he get the job permanently – and has identified United’s four ‘priorities’.
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Old Trafford legend Neville would even be keen for Manchester United to sign a new fifth player this summer if it was an upgrade on Mason Mount, who has largely flattered to deceive since his £60m move from Chelsea in 2023.
‘Michael Carrick will be very happy tonight but I think he will also be disappointed deep down that they haven’t gone on to win that game 3-0 or 4-0,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
‘They should have killed that game and put Liverpool to sleep because they were nowhere near this football match. He’s won the game and that’s the most important thing but Carrick won’t be fooled by some of what he saw in that second half.
‘He will know he needs to rebuild the defence and midfield. If you’re going to play 4-4-2, which I am massively in favour of United doing, you have to have two very special players in there and have defenders who can play one-on-one.
‘You’re asking a lot of the players. I think United need a left-back for next season because Luke Shaw has played every game this year and he may struggle. They need a centre-back, 100%, and they need two midfield players.
‘They are the four priorities right now. They’re the players I would look at adding to this squad.
‘Look, if you could then maybe trade Mason Mount for someone else who maybe can play in and out and can be a bit more flexible across the midfield and forward line then I would say go for a fifth.
‘But if you can’t, I would say those four areas are the priority and they’ve got to be top-notch, those players.’
It remains to be seen whether Carrick is given the Manchester United job on a permanent basis following his brilliant impact at Old Trafford.
Asked about his long-term future after the win over Liverpool, Carrick said: ‘It’s not about what I like or what I do not like. It’s not in my control.
‘Everything has gone so well, we know the situation and where we are. I am happy with where we are at the moment and we still want to get better.
‘Let’s see what happens next. At this moment in time, it’s not something I am thinking about.’
Manchester United’s final three Premier League games are against Sunderland, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.
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