Jamie Carragher has questioned Manchester United’s move for Youri Tielemans and says Michael Carrick should have signed new Tottenham star Mateus Fernandes.
United completed a £35m deal for Aston Villa midfielder Tielemans last month, with the Belgium international signing a five-year deal at Old Trafford.
Carrick had already bolstered his midfield options with the £50m signing of Andrey Santos from Chelsea.
Manchester United made midfield reinforcements their focus earlier in the transfer window after losing Casemiro at the end of last season.
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But Liverpool legend and ex-England defender Carragher has suggested United signed the wrong midfielder, insisting they should have beaten Tottenham to a deal for Fernandes.
The Red Devils held talks with West Ham over a deal but pulled out of the running over Fernandes’ asking price of £85m.
‘I was a little bit worried when I saw United linked with Fernandes because I thought that could be a good signing,’ Carragher said on The Overlap.
‘I just looked at him and his age and was surprised United didn’t go for Fernandes. They said it was too expensive but was it that expensive?
‘I know £85m is a lot but you’re never going to get a really top midfielder now for £50m.’
Discussing Tielemans’ move to Manchester United, Carragher added: ‘The thing with Tielemans, I was watching the Super Cup and I’d just seen that Man United were on ITV playing Leeds, so I put it on.
‘It just came to me a little bit – Tielemans was taking a corner, and it come to me, he’s a good player, don’t get me wrong.
‘But you’d almost feel like he should have been at United a few years ago, then gone to Villa – not being at Villa, then gone to United.
‘I’m not saying he’s had his best days, but it almost felt like the wrong way round. The last three years should have been at United, and then he gets sold to Villa.’
Despite bringing two new midfielders to Old Trafford this summer, Paul Scholes still believes a third could be needed as Carrick looks to build on the promising start to his tenure.
Manchester United will try to close the gap on Manchester City and defending Premier League champions Arsenal this season while making their return to the Champions League.
‘That’s a priority position for United,’ Scholes said. ‘We’ve got players who can cover the forward areas – I think [Matheus] Cunha can play centre-forward, and [Bryan] Mbeumo can play centre-forward. And you’ve still got – I don’t know what’s going to happen with Marcus Rashford, but again, there’s another option in that area.
‘So I still think either centre-half or central midfielder is a priority before the end of the window.’
Manchester United face newly-promoted Hull City in their Premier League opener on Saturday.
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