Gary Neville admits he is unsure whether Manchester United can improve on last season with two ‘unknowns’ arriving at the club this summer. United have managed to fill the three major gaps in their squad by spending over £160million this summer. Rasmus Hojlund was presented as a United player ahead of Saturday’s 3-1 friendly win over RC Lens at Old Trafford, with Mason Mount and Andre Onana having already arrived at the club. Erik ten Hag helped United finish third in his debut season in charge, but with their top-four rivals also spending heavily this summer he will need to push on to ensure United retain their spot in the Champions League places. And Neville admits he is nervous about the upcoming campaign, primarily because two of their three new signings – Onana and Hojlund – will come under major scrutiny. Want to join our MUFC Pro club for a totally ad-free version of the MEN’s Man United app packed with premium features? Click here ALSO READ: United progress under Ten Hag will be clear with Wolves team selection “In Premier League football as Manchester United’s goalkeeper you come under more scrutiny than any other player in English football,” Neville told The Overlap. “I wish him [Onana] all the best because he’s going to need that personality and character. People will get onto him. “Every media organisation, pundit, fan from every other club. If he makes a mistake you know what is going to happen on every single occasion. “I think the lad at the other end, Hojlund, centre forward for Manchester United; they’re the two positions you’ll get put under the most scrutiny and they’re the two that have to settle in. “The reason I’m nervous about this season is these two unknowns at either end, in two focal positions, that really have to hit it off for Manchester United to be better than last season.” Central midfield and centre forward were always regarded as priority positions for Ten Hag to strengthen this summer, but the Reds manager was forced to spend big on a new goalkeeper following the departure of David de Gea. The 32-year-old was expected to stay at United but a number of costly errors saw him leave once his contract expired. “I do think Manchester United needed to change goalkeepers,” Neville added. “The FA Cup final was the final straw. “Manchester United were a little bit disingenuous towards De Gea and it was a bad ending in terms of what he did for the club. But I think they had to do it because they committed too early. “He’d done well during the season to an extent but the cup final was like ‘hang on a minute, that can’t go in your net’. The distribution, along with the fact there were shots starting to go in that shouldn’t, they had to make that call. It was a harsh one but they had to do it to him.” Watch all the action of the 2023/2024 Premier League season The new football season is nearly upon us and with 500 live games to watch, as well access to Cricket, Golf, F1, Boxing, NFL and the NBA across eight dedicated channels, Sky Sports is the only way to watch all the action. Get Sky Sports for £22 a month Sky Sports Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.
