Gary Neville reveals ‘worst’ Man Utd signing post-Ferguson as Carrick told to replace £60m star
Gary Neville has revealed who he thinks has been Manchester United’s “worst” signing since the Sir Alex Ferguson era ended.
Man Utd have fallen off a cliff since Ferguson ended his managerial career at the end of the 2012/13 season.
The Red Devils haven’t won the Premier League title since Ferguson’s retirement, and they have made a lot of bad transfer decisions since he left the club.
And Neville thinks there are two leading candidates to be Man Utd’s “worst” signing post-Ferguson, though he has definitively picked one player.
When asked who has been the ‘worst’ Red Devils signing in 13 years, Neville told The Athletic: “Di Maria was a bad one and I was so excited about him, by the way.
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“I thought that was an amazing signing. Can get from box to box, he’s quick, quality and then obviously he just didn’t adapt, didn’t settle. All those reasons. That was a bad one.”
After Marouane Fellaini was suggested as a contender in this race, Neville defended the former United midfielder.
“Fellaini I’ve no problem with,” Neville added.
“He shouldn’t have signed for the club, but he’s not the worst signing. He gave his all and he was £25m-£30m, it’s not the biggest outlay.”
On the worst signing debate, he continued: “When you’re looking at massive outlays, Antony. This is not a criticism of the boy, it’s reflective of United that he paid that money for him after panicking.
“I would say Antony and Di Maria. I’d have to say Antony.”
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Man Utd told to replace £60m midfielder
Regarding their current team, ex-Man Utd striker Louis Saha has explained why they made a mistake by not replacing £60m midfielder Mason Mount in the summer.
“Manchester United could have signed another playmaker to play as the second striker or a more creative midfielder who is a better option than Mason Mount to replace him,” Saha told Betano.
“He is another good player but he is not someone who is going to accelerate a game for Manchester United.
“He has been very unfortunate with injuries but he has never shown me that he is that kind of player who in hot moments is going to take the pressure and responsibility alongside Bruno Fernandes.”
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He continued: “Did Manchester United fail Michael Carrick in the transfer market? There is a bit of that going on.
“I understand the business that they did because in the past they have not done well at spending money.
“They didn’t want to take a risk and break the bank this summer but I think that was the wrong mentality for where the team is at, and so some of the players they’ve brought in have been wrong.
“I think it was more about bringing in players who want to be at Manchester United and appreciate the opportunity to play for the club rather than finding the players with the quality to take the team to a new level.
“I don’t think they have signed players who would have been their first choice targets in the transfer market.
“Manchester United’s problems are not the individual players though, they just need to find the right balance so they can play in a way to break opponents down.”
