Ex-Manchester United coach names two stars the club should sell to fund Manuel Ugarte transfer

Ex-Manchester United coach names two stars the club should sell to fund Manuel Ugarte transfer

Former  Manchester United  Boss René Meulensteen believes the club must sign another midfielder – but has urged the club not to cash in on  Scott McTominay  in order to fund the move.

Manchester United want to add one more midfield player before the summer transfer window ends at the end of August, even after making four acquisitions thus far.

The team and Paris Saint-Germain had previously discussed a deal for Manuel Ugarte.

Although PSG’s asking price initially caused those talks to be shelved, recent sources indicate that conversations are still ongoing and that a variety of bids are being examined.

Given that McTominay’s future at Old Trafford is in doubt, United may need to sell players in order to raise additional money for operations.

But Meulensteen, who served as Sir Alex Ferguson’s first-team coach during the club’s hugely successful period between 2007 and 2013, believes it would be a mistake to sell the Scot.

Instead, he believes the club should be desperately looking to try find a buyer for Antony, insisting the winger has shown nothing to suggest his prospects at the club will improve.

‘I would sell Antony straight away, no discussion. United have better players there now in those positions with Amad [Diallo] coming in, [Alejandro] Garnacho has shown he can play on both sides. Even Bruno Fernandes can play wide if needed.

‘I don’t think you necessarily need another player with pace, you need a player with good deliveries. There’s so many options there.

“Antony hasn’t done anything to suggest we are going to see anything different this season. But I don’t think the market is jumping up and down to pay his fee and wages.’

‘McTominay will always do a job for you,’ Meulensteen continued. ‘He has popped up with so many important goals and will always give his all and you can play him in different positions. So I wouldn’t necessarily sell him, I think there are other candidates.’

Jadon Sancho is another player who could move on with the club asking for £40million for his services.

Sancho was left out of the squad for the opening game of the season against Fulham and while the 24-year-old had been suffering with an ear infection, ten Hag tellingly noted he ‘preferred other players.’

‘I think it’s best he moves on. If Jadon is not in ten Hag’s plans, then you are creating another problem. It will be a constant question from the media. Jadon is a good player, we saw that again at Dortmund last season. But it went completely wrong at United.

‘They do not need a repeat of that situation this season. It creates unnecessary noise around the club. You want a good, happy group playing for each other. The best thing for me is Jadon does move onto another club and United moves on without him.’

‘Casemiro has certain attributes that are still very important, he can see a fantastic pass, has so strong in the air too. His timing in attacking the ball is still really good,’ he continued. ‘But he is not the youngest and there are no weak teams in this league. You need legs in midfield and unfortunately he hasn’t got them.

‘So we may need someone in there. Ugarte is someone they are looking at. Most teams who have done well against United have exploited that area. There