According to reports in England, Sky Sports pundit and Manchester United legend, Gary Neville, has said Red Devils new permanent manager, Ole Gunner Solskjaer, has ‘four or five’ players he wants to sent packing in the summer as they are of no use for him.
Manchester United won again at the weekend, beating Watford 2-1 to mark Solskjaer’s first match with a win since being handed the reins permanently. Neville believes Solskjaer faces a massive task to turn the squad into title challengers and says his former teammate will need the support of a Director of Football, to make the changes required.
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he explained: “There’s four or five players that he will want to keep that are out of contract that he needs to tie down.
“There are four or five players that he’ll need to bring in. And there are probably four or five players that he needs to get out. “So if you think about that in terms of the job over the next two or three months, you’ve got probably 12 live situations: four players we need to sign on contracts, four players we need get into the club and four players we need to get out for the most money possible."
“And that needs a good wheeler dealer behind the scenes, someone who can sort of manage that situation." "Manchester United haven’t been brilliant at that over the last few years. So that’s the big job, and it’s not his [Solskjaer’s] job, but it will determine the outcome of his success.”
Neville went ahead to claim Manchester United have spent £700 million ($914m) to stand still, with there now 12 deals for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to oversee as the Red Devils prepare for another transfer refresh. The Red Devils have invested heavily in fresh faces since Sir Alex Ferguson headed into retirement, with the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku among those snapped up. Big-money additions have failed to push the club back into Premier League title contention, with a top-four finish representing the height of domestic ambition once again in 2018-19.
Solskjaer, fresh from penning a three-year contract, is the latest manager to be charged with the task of delivering on expectation and piecing together challenges for major honours. Neville admits there is a lot of work to be done at Old Trafford, both in and out of a star-studded squad, with it easy to argue that the new man at the helm would benefit from the presence of a director of football to help carry the load.
The former Red Devils defender told Sky Sports: “Over the last six or seven years, United have put £700m into that squad, and they're still falling well short of where Liverpool and Manchester City are at the moment - they're 16-18 points behind. “So what you have to look at is how United bridge that gap, and yes they will do that through the spirit that Solskjaer has created, but they have to get better players on the pitch that can compete with Liverpool and City to go along with some of the very good players they've already got.
“United have a big, big job. There are four or five players that Solskjaer will want to keep that are out of contract and he needs to tie down. There are four or five players he will need to bring in, and there are probably four or five players that he needs to get out. “If you think about that in terms of the job over the next two or three months, you've got probably 12 live situations; four players to sign new contracts, four players to get into the club, four players to get out for the most money possible.
“That needs a good 'wheeler-dealer' behind the scenes, someone who can manage that situation. United haven't been brilliant at that in the last few years. “I think that's the big job. That's not Solskjaer's job, but it will determine the outcome of his success in terms of the future.”
The likes of Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar have been linked with potential directorial roles, with United continuing to look to familiar faces for inspiration after handing the managerial reins to Solskjaer. They are expected to be busy again in the next transfer window, but it remains to be seen who will be involved in that process and how many voices will have an input before final decisions are taken.

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