Ryan Giggs has admitted that Manchester United need to invest in a whole new “spine” to the team over the summer window.
Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal has reportedly been handed a £200m transfer kitty and has already splashed out £25m of that on PSV Eindhoven’s goalscoring winger Memphis Depay.
And Giggs, record appearance maker for United with 963 and now assistant manager to Van Gaal at Old Trafford, has suggested that the spending has only just begun.
The 13-time Premier League winner feels that United need to sign a new goalkeeper, central defender, midfielder and striker ahead of the new season, and would like a couple of them to be marquee names.
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He told the Sunday Times: “If there are players available who are winners, who are proven, then, yeah, let’s go and get them.
“And with any good team the spine is important. Midfield, striker, centre-backs, goalkeeper. I’m sure we’ll be looking to strengthen the spine all the way through.”
So who are United’s options in each position? Here, fanatix takes a closer look…
Goalkeeper
The club’s pursuit of a new goalkeeper will likely wait until the future of David de Gea is resolved.
Real Madrid are desperate to bring the PFA Player of the Year runner-up back to Spain, but United are hopeful that they can persuade him to sign an extension to a contract which expires in 2016.
It is more hope, than expectation, though. De Gea is believed to see his future in Madrid and has reportedly already said his goodbyes to his teammates and the staff at Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old has been United’s best player over the last two seasons and will take some replacing. Tottenham Hotspur’s Hugo Lloris is the favourite to come in and has made no secret of his desire to play Champions League football again.
But the Frenchman is on a long contract at White Hart Lane and is expected to be handed the captaincy by Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino in an attempt to convince him to stay in London.
Contingency plans are thought to be Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic, who is also being courted by champions Chelsea, and Ajax’s Jasper Cillessen, number one for Van Gaal’s Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup.
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