Utd not ready to challenge Chelsea – Neville
ESPN FC’s Side Lowe gives his insight on Manchester United swapping David de Gea for Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid.
Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes his former club will progress under manager Louis van Gaal when the new season kicks-off next month, but he does not believe they are ready to reclaim the Premier League title.
Some United fans have been concerned by the lack of transfer activity at the club this summer, with the signing of Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven the only significant addition to the squad that finished fourth in last season’s Premier League.
United have been linked to a host of star names such as Mats Hummels, Sergio Ramos and Bastian Schweinsteiger, but none have arrived at Old Trafford despite Van Gaal’s suggestions that he was keen to get his transfer business concluded early this summer.
However, Neville is convinced Van Gaal will make progress at United, as he believes the experienced Dutch tactician will have learned some lessons from his first campaign in English football.
“Louis van Gaal has had a year at the club now, he’s settled in, the players know him a lot more,” Neville told Sky Sports.
Louis van Gaal’s side’s only major signing this summer has been Dutch international Memphis Depay.
“I suppose there is a risk if they bring in five or six new players about how they would adapt to it but we’ve yet to see that.
“The players that are there will adapt a lot easier this season, they’ve had a year with him, he’s had a year with them and it should be a more comfortable position to start from.”
Neville believes United need to get off to a fast start in the new Premier League season, with home games against top four rivals Liverpool and Tottenham in the opening weeks offering them a chance to make a statement of intent.
“I think Tottenham, Liverpool and United will be looking at those games and thinking to themselves, ‘this is a great way to announce ourselves and give ourselves confidence to push on,'” Neville stated.
“There are two ways of looking at it, you can set a marker down for how you are going to perform in the big matches and you can gain a great deal of confidence.”
Despite Neville offering optimism for United’s hopes ahead of the new campaign, he does not believe Van Gaal’s squad will be ready to dethrone the reigning Premier League champions.
“Chelsea will be the team to beat and I think everyone would say that,” Neville added, as he was asked to select his title favourites.
“However, who knows what is going to happen in the next month in terms of signings and how those signings will then come in and adapt.”
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