Manchester United legend and manager Louis van Gaal’s number two, Ryan Giggs insists the club is targeting the highest quality players with the aim of regaining their supremacy over their English rivals following two disappointing seasons by the club’s lofty standards.
In the season following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, the club finished seventh, and fourth in the season after that, failing to win any silverware aside from the Community Shield in former manager David Moyes’s first competitive match in charge.
The rebuilding process has been a slow one yet expensive one, with United dishing out around £240 million since they last won the league, in which time they twice broke their own transfer record. The Old Trafford outfit have shown they suffer from no shortage of funding and Giggs hinted there were more signings to come.
“If there are players available who are winners, who are proven, then, yeah, let’s go and get them,” the 41-year-old Welshman told the Sunday Times.
“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.”
“We obviously need to strengthen because we were fourth. We weren’t first, second or third. And the teams above us will strengthen, too. There’s the added challenge of the Champions League, and we need players that are going to improve us.”
Recent newspaper reports have suggested United were interested in signing both unsettled Real Madrid star Sergio Ramos and Bayern Munich midfield maestro Bastian Schweinsteiger, two extraordinary moves should they indeed go through.
The Red Devils have also lately been linked with moves for Carlos Bacca, Ilkay Gündogan, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Seamus Coleman.
Former Trinidad and Tobago international and ex-United striker Dwight Yorke believes that the focus should lie on capturing a defender, a holding midfielder, and a striker.
“We have struggled defensively all season.
“Going forward we had Angel Di Maria, Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Falcao – but they haven’t been able to deliver the devastating blow we know they are capable of doing.
“That may be a point where he may need to make some changes with another forward player.
“And when Michael Carrick is not playing we see how thin Manchester United look – Van Gaal needs to look at a holding midfielder.”
So far, the only addition this summer has been that of 21-year-old Dutch winger Memphis Depay from Eredivisie champions PSV, whom Giggs described as “a United type.”
Looking forward, United have mouth-watering friendly tests against the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain coming up, and will be hoping to land a couple more of their targets before then.
