Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince recently claimed his old side needs to desperately improve their firepower, and recommended a top international as the answer.
After a shameful season that saw Manchester United finish 15th in the Premier League and lose the Europa League final, this summer is set to see plenty of new faces walk through the doors at Carrington.
A dismal display of 44 league goals has forced United’s higher-ups to act quickly with many attackers put on the chopping block, whilst £62.5m Matheus Cunha has recently been announced as the first signing of the summer.
Despite the signing of Cunha, and rumours hotting up for Bryan Mbeumo, this still leaves United in dire need of a striker to spearhead their attack.
Many names have been rumoured with taking this position, such as Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen, and Jean-Philippe Mateta, but Paul Ince has another suggestion.
Ince highlights weak mentality
When speaking to The Telegraph recently, Ince claimed, “It really saddens me to see where Manchester United are now. In the teams I played in, we not only had so many top players, but tough competitors and great characters, too.”
Ince went on to detail how important mental fortitude is when playing for a club such as United, and he compared it to his time at the side in the early 1990’s.
He continued, “The fans demand that you produce week in and week out, but some of the current players can’t cope with that mentally. They haven’t got the character to do it.
“We’re not talking about bad players here – we’re talking about players who can’t play in a system that Amorim wants to play. He’s said he’s not going to change his system of three at the back and that he believes in it, but the balance doesn’t look right.”
Watkins touted for striker spot
Once the former Inter Milan midfeidler had finished questioning United’s recent recruitment, he made it very clear that the upcoming summer window is a period of significant importance for Amorim and United.
He then finally recommended Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins for the striker position, who has achieved 111 goal contributions in his 184 Premier League matches for Villa.
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Ince stated, “They badly need more firepower and I’m looking at someone like Ollie Watkins – a striker who can actually score goals – as a player United need to be going for.”
After falling out of favour at Villa in recent months, a summer move could be on the cards for Watkins, and it will be interesting to see if the Red Devils take notice of the opinions of their former player.
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