Gary Neville urges Man United overhaul: Five players must go to suit Amorim’s vision

Gary Neville has made it clear that Manchester United must undergo significant changes this summer, claiming five current players aren't good enough to fit Ruben Amorim’s system.

The former United defender voiced his concerns after a goalless draw against Manchester City at Old Trafford — a performance that lacked spark, with United managing only two shots on target. Neville didn't hold back in his post-match analysis, describing the display as “robotic,” a comment that prompted a sharp response from Amorim, who remarked that Neville is "critical of everything."

Still, Neville stood by his view and told Sky Sports that a major reshuffle is needed.
"From a United perspective, I get why he's gone back into a low block. But that's what we've seen from Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik Ten Hag," he said. "They've all come in with the intention of playing high-press, high-energy football, but all end up going back to a low block in big games."

"I do understand why Ruben Amorim's done that today, with the players he's got, because he hasn't got the players to adapt," he continued. "They need five new players straight away before you even think about the rest of it."

Neville was particularly critical of United’s forward line and wing-backs, hinting that the likes of Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee, Diogo Dalot, and Patrick Dorgu are not up to the task.
"The three up front are not good enough and the two wing-backs, they're not good enough. They need five players. They need to serve him with five players who are good enough in this system to be able to play his system the way he wants."

Though Bruno Fernandes also featured in the front three, Neville excluded him from his criticism, calling him "United’s real player of absolute quality."

Despite the attacking trio’s individual technical skill, their combined return of 10 goals in 85 Premier League appearances this season is concerning. Højlund, for instance, endured a lengthy goal drought of over 22 hours earlier in the campaign. Dalot, meanwhile, has been a more consistent presence, even earning Players' Player of the Year for the 2023–24 season — yet he wasn't spared from Neville’s critique.

Amorim, meanwhile, remains optimistic for the long term despite recent inconsistency. United have only been beaten twice in their last nine matches in all competitions, though just three of those have ended in victory.

"In the moment it's still really hard every day, but of course you can imagine that the next season is going to be so much different," Amorim said.

"That's why I'm always saying that I'm in a rush because we are suffering a lot. Everybody here is suffering a lot with all these changes, and we have to show something in the next year."

He acknowledged the work ahead: "We have so many aspects to improve: build-up, transition, decisions in the final third. Every player can improve. They are here because they showed something at other clubs. They have the quality but we are still a team that plays on transition and we need to spend more time in final third to have more opportunities."