Gary Neville has named two goalkeepers Manchester United should try to sign before the transfer deadline after the club’s opening-day defeat to Arsenal.
A mistake from United back-up goalkeeper Altay Bayindir cost Ruben Amorim’s side dearly at Old Trafford on Sunday as Arsenal clinched a narrow 1-0 win.
Bayindir – picked ahead of Andre Onana, who struggled last season – failed to deal with Declan Rice’s corner, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to head home from on the line.
It was largely improved performance from Manchester United against an Arsenal team expected to challenge for the title for the fourth season in a row.
Speaking after the defeat, Neville said it was imperative for his former club to bring in a new goalkeeper before the summer transfer window closes.
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As for who Amorim should target, Neville named Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma as two goalkeepers he would welcome at Old Trafford.
Manchester United were linked with World Cup winner Martinez earlier in the summer and Aston Villa reportedly placed a £40m asking price on his head.
Donnarumma, meanwhile, is searching for a new club after being banished by PSG manager Luis Enrique despite his incredible form last season.
The Italian is open to a move to the Premier League but United have briefed that they are not currently pursuing a deal.
Amorim was thought to have full faith in Onana but then dropped his No. 1 for the opening game of the season, perhaps hinting a move for a new goalkeeper was imminent.
‘There’s a glaring issue for Manchester United that can’t be ignored and that is that they do need to find a goalkeeper,’ Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast. ‘They have to.
‘I’m absolutely unequivocal on that. I had an experience at United for 20 years where we had big spells with [Peter] Schmeichel and [Edwin] van der Saw and in-between we had seven or eight other goalkeepers.
‘It’s really unsettling when you don’t have a really dominant No. 1. You need someone to own their six-yard box, to make a lot of saves, to come and punch everything and save you points when your defenders make mistakes.
‘That needs to be sorted either with a permanent signing or a loan. The two that you look at that have been mentioned in the last few weeks are Martinez and Donnarumma.
‘The reason I say those two would be good for United is not necessarily because they’re the two best goalkeepers in Europe, but they’ve got big personalities and characters.
‘You’ve seen Donnarumma in a Euros final saving those penalties, he looked like a giant, and you’ve seen him play for PSG in huge games under pressure.
‘We’ve seen Martinez play in World Cup finals. They’ve played under extreme pressure and they can handle it. Man United need that.
‘I think they need to sort the goalkeeper out because they will keep conceding goals and points and it undermines what you’re doing.
‘I’ve said it for years, you need personality, character and stability in that position. I think United need to deal with it in the next couple of weeks.’
Unless he signs a new goalkeeper, Amorim faces a big decision over who to pick next week for the trip to Fulham.
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