Rene Meulensteen: Man Utd Should Steer Clear of Mbappe, Back Van de Ven and Build Around Their Best

In an exclusive interview with BOYLE Sports , former Manchester Unite d coach and Premier League manager Rene Meulensteen has said his former club should go all in for Micky van de Ven and earmarks another surprise target from Brighton .

Rene claims that there is a route back for Marcus Rashford because of his relationship with Michael Carrick , but gives a scathing assessment when it came to the future of Rasmus Hojlund.

The coach who has been well documented for his role in the rise of Cristiano Ronaldo has warned that the club should steer clear of Kylian Mbappe, arguing the club need “team players” but claims the club are only a few key signings away from a title challenge.

The Defence

Should Man Utd Be in for Micky van de Ven?

Man Utd should 100% be in for Micky van de Ven , and I can't really believe how the recruitment team at Manchester United missed him from the start. The physical specimen, the speed that he brings, the physicality, and they just completely missed him. There are other ones as well, even Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton ; he is a great centre-back. They're in the national team for a reason. Micky is obviously a player that has got massive qualities that would definitely add a lot to Manchester United , not least because he would be a left-footed centre-back. Obviously, they've got Lisandro Martinez , but he's very injury-prone. Van Hecke too, 100%.

He's a very steady, reliable centre-back, a really good kid as well, good personality, a very good footballer. Obviously, at Brighton , they've got a very certain style that they want to play; they want to play out from the back. He's very good at breaking the lines, and he would be an excellent candidate for some of the bigger teams.

Marcus Rashford

Is There a Route Back for Marcus Rashford?

There is a route back for Marcus Rashford because Michael Carrick knows him. I think there is a really important conversation to be had, no two ways about it. Marcus has grown up as a little kid from Manchester ; he's Manchester United through and through. And for whatever reason, something has made him make the decision to move away.

Maybe it has been good for him to move away for a while, just to have a look at it and look back at Manchester United from the outside in, because it will also have given him the opportunity to realise how much Man United actually means to him. Because he knows Michael and Michael knows him, I think it's definitely a good conversation that they should have. It all depends on what exactly the expectations are from both parties. If there's another manager coming in, it might be a different kettle of fish.

Would Rashford Thrive at Arsenal?

I think Manchester United will be very reluctant to see Marcus Rashford at Arsenal happen. Obviously, they gave him the opportunity to go to Aston Villa because the move to Barcelona that he wanted didn't materialise. It's also a question of whether Marcus wants to stay in Barcelona , and it all depends on how Barcelona values what he's brought to the team. He hasn't started all the games; a lot of times, he's come off the bench. Obviously, he was important against Real Madrid with that free kick. So again, these are all conversations to be held, but it all depends on the contract situations, the money that's going to be paid, and what Marcus wants for himself.

Recruitment Decisions

Was Signing Rasmus Hojlund Poor Business?

It is still a big loss when you consider it financially. And again, you question the recruitment, because you always have to consider one thing when looking at potentially bringing players into a club the size of Manchester United : scouting is all about being or becoming. Being is bringing in a player who you know will perform at that level. For example, in Ferguson 's last season, we brought in Robin van Persie . He's a being, because we knew what he did in the Premier League for Arsenal : the amount of assists, the amount of goals, no problem.

You put him in, and he will perform. The other aspect of recruitment is becoming. It's a player who is, to a certain extent, a being because you know he can perform at this level; however, there's much more to come. You know he's going to develop, he's going to grow, he's going to be bigger, and he's going to be better. With a Rasmus Hojlund type of recruitment, he's a becoming player; he's not a being.

But you need to try to anticipate how much of a being he is for us to already contribute to playing for Manchester United , and that has not materialised. To fork out 72 million pounds is a lot of money, and then to have to ship him out one or two years later and take a 38 million pound loss, well, they need to grab every penny that they can get. There's absolutely no point in bringing him back because I don't think he's good enough for the Premier League , so you have to take what you get.

Can Cole Palmer Replace Bruno Fernandes?

Cole Palmer and Bruno Fernandes play in exactly the same sort of positions, although they are different players. Obviously, Bruno is right-footed, and Cole is further up the park. Bruno can drop deeper; he can basically shape the game already from deeper positions. He's got that range of passing, the switches of play, to put somebody like Bryan Mbeumo in one versus one with one pass, or Amad . Cole is a little bit higher up the pitch, finding him in those pockets or in the wide areas to then do his magic.

But there's no secret; we all know that Cole is obviously a massive Man United fan. He always has been. Maybe his dream is to one day play for Man United . This time last year, he was magical, but for whatever reason, the whole of Chelsea has tailed off. They've not been good because they have had their own issues with their recruitment process; they brought in too many young players, and they lacked the experience really to get a real balance on the pitch. Cole has obviously suffered from it to some extent, but he's a fantastic player. I will never say never in football, because he's that player that has the calibre to play for Man United .

Should Man Utd Go for Ethan Nwaneri?

Ethan Nwaneri to Chelsea ? Chelsea haven't got a great pedigree in that respect because they're all buying all these young players, and they've failed to basically build a successful team at Chelsea that can compete in the Champions League or beyond. I don't know if that's the best approach, but you should always be in the market for the best players that are available if they become available.

For Nwaneri , why would he leave Arsenal to some extent? But having said that, any good player that becomes available and would add to the overall squad quality, then Manchester United should be in for it.

Title Credentials

Are Man Utd Title Contenders With Three Signings?

With three good signings, Man Utd are title contenders. Benjamin Sesko has improved; he's scored a few important goals. He feels more suited, and I think he's better linked at this moment in time with the players around him. He understands better what kind of movements to make, and any striker always feeds off service. But I do think they should have another, maybe a little bit more of an experienced number nine that he could feed off. In midfield, whether it's Anderson or whether it's Wharton , both would be well-suited.

Then on the front half of the pitch, you've got plenty of opportunities with Amad , with Mbeumo , with Cunha , with even Mount playing his role with Bruno Fernandes . There's a lot of strength in depth. Kobbie Mainoo has proved Amorim wrong every single time he has stepped on the pitch. What a player; he will only get better. There are still some questions to be asked in terms of the solidity that you need at the back, but yeah, with two or three good signings, United should be there or thereabouts.

Should Man Utd Steer Clear of Mbappe?

Man Utd should steer clear of Kylian Mbappe for one reason: Mbappe is not a team player. That's the whole problem with Real Madrid . Vinicius Junior is not a team player. Those are the players that would never ever feature under somebody like Luis Enrique , and Pep Guardiola when he started in Barcelona , because they have got a very straightforward policy which is about doing the work that you need to do upfront.

Every pressing action filters down to the midfield and the defence, making everything so much easier, but if you haven't got that discipline and work rate, it doesn't work. To me, it's not a surprise that Mbappe left PSG with Lionel Messi and Neymar, and then they won the Champions League ; they were not ready to do what the team needed physically. So I would be very much against Mbappe at United , because they have good, hard-working team players, and it would be moving away from that.

FA Youth Cup Venue Controversy

Obviously, Man City want to keep that home advantage, but it's a big shame. If that would have been moved to Old Trafford , you would probably end up with more than 40,000 people, just because of the fact that this is Man Utd against Man City , and seeing all the young players coming through. It is a shame, because the bigger and the quicker you can bring those young players into an environment like that, it is a massive learning curve. You could have made a financial agreement in terms of the gate that everybody would have been happy with.

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