Yorke: Forget the £100m Men, Bouaddi Is the Midfielder Carrick Must Build Manchester United Around

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has urged the club to strengthen heavily this summer if they are to build on last season's third-place finish.

The former Aston Villa star has questioned the £100m-plus valuations of Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali , backed Michael Carrick 's judgement on Andrey Santos , and named Morocco 's Ayyoub Bouaddi as the player he would build the team around.

Yorke has also given his verdict on Youri Tielemans and Bruno Guimaraes , and explained why Manchester United must sign four or five first-team players to close the gap on Arsenal .

Season Prediction

Where Will Manchester United Finish This Season?

Where can this Manchester United squad finish if they don't do more business this summer? Listen, you finish where you finish. Unfortunately, for any player, manager or team, if you're not doing better than what you achieved the season before, it is going to be deemed a failure. That's just the harsh reality of it, especially at a club like United .

Michael Carrick has done remarkably well in taking United up to third last season, but now that that's happened, the expectation is that he must have them finishing above that in the next season, and that means being in the title race if not winning the title. With Champions League football this season, and all the other games coming his way this time round, United have to strengthen the squad. Carrick will certainly be able to compete with this team; he's already shown he can do that, but it's not a complete team.

We know that Manchester United still need to strengthen in many areas, and I would like to think that before the season starts, or at least before the window shuts, that they can bring in another four or five players. When you look at the squad Carrick has to work with, there will be players who end up out with injuries, and there will be players who leave the club. He knows, when you're competing on all fronts, which is what a club like United must do, then you need a real squad of players. You don't just need a strong team of 11 players. You need a squad of 26 quality players who can fight for their place in the team and go out to win every competition in a season.

Fixing the spine of the team is the key. I'd like to see United sign another number nine. Obviously, they need to replace Casemiro . I think they may also need another central defender. There's also the situation with Marcus Rashford . Is he a United player or not? That's another situation we need to deal with as well. United need to sign four or five new players who can go straight into the first team, to compete with the players they have, and to go one step further than where they finished last season.

The Casemiro Void

Does Andrey Santos Offer Enough to Replace Casemiro?

Is Andrey Santos good enough for Manchester United ? Michael Carrick was one of the best midfielders to play the game. That's a position he knows better than anyone. He understands the kind of quality needed to play the way he wants his team to play. If Carrick wasn't a midfielder, I probably would have something to say on Santos , but he was, and a damn good one at that, so why would I want to tell him whether or not Santos is what he needs in that position? If anybody knows that position and what it takes, it'll be Carrick , so I'm interested to see who he brings in, regardless of who it is.

Overall, midfield is an area that is of great concern, especially now that Manuel Ugarte is injured for the season, too. It's crucial that United get it right this summer. It can't all come down to Santos and Kobbie Mainoo . We know that Mainoo hasn't played too much for England at the World Cup , but it's too big a job for a young guy to be playing that much football if United don't sign more midfielders this summer.

You need to sign people to make sure that injuries are prevented as well by having players to come in to fill that role rather than overplaying Mainoo , so it's an area that needs to be sorted out, but we've got the best person in the world to do that. It's Michael Carrick 's job to make sure that he fills his midfield with the right sort of players and avoids the errors United have made in the past with midfielders.

Should United Have Beaten Man City to Anderson?

Manchester United didn't sign Elliot Anderson because of the price. It's not my money, so it's easy for me to sit here and say they should spend it, but I just don't believe these players are worth £130 million. Is Elliot Anderson really a £130 million footballer? Is he a game-changer? Or is he just a solid player? I think he's a very good player, but I'm not sure he's world-class, and that's what you should be getting when you're spending that sort of money.

Is he world-class? I don't think so. The debate will go on, and I know he's English and everything else, but does he bring that X-factor in midfield? I just don't see it from him. I do see him as a very good player, but he's not worth £130 million. I wouldn't be paying that for him, but somehow people say you should go out and pay that type of money if you're going to attract the best players. Is he going to come into this United team and make me say, " Wow "? No. Is he going to guarantee me we'll be winning the Premier League ? No, I don't think so. But that's the market that we are in. At the right price, I would have said go get him, but at £130 million, there's no way for a player like Elliot Anderson .

Were You Surprised United Didn't Challenge For Tonali?

I see these players like Sandro Tonali going for £100 million, and I'm not sure about him at all at that price. You look at his stats playing for Newcastle United , and he's not exactly a wow player, is he? He's a good, solid player, and that is unfortunately all you get for £100 million these days. He's not coming into your team scoring 15 goals and creating 10. Those are the numbers where you go, alright, that's worth £100 million to me, but that's not what midfielders at this price are bringing to the table this summer.

Maybe I'm getting old. Maybe I see football differently. But a £100 million player is somebody who can do it all, and in moments, I'm sure these guys can do it all. Yes, they might win you the odd game here or there. But if I've got a £100 million midfielder, that is not a moment's player. That's a footballer who has real consistency to dominate teams every week and score big goals in every big moment. I'm not sure Sandro Tonali or any of these other guys can do that.

Transfer Talk

Is Tielemans the Better Option Than Anderson and Tonali?

Youri Tielemans ? He is a very solid player who has the experience of playing in the Premier League , and he captains his national team. I prefer him ahead of other options, except for Ayyoub Bouaddi of Morocco . He would be my first choice. If you're spending £100 million on a player, you want to be signing the midfield equivalent of Kylian Mbappe , for instance. Then you pay whatever, and your money disappears, but you know what you're going to get. You're seeing it with your own eyes.

Bouaddi from Morocco , the young kid, he is that player. I watched him closely at this World Cup , and he looked remarkable in games like against Brazil . He is young. He is a real project. I would spend money on Bouaddi because he has the potential to be the best in the world. Outside of Bouaddi , there is nobody else making me think wow, there's £100 million worth of player here.

I don't know where these figures have suddenly come from. It's a consistent thing now for anybody who is half decent to be valued at £100 million. That's the market. But you've got to be exceptional when you're a player worth £100 million and up. Are you really telling me that Elliot Anderson , Sandro Tonali and the rest of them are exceptional players? They're good players. That's all. I can't get my head around it. A £100 million player should be somebody who does things that no other players can do on the planet, but unfortunately, £100 million is just a drop in the ocean now in this sport.

From what I see of him playing for Morocco , I think there is something special about Bouaddi , so if you want to talk about midfield players, you can go and spend £50 million on Santos or whatever, but I urge United to go for Bouaddi because the guy looks like he has everything. He's very comfortable on the ball, he plays in the right position, and he's even got some nice creativity too. He's still learning the job, and he's young but will only get better with the right coaching and exposure, especially playing for a master like Carrick .

I've told United in the past to go and sign players. I told them to sign Michael Olise before he went to Bayern Munich . I told them to sign Eberechi Eze . This was years before anyone said anything about him moving to Arsenal . I said go and spend £100 million to sign those two players for United . They looked at me and said why is he saying that? Now look at them. I told them to go and get Unai Emery , the best manager in the country, before they went and appointed Ruben Amorim as manager. No one listened to me on Eze or Olise , but I'm telling them, go and get Bouaddi now. That's the young midfielder you need to build this team around. He is the future.

Should United Give Bruno Guimaraes a Starting Role?

I don't know about Bruno Guimaraes . I'm not sure he has been that impressive. I watched him play for Brazil at the World Cup , and he's not convinced me. I think he's good. He's shown that at Newcastle United . He's got a good work ethic. I understand the value of that. But is that what you're paying for when you sign a player to come to Manchester United ? A good work ethic?

Listen, he's a solid player, and maybe he's good enough to get into a team at the level Manchester United should be at, but is it going to take them to another level? Will Bruno Guimaraes put United any closer to the Premier League title? If so, he's a good signing. But he doesn't excite me. I'm not seeing him picking up a ball and boom, sending over one of those diagonal passes or cutting defenders apart with one ball. I just don't see that quality from him.

That's why his performances for Brazil worried me. He was just another solid player in that team. They're all solid players. I'm not saying he's not a good player, but is that where United are at now? Just buying players because they're solid? Bring me players that are going to make us superior! The World Cup was an opportunity for him to tell the world there's a reason why a team like Manchester United are going to be after me, and he's come up short, in my opinion. Give me Bouaddi any day of the week ahead of those guys.

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