MANCHESTER UNITED stars have bonded after Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure claims Gary Neville.
The Sky Sports pundit is impressed by United’s form with the Red Devils picking up wins against Bournemouth, Wolves, Nottingham Forest and Burnley since the World Cup.
They are unbeaten since Ronaldo left the club following his blockbuster interview with SunSport columnist Piers Morgan.
And Neville thinks the players have bonded with one another after dealing with the striker’s departure and their poor start to the season.
United lost three of their first seven games but have turned things around and now sit fourth in the table – five points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham.
Neville believes the bad start will have helped the squad in the long run but called on the club to sign a striker.
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“I think coming through the situation with Cristiano, coming through the situation with (Harry) Maguire and overcoming the difficult start – they have all bonded together more than what they would have done with an ordinary or normal start.
“Ten Hag is now in a strong position to call the shots, but they need a striker.”
The likes of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro all spoke highly of Ronaldo following his departure.
But interestingly, both Fernandes and Casemiro revealed they did not speak to the superstar at the time of his exit.
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United are rumoured to be in the market for a forward after missing out on Cody Gakpo to Liverpool.
Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix is believed to be of interest, with Arsenal and Chelsea also in the race to sign the striker.
But Ten Hag is adamant United will not spend for the sake of it and is determined to find a player who can make an immediate impact.
He said: “There is a need to get a forward who can have an impact, otherwise you are just burning money because you don’t strengthen the squad and it doesn’t help.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
