Mount loses Gary Neville's support as Utd told to trade him for bonus signing

Mason Mount's time at Manchester United has not gone to plan – and Gary Neville has called on the Old Trafford club to sell the midfielder this summer

Gary Neville has urged Manchester United to sell Mason Mount in order to generate funds to squeeze in a fifth signing in the summer. The midfielder's time at Old Trafford hasn't quite materialised as he would have hoped, and Neville has appeared to have given up hope on the England international.

United will be back in the Champions League next season after Michael Carrick's huge impact since replacing Ruben Amorim in January. Carrick has led the Reds to third in the table, with Sunday's 3-2 victory over Liverpool guaranteeing their place in Europe's premier competition next season.

Neville believes that, for his old side to compete domestically and in Europe, a squad overhaul will be required this summer, with at least four fresh faces coming in – and Mount is a player United could cash in on. He said: “Michael Carrick will be very happy tonight but I think he will also be disappointed deep down that they haven’t gone on to win that game 3-0 or 4-0.

“They should have killed that game and put Liverpool to sleep because they were nowhere near this football match. He’s won the game and that’s the most important thing but Carrick won’t be fooled by some of what he saw in that second half.

“He will know he needs to rebuild the defence and midfield. If you’re going to play 4-4-2, which I am massively in favour of United doing, you have to have two very special players in there and defenders who can play one-on-one.

FOLLOW OUR MAN UNITED FB PAGE! Latest news and analysis via the MEN’s Manchester United Facebook page

“You’re asking a lot of the players. I think United need a left-back for next season because Luke Shaw has played every game this year and he may struggle. They need a centre-back, 100 per cent, and they need two midfield players.

“They are the four priorities right now. They’re the players I would look at adding to this squad.”

And one way Neville believes United can fund a rebuild of their defence and midfield is by selling Mount. Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Aurelien Tchouameni have all been linked with moves to Old Trafford this summer as United look to revamp their midfield.

Mount is coming towards the end of his third season at Old Trafford, and Injuries, setbacks and competition have reduced the England international to just 69 appearances since joining from Chelsea. The 27-year-old, who is under contract with United until the summer of 2028, has only made 20 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

And Neville, speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, said: “Look, if you could then maybe trade Mason Mount for someone else who maybe can play in and out and can be a bit more flexible across the midfield and forward line then I would say go for a fifth.

“But if you can’t, I would say those four areas are the priority and they’ve got to be top-notch, those players.”

Neville calling on United to cash in on Mount should not come as a surprise, as he voiced concern about the midfielder moving to Old Trafford back in 2023. The Sky Sports pundit didn’t believe Mount was the solution to his old side’s problems at the time, suggesting they should be aiming to bring in a more established option to help the club take the next step.

He said: "I am surprised about the Mason Mount one, to be honest with you. For the reported £60million fee… he is a very good player, that isn't a question for me.

"But I look at the players United have got already in terms of Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred and Scott McTominay. Do I think Mount is the player to go in and sort all that out? I'm not quite sure.

"I think you would have been better off going and playing £100million plus on Jude Bellingham or £80-100million on Declan Rice and getting something you think can be the real thing. Mount would be a very good addition to United's squad, but it is a lot of money for a squad addition.

"Does Mount, Casemiro and Fernandes work as a midfield-three? Spending £60million, you have got to get that jump towards winning the league from third place.

"United, at this moment in time, they haven't got the money and they haven't got the promise of the new ownership to be able to throw the big money at players."