Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United to sign four players in the summer transfer window.
Following a disappointing start to the season, United have been one of the most in-form teams in England since Michael Carrick’s appointment as caretaker manager in January.
Carrick has taken the Red Devils back into the top-four places and it has been suggested United could even catch local rivals Manchester City and finish second.
Manchester United are yet to decide on Ruben Amorim’s permanent replacement but whoever gets the gig will look to bolster the squad in the summer.
Ferdinand has revealed his four ‘priorities’ for United, urging his former club to sign two midfielders, a new forward and a full-back when the transfer market reopens.
A number of top midfielders have been linked with moves to Old Trafford as Casemiro has announced he is leaving and Manuel Ugarte has been tipped to follow the Brazilian out of the exit door.
‘If United go and get four players in the next window and two of those are starters, then I think that’s a realistic transfer window,’ Ferdinand said on his podcast.
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‘If I was the club, my priorities would be two central midfielders, one who starts and maybe a younger one who you can blood in here and there around Bruno [Fernandes], Kobbie [Mainoo] and the one you bring in.
‘I would also go for another forward, a younger one who is going to be more of a back-up to what we’ve already got. And I would go for a full-back.
‘That’s it. I know you can say you want ten new players and most positions can be improved but I don’t think you need a huge revamp, it’s still a lot but that’s realistic.’
Newcastle United duo Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes have both been linked with Manchester United in recent weeks.
But Ferdinand views Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson as his first-choice target for the midfield position.
‘Beginning of the season everyone was talking about [Carlos] Baleba, he seems to have gone off the boil a little bit form wise,’ Ferdinand said last week.
‘Elliot Anderson, he seems to have jumped to the front of the queue. I think he’s a wonderful player.
‘I think Elliot Anderson is the right type not only of player but character, I thin he’d be a good addition to the squad.
‘Tonali is a big talent that everyone is talking about, Guimaraes is another big talent that everyone is talking about.
‘But I just think the type of midfielder United need is somebody who is a bit more all-action, who can cover ground, who is dynamic, who is robust, strong, who can drive a team.
‘Right now Anderson seems to be ticking those boxes. But I think there are a few other young guns out there who I won’t mention their names yet because I don’t want anyone else to get on that scent.’
Manchester United could only draw 2-2 at Bournemouth on Friday night but remain third in the Premier League with seven games remaining.
Carrick’s side return to Premier League action after the international break with a home match against rivals Leeds United.
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