Manchester United given brutal transfer warning after Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha signings

With Manchester United reinforcing their squad but still needing several key signings, punters may consider betting on them finishing outside the top six if they do not secure the striker and additional players needed for a competitive edge.

Alan Shearer believes Manchester United are "three or four" signings away from challenging for the Premier League top six. United travelled to the United States on Tuesday for their pre-season tour, where they will take on West Ham, Bournemouth, and Everton in the Premier League Summer Series.

Ruben Amorim has strengthened his United squad with the signings of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha this summer. Mbeumo was signed from Brentford for £65million plus £6m in add-ons, while Cunha's release clause of £62.5m at Wolves was triggered and will be paid over three instalments.

United need to sign a new striker, and other positions need addressing following an awful campaign, but sales are required to raise cash for further incomings this summer. United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, and Shearer has warned United are still a few high-quality signings away from competing at the top end of the table.

Speaking in an interview with Betfair, Shearer said: "Last year was a disaster for Man United. It will be better than that this season, I've no doubt, but how much better will depend on how much business they do between now and the end of the transfer window. "There's no doubt they need a top-class centre-forward, which would go well with Cunha and Mbeumo, so they've still got business to do and it depends on what quality they bring in.

"Even with just Cunha and Mbeumo, there's no doubt they'll improve on last season. As I said, they're still three, maybe four top players away from challenging for the top six. "Once they had shown their intentions that they wanted to sign Mbeumo, Brentford were always going to hold out for what they wanted, and I guess they've not got what they wanted.

"There's no doubt he's a very, very good player. We've seen that for a while at Brentford now. Him and Yoane Wissa have been the main threats and he's proven in the Premier League, which adds value to it.

"Mbeumo will likely be going to AFCON, but you know that when you sign these players. You just have to get on with it and accept it. He'll be a big player for Man United, so to be without him for that amount of time will hurt him and Man United, but other clubs will have the same problem.

"Salah will be missing for Liverpool, too, but the business they've done is fantastic. You have to be prepared for players going to AFCON and you have to have the squad for it."

Shearer shared his thoughts on Marcus Rashford's move to Barcelona and said: "It could be a huge move for Marcus Rashford. That all depends on him. I guess, and he probably thinks that it's time for a reset and if he can forget what's gone on in the past, the good and the bad, then he's got a great opportunity to kickstart his career again.

"It doesn't get much bigger than Barcelona, so Hansi Flick and the club clearly believe in him, they're paying his full salary and there's a clause at the end of the loan if they want to sign him on a permanent basis, so what an opportunity for Marcus to have a career reset.

"That's what he must do and that has to be the mentality. Only he can answer whether he gets back in the England squad. I don't know him personally, what his state of mind is in terms of where he feels he is.

"But I guess the whole Barcelona project believes they can get the best out of him, otherwise they wouldn't be paying the £300,000-odd per week for him. I guess they've done their homework, sat down with him, and they feel it's a chance worth taking.

"It could be an expensive one or it could be a great signing. "I don't know is the answer. We've seen flashes of his best at Aston Villa. They chose not to sign him permanently for whatever reason. Barcelona believe they can get the very best out of him and if they can, it could turn out to be a shrewd signing.

"But you also have to look at it and think it's a little bit of a gamble because we've not seen anywhere near the heights that he hit all those years ago for a long time now. Only Marcus knows where he is mentally and physically."

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Man Utd have signed Mbeumo and Cunha in the summer transfer window, but they need to sell before there can be further incomings.

Manchester Evening News