Paul Scholes has urged Manchester United to prioritise a summer move for Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali, warning that central midfield remains a 'big problem' for the club. The £100m-rated Italy international is also being pursued by Arsenal, Tottenham and Juventus ahead of the 2026/27 campaign, according to widespread reports.
United's midfield void after Casemiro exit
Manchester United spent around £200million last summer to strengthen their attack, signing Mateus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. However, they failed to land a midfielder despite links with Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson. With Casemiro having left Old Trafford, the club have re-entered the transfer market but were forced to abandon their pursuit of Anderson, who has agreed to join Manchester City.
Crystal Palace's Wharton remains a target, along with Alex Scott, Aurelien Tchouameni and Bruno Guimaraes. But Scholes believes Tonali, who has spent two to three seasons at Newcastle, is the ideal fit.
Scholes: Tonali is 'top-class'
'The centre of the pitch is a big problem for me. You don't feel like something is happening either, there's nothing, there are no rumours,' Scholes told Sky Sports. 'I've said it, I said it on the podcast six months ago, I love Tonali from Newcastle. It looks like a few clubs are in for him including Tottenham. It doesn't sound like we are in for him but I think that would be… he knows the Premier League, he's been with Newcastle for two or three years, obviously he had a year where he couldn't play, but I think he's a top-class midfield player.'
Scholes added that United must spend to be successful: 'Whether Manchester United want to do that deal for £90-100m, whatever it is, I don't know. But I think they're going to have to do some business if they want to be successful next year.'
Mainoo backed for England role
Turning to international football, Scholes called on England manager Thomas Tuchel to give Kobbie Mainoo a chance in the World Cup clash with DR Congo. Mainoo has not played a minute at the tournament so far. 'I think Anderson has probably got better legs than Kobbie but I think Kobbie is more talented in his brain and technically,' Scholes said. 'Kobbie gets a bit of stick for his legs I suppose, not being able to get around the pitch, but I think his stats, I remember looking at it last year, he ran like 12km in a game. That's good, that's brilliant, and he's got the talent to go with it.'
Scholes believes Mainoo can progress the ball better than Anderson: 'He's a person who will progress the game more through the thirds of the pitch. He will link the midfield to the forward players better than Elliot Anderson will, which is what we're seeing now. England are really struggling with Rice and Anderson to progress the ball through the pitch to these better players and I think Kobbie Mainoo will take the risk to do that.'
Midfield battle ahead
Scholes also looked forward to seeing Mainoo and Anderson compete next season if Anderson joins City. 'Goals-wise, they are probably similar. Can they get to ten goals maybe? I think Kobbie has probably got more of a chance of getting to 10-15 goals than Anderson. But both in their own right are top-class midfield players so I'm looking forward to that battle next year.'
