Gary Neville insists Manchester United will not see Manchester Cityas their main title rival next season. Big spending City are being tipped to be serious contenders for the Premier League crown after their third place finish and FA Cup win last season. But Neville believes Chelsea, not Roberto Mancini’s side, will pose the biggest threat to Sir Alex Ferguson’s hopes of securing a 20th league title.
“You can’t say that they are the number one rival at this moment because Chelsea still finished second last year and Chelsea were the double winners the year before” Neville told talkSPORT. But the former United full back, now an ambassador for the club, does expect City to be among the contenders adding “The likes of City, Liverpool, Arsenal are all going to be there again this year and knocking on the door. They are investing more in players. They want to win the Championship, they want to win the Champions League.
“United have been used to having people knock at them the last twenty years and trying to knock them off the top so I wouldn’t say that City are the number one rival but they are certainly a big rival this year and with the type of players they are trying to sign I’m sure they will add to it.”
Neville has been impressed by Ferguson’s signings this summer, with Ashley Young, David De Gea and Phil Jones arriving at Old Trafford. And he is expecting his formerEngland team mate Young to progress into an even better player under Ferguson.
“He’s a player that can go either way, left and right, and played with Aston Villa last season off the front” continued Neville “he’s added a great deal to his game over the last 12 months. He’s not just somebody who stands on the left wing, cuts back and crosses it with his right foot, which we know does brilliantly. He can now score goals, he can play on the right hand side, he can play off the front. He’s added game intelligence.
I saw him in the England-Wales game and was really impressed with him. The positions that he took up, he was difficult to mark, and now with the level of service and the players he’ll have around him here he can only improve.”
Who do you see as United’s main rivals next season?
