Gary Neville urges Man Utd to seal one more transfer to secure 'healthy' league position

Gary Neville has insisted Manchester United can secure a top-six finish if their three new forwards bag 40 goals between them - and they bring in another goalkeeper to keep it tight at the back.

Ruben Amorim's squad ended up in a dismal 15th last season after managing just 44 goals across their Premier League campaign. However, the £73.7million capture of Benjamin Sesko has pushed their summer outlay on forwards beyond £200m following the acquisitions of Bryan Mbeumbo and Matheus Cunha.

Former United defender Neville reckons there must be significant progress from last term's horrid showing.

"I think they'll be looking at Champions League, I think that'll be the ambition. I think we've gone past the point now where we say Manchester United have to win the league, I think that's unrealistic.

"I think top six would be healthy, I think that my feeling is probably between seventh, eighth is where I'm looking at it now, but I think they could, without Europe, they could get into the top six if they have a good run, and those players settling up front, which I'm actually quite happy about the players they've signed up front.

"I didn't think they had the £200 million to spend. If you said to me after that Tottenham game in the Europa League that Manchester United would have a forward line of those three that they've signed, I'd have snapped your hand off. I like the profile of those players, whether they settle in now is obviously the big question.

"Two of them are proven Premier League players, obviously they've got to step up a level, Sesko's young, he's got potential. He's young, can he get off to a good start? That's important for him.

"Can they embed themselves at United? Can they get the probably 35-40 goals which would be par for those three players? If they can get 40 goals, United's goals last season was terrible, they've got a good chance of getting into that top six, but they've got to settle those three players, and we can't take that for granted anymore at United. If they get a goalkeeper, I think that they could get into the top six, but a lot of things have to go on."

United shipped 54 Premier League goals to end the campaign with a woeful goal difference of -10. Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma is reportedly available for £30million - plus hefty wages - as a potential replacement for Andre Onana.

Amorim will also benefit from additional preparation time with his squad without the distraction of European competition. Antonio Conte famously guided Chelsea from 10th place to Premier League glory in his debut season during 2016-17.

"I think it'll help, it has to help, because there's basically more training time, less pressure on the players, less injuries, it means that the best players can play more often in the league, and not have those demands of a Thursday night game," Neville said. "But I think we've got to start the season well, there were some tough fixtures early on."

Neville suggested that Sunday's match against Arsenal was an ideal opener for his former side. "I just think they need something big," he commented. Meanwhile, fellow Sky Sports analyst Jamie Carragher believes that Arsenal and Mikel Arteta are under even more pressure to start the season strongly.

"It's a big game, we're out for Arsenal," he stated. "I think there's going to be that much pressure on Arsenal, just because we're in year five now, I think it's year six, and it just feels like right from the start everyone's eyes are on them. So I don't think it's a great game actually for Arsenal, to kick off the season as well, because of the situation that they're in, where it just feels like all eyes are on them from the very start.

"I'm not saying it's Premier League or bust, that type of thing, because I actually think Mikel Artel has done a brilliant job, and to be second, year after year, people sort of sneer at him, Arsenal finish second again, but there's a lot of good clubs in this, so to be second every year is not a mean feat.

"I think it would be good for them to get some sort of trophy. I think they had a good result in their last pre-season match but I think the one before that, they lost at home, and there was a few murmurs in the crowd. It's not just people outside, people in the stadium are worried. It's like: 'This has to happen now'."