"Put a £70 million to £80 million bid and taken that boy" – Manchester United legend believes Sir Alex Ferguson would have signed star player from Premier League club

Manchester United legend Nicky Butt has suggested that Sir Alex Ferguson would have roped in Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace at his former club.

The Red Devils, who finished eighth last season, are currently 13th in the Premier League table with 29 points from 24 games. They were expected by fans and pundits alike to improve after Erik ten Hag's sacking, but Ruben Amorim has failed to rejuvenate their form since November 2024.

During a recent chat with Stadium Astro, Butt was asked to share his honest thoughts on the Red Devils' current situation in the Premier League. The Englishman responded (h/t Metro):

"As much as I love Manchester United, they don't have a God-given right to win trophies. It's a big project. They're not going to get in 10 players this summer and challenge next season, it's just not going to happen. So it's about the project and the plan and it's going to take time. They have to spend money, whatever it costs, on four or five top, proper players, proper men."

Butt, who made 387 overall appearances under Ferguson, continued:

"Then these young boys already at the club can link onto them. But who's telling the young players what to do and how to train at the moment? United don't have that core group so they need to get the chequebook out and sign these £80 million players that they used to."

Hinting that Eze is good enough to represent the Red Devils, Butt said:

"The lad at Crystal Palace, Eze, if it was around ten years ago, United would have put a £70 million to £80 million bid and taken that boy. They can't do it now because they haven't got the power and that's the scariest thing."

Eze, 26, has contributed 32 goals and 23 assists in 149 overall outings for Crystal Palace since arriving from Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in 2020.

Manchester United eyeing move for Brazilian

According to Spanish website Fichajes.net, Manchester United have joined the race to rope in Flamengo star Wesley Franca. They are set to face competition from Zenit Saint Petersburg in the upcoming summer.

Wesley, 21, has popped up as one of the most promising wing-backs in Brazil since his debut for Flamengo in December 2021. The £25 million-rated star has featured in 110 total games for his boyhood club so far.

Should Wesley secure a move to Manchester United, he could prove to be a fine signing. The defender would provide good competition to Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui in the club's preferred 3-4-2-1 setup.