Paul Scholes Calls for Bold Signings at Manchester United
Paul Scholes has never been shy about what Manchester United need. This time, he’s gone straight for the heart of the team – and straight for one of the Premier League’s most combustible defenders.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, the former United and England midfielder argued that Michael Carrick’s side must make a bold move for Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero, and not stop there.
“They sorted out the forward areas last summer,” Scholes said, before cutting to the chase. “But I think they probably need two centre backs. You might laugh at this and I might get stick for this, but I would go and sign Christian Romero from Tottenham.”
That’s not a name you float lightly. Romero is a World Cup winner, a defender who plays on the edge and sometimes tumbles over it. Scholes knows exactly what comes with him – and wants it anyway.
“I know he’s a nutter, I know he’s got disciplinary issues,” he admitted. “But he can be a very good centre half and someone that Michael Carrick could really calm down. They’re talking about 30 or 40 million quid for a player who has been centre half in a World Cup final. I know he’s got disciplinary issues but I would go and get him. I think they’re desperate for a centre-back, the current ones aren’t good enough.”
It’s a stinging verdict on United’s existing defensive options and a clear message: experience at the very top level now matters more than caution over yellow cards and flashpoints. Scholes sees Romero’s edge as a risk worth taking, especially under a manager he believes can smooth the roughest corners.
But his rebuild doesn’t stop at the back.
Scholes also turned his attention to midfield, where United missed out on Sandro Tonali, the Italian choosing Tottenham instead. For Scholes, that should have triggered an immediate pivot to one of the Premier League’s rising stars.
“I can’t believe they’re not trying to buy Adam Wharton,” he said. “Sandro Tonali would have been my first-choice but with him gone now, Adam Wharton looks perfect to me.”
Wharton’s stock has soared after a remarkable spell with Crystal Palace, where he helped the club lift both the FA Cup and the Conference League. Calm on the ball, intelligent without it, and already comfortable dictating games on big stages, he fits the profile Scholes craves for the midfield pivot.
United, though, would have to pay. Palace have placed an £85m price tag on the young playmaker, a figure that turns admiration into a serious test of ambition.
Scholes’ message is blunt: United cannot afford to drift. In his eyes, a World Cup-hardened centre-back and one of the country’s most promising midfielders are not luxuries. They are the kind of decisive, expensive calls that separate another year of transition from a team finally built to compete again.
