Manchester United favourite Mikael Silvestre has urged the Red Devils to pursue players with the X-factor rather than going with the reputation. The club have recently been linked with a potential move for Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti but Silvestre does not believe his compatriot offers the credentials to suit the club’s style of play.

In a report covered by The Star, he said: “Man United will always look to sign players with the X-factor but I don’t see Samuel Umtiti as necessarily a Manchester United player. I think Eric Bailly has all the qualities Man United need in defence but United will always target the best, so who knows who might come in and they will always look to strengthen the squad. “For me the focus would be the midfield.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was recently handed with the permanent head coach role after impressing over the past three months on an interim boss and the Norwegian is now expected to have an input on the transfer proceedings for the summer. After a couple of ineffective transfer windows, United are being fancied to spend big at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether they can sufficiently strengthen the squad to push for the title next term.

Manchester United are currently just outside of the top four with a two-point deficit but they are regarded by many as one of the favourites among Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to push for Champions League qualification through the league. They can do the same by winning the elite competition altogether this season but the challenge remains stiff with a quarter-final tie against Barcelona scheduled this month.

Ole’s team return from the international break with a Premier League clash at home against Watford. They will be hoping to return to winning ways after succumbing to successive defeats to Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively before the two-week gap.