Man Utd star ‘resembles an ironing board’ as Wilcox is urged to sign Crystal Palace duo as major upgrades

Manchester United have been told their current full-back options, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot , are “not fit for purpose”, and the club must sign two quality upgrades if they want to challenge for top honours, with a pair of Crystal Palace stars named as possible successors.

The Red Devils have improved leaps and bounds since Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim as manager. Although currently only in the role on an interim capacity, the fact that Manchester United have won eight times in Carrick’s 12-game stint in charge so far has put the club in with a great chance of bringing Champions League football back to Old Trafford.

Furthermore, it also means Carrick has put himself in with a massive chance of landing the job on a full-time basis, though club bosses are determined to let that decision wait until the season’s end and with the club still keeping their eye on potential world-class alternatives.

However, the job looks like Carrick’s to lose and with sources revealing he is also playing an active role in discussing the club’s summer transfer business , it would come as a major surprise were the 44-year-old not at the helm at the start of next season.

While United are expected to sign at least one new midfielder this, and also want another striker to provide cover and competition for Benjamin Sesko, the club’s former star, Paul Parker, reckons United also need to sign a pair of new full-backs, claiming neither Shaw nor Dalot are of the required standard to win the game’s very top trophies.

Mimicking Dalot’s attempts to imitate his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo and harshly comparing the player to an ironing board, Parker told the People’s Person : “Dalot is more bothered about doing an Irish jig on the ball, even trying to copy his compatriot in Ronaldo and doing stepovers, and they’re absolutely awful.

“I’ve seen more flexibility in an ironing board with his legs going over.

“ Luke Shaw doesn’t get far enough forward because his fitness doesn’t allow him to go up and down. So it’s very, very difficult not having flexible full-backs.”

Parker also doesn’t rate the club’s back-up full-back Noussair Mazraoui.

“They need players who can run. I think [Noussair] Mazraoui can do it. Mazraoui is very good in that role. Mazraoui, put him in any position, like at the weekend, he did great going in at centre-half.

“But they need a left-back. Some will say [Patrick] Dorgu. I don’t think Dorgu is a left-back.”

Asked if he sees Dorgu more as a winger, Parker commented: “I think so. He’s more of a left-midfield player, or play him as a wing-back so he can get forward.

“They need a dynamic left-back. They [also] need a more dynamic right-back, someone who’s willing to get forward …go to the byline, cross the ball, step inside. And that’s what they need, just to kind of get their play quicker, because everything is slow and deliberate.”

Parker was then asked which players he sees as suitable upgrades for the pair, and the 62-year-old had no hesitation in naming a pair of Crystal Palace stars as the players that United should target.

“Go and get Crystal Palace’s wing-back [Daniel] Munoz,” Parker said, before adding. “They’ve [also] got maybe the best wing-back, left-back in the league – Tyrick Mitchell.”

The good news for United is that Munoz has already outlined plans to potentially play for United, describing a move to Old Trafford as one of his ‘dreams’ .

As for Shaw, he has been named as one of eight players United should sell this summer by Paul Scholes , who has labelled the star ‘world-class’ on his day, but having explained why he feels that time is now behind him.