Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker says the club should prioritise the signing of Ollie Watkins over Ivan Toney | OneFootball

Manchester United’s disappointing season will have left INEOS in no doubt of the size of the rebuild required at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag and his troops have underperformed throughout the campaign with the multiple attackers struggling this year.

United are comfortably the lowest scorers in the top half of the Premier League and will no doubt be adding an attacker or two to the ranks this summer.

With a raft of names being linked with bolstering United’s firepower, former United defender Paul Parker has weighed in on the debate.

Parker believes that Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins is the perfect fit for Old Trafford whilst dismissing the notion of Brentford’s Ivan Toney joining the club.

As reported by mybettingsites.com, when asked if he felt Toney would provide a solution to aid Rasmus Hojlund in United’s attack, Parker’s answer was staunch.

“No. Not really. It’s got to be someone of more note than Ivan Toney.

“He hasn’t had enough points on the board as a Premier League striker to be in the position of having an understudy,” he said.

Then asked about Watkins, Parker described the Villa man as “the best all-round centre-forward in the league” and believes he is a much more of a suitable option to enhance United’s striking options.

“If you’re going to bring a centre-forward in and he’s going to be UK based, in my opinion you bring in Watkins. Look at how many goals he scores, his work rate off the ball, he’s so unselfish and still scores goals,” said Parker.

However, the former full-back believes United would need a nine-figure bid to get Watkins out of Villa Park but calls a £100 million price tag a “deserved one”.

Interestingly this a view shared by Treble winning striker Dwight Yorke who, in an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, also advised United to ignore Toney in favour of Watkins.

Yorke feels Toney “isn’t a United player” and “wouldn’t fit the system” at Old Trafford.

“I would rather take a chance with Ollie Watkins. He’s lively, he runs down the channel, his movement is much better. Toney is okay, but he’s not that mobile,” Yorke had said.

With 26 goals and 12 assists to his name this season, Watkins has emerged as one of the leading strikers in the Premier League.

There is no doubt the 28-year-old has progressed hugely under the tutelage of Unai Emery with his boundless energy and new-found confidence in front goal catapulting Villa into the coveted Champions League places.

Toney is much more of a traditional number nine while Watkins’ desire to run the channels as well as get on the end of chances is much more akin to Ten Hag’s way of playing.

However Ten Hag cannot start thinking about summer signings with United needing to end the season strong in order for the Dutchman to be in the dugout next season.

The visit of Burnley to Old Trafford on Saturday is the first of five league games Ten Hag has to navigate before the FA Cup final against Manchester City on May 25 which could potentially decide his future.

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