David De Gea’s contract situation proves Manchester United have lost their strength, says Gary Neville
Sky Sports pundit said Red Devils players have the position of power in negotiations - with the club willing to overpay to keep them
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FORMER defender Gary Neville has said Manchester United have "lost their strength" when negotiating with their star players.
The ex-Red Devil full-back was speaking after the club took their option to extend David De Gea's deal by a year.
And many people saw this as a positive step taken by the club.
But Sky Sports pundit Neville believes it shows the Old Trafford negotiators have lost strength and bargaining power.
Speaking to the , he said: "Manchester United feels like a football club which is having to overpay to keep players because they are not in a position of strength, they are running their contracts down basically.
"It's happened since Sir Alex Ferguson left - with Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj, David de Gea before, Anthony Martial.
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"Players are being allowed to run them down because the club isn't in a position of strength, then they are having to overpay.
The former England international, 43, also claimed there are players queuing up to play at other big clubs and the same cannot be said for United.
He said: "Other clubs are having to pay, don't get me wrong, but are basically in a strong position where they say: "No problem, we'll sell you and get another player for this team, they are queuing up to play" and that's the problem Manchester United have at this moment in time.
"They have lost their strength, bargaining and having to overpay and negotiate hard with their own players."
Neville's statements come just weeks after Luke Shaw signed a lucrative new deal with the club.
SunSport have also reported that the Old Trafford top brass in talks with Chris Smalling and Martial over new deals.
Although he expressed his worry that players have too much power, Neville could acknowledge that De Gea's extension was a positive for the club.
He said: "It's a slight worry but definitely a positive that De Gea looks like he is going to sign that extension."
