Ben Foster has picked out Youri Tielemans as the ‘signing of the summer’ so far in the Premier League – but believes Manchester United still need a ‘big boy striker’ to become definite title challengers.
Central midfield was identified as United’s main area of focus heading into the summer transfer window, with the club successfully overhauling their misfiring attack in a £200million spending spree 12 months ago.
A host of high-profile names have been linked to Old Trafford in recent months, including the likes of Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
But Anderson would go on to complete a club-record £116m move to bitter rivals Manchester City, while Tonali and Fernandes snubbed interest from the Red Devils to join Tottenham instead for a combined fee of around £185m.
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There was some surprise as United honed in on Andrey Santos in their search for a midfielder, working quickly to wrap up a £48m deal with Chelsea for the 22-year-old Brazil international.
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Just 24 hours later, it was officially announced that Tielemans had followed Santos through the doors at the Theatre of Dreams, with United deciding to trigger the Belgian’s £35m release clause at Aston Villa.
‘I still think Youri Tielemans is the signing so far. What a bit of business,’ ex-United and England goalkeeper Foster said of the move on talkSPORT.
‘I’ve watched a load of transfers happen, Tottenham spending a lot of money, Arsenal have just spent a lot of money, but I still think Youri Tielemans is the signing of the summer so far.
‘For £30m (£35m), whatever it was, he is a ready-made, good-to-go, starting XI player and if you can spend that money on a ready-to-go starter then it’s worth every single penny.
‘I still think they need that one focal point striker, that one big boy striker. The problem is, where are you going to get it from? And it’s going to cost you £100m, it’s the way it goes nowadays.’
Foster was encouraged by Benjamin Sesko’s form last season and believes the 23-year-old striker has the raw ingredients to be the focal point of Michael Carrick’s attack in the future.
‘Sesko looks like he’s got the raw elements of it,’ he said of the Slovenia international.
‘It’s whether he can polish those raw parts up a little bit more.’
