'Fernandes will run out of steam if Solskjaer doesn't make signings' - Man Utd must spend, says Parker

Bruno Fernandes will "run out of steam" if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn't make any signings, according to Paul Parker, who has urged Manchester United to spend money on a new midfielder and striker.

United picked up more points in the Premier League than any other side in the second half of the 2019-20 campaign following Fernandes' arrival from Sporting CP.

The Red Devils forked out €55 million (£50m/$65m) to bring in the Portuguese, which many feel he has repaid in his first 20 appearances for the club.

Fernandes already has ten goals and eight assists to his name in a United shirt, and he has led by example in the middle of the park to help his new team-mates raise their own games over the past seven months.

The Manchester outfit secured third place and Champions League qualification with the 25-year-old pulling the strings in midfield, with a first trophy since 2017 also still up for grabs in the form of the Europa League.

Solskjaer's men did, however, lose a bit of momentum in the final stretch of their domestic season as fatigue crept in, which ultimately led to a painful FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea.

Parker says the Norwegian will have to add to his squad in order to avoid a similar scenario next term, having seen Fernandes take on far too much responsibility since the return from lockdown.

The ex-United defender would like to see at least two new players make their way to Old Trafford in the coming weeks, as he told talkSPORT: "I think they’re capable of [winning the Europa League] with the way they’ve played since lockdown.

“You’d have to say they won the lockdown league with the points they won and they must be confident. It’s probably the most confident a United team has been since 2013.

“But they need signings. They can’t go as they are, there’s no way they can do that.

“They’ve done great this season, but there’s no way they can start next season expecting these same players to go and do the same again.

“Fernandes will run out of steam early because he takes so much on himself, he wants to be on the ball, he tracks people back, they’ll be too dependent on him for every game if they carry on as they are.

“Everyone is looking at [Paul] Pogba now, he’s had his little stint back in the starting line-up, but there’s still too many issues about him defensively.

“They need cover in midfield and I still believe they need a centre-forward, I really, really do.”