Football news - Paul Parker: James Maddison should be Man Utd's top transfer target

Look at the United midfield and think how do you fit a Jack Grealish into it? If he plays for United it will not be out wide. Then, in the middle, is he going to win the ball back?

Can you have him and Bruno Fernandes in a midfield two? Fernandes is a far better player, and wins the ball back. He wants to get on the ball and does it with the ball. Grealish is still, at the moment, a big fish in a small pond, it would be interesting to see how he gets on at a bigger club.

Maddison has done really well at Leicester but is happy there. He is definitely more of a guarantee than Grealish as he has proven himself at a bigger club. He is a better proposition for United. He is more adaptable, he plays at a higher energy than what Grealish does. Grealish spends long spells out of the game, and only comes into the game when he is on the ball.

If you are going to spend the big, big money, then Maddison should be the target. Does he want to leave Leicester at this time, with the way things were going there? It seems he wants to stay, but if somehow United can persuade him and Leicester otherwise, he should be the main target.

If the opportunity does arise to go to United, it may well be a decision he would regret saying no to later in his career.

Is Jadon Sancho worth the money that is being talked about? All people have seen is flashes in an England shirt, and all of a sudden they think he is the next best thing.

He is English, so we have to hype, hype, hype. I am not 100 per cent sure, given what I have seen. At the moment, I am just being honest, I am not 100 per cent sure about him. There are clubs like United who are willing to spend big money, but this sort of fee could leave them with egg on their face. £100m is a lot of money for a player that an English club have let go already.

If you look at Paul Pogba, who United let go before, then having to spend an extortionate amount of money to bring him back - look how that has turned out, so far.

On the playing side, it will be a risk. Let's see what happens after all this, as that will affect it. Agents are starting to get concerned about when they are going to start earning money again.

People talk about the value of the player going down, it just remains to be seen which clubs will have enough money to spend this sort of cash. Let’s wait until football’s have been kicked and see.

United have wide forwards. If Sancho comes in, you have got to ask where is Anthony Martial going to play. Where does Marcus Rashford play, given how he likes to start wide and then come in?

What about Daniel James? When you then go and spend £100m on a player who is younger than him. That will affect him, mentally. Would it be a backwards step to ruin all the progress they have made?

Look at other areas, like the centre forward position. You can buy as many wide players as you like, but you still need centre forwards who is going to score you a minimum of 19 league goals a season.

It is a problem at United. They have Odion Ighalo at the moment, but he is not the long-term solution. This position may well be the priority than bringing in a fashion statement like Sancho.

If Phil thinks he has not done enough with what he has been given, then it is the right time for him to leave. He has helped to raise the profile of the women’s game, but on the pitch, it has not gone quite to plan.

With him running out his contract, he avoids being seen as a sacking, and that is the last thing that anyone wants on their CV, because people start asking questions.

In football, the last thing a manager wants is the worst thing, because everyone will have an opinion about you being given the boot, regardless of who it is from.