Paul Scholes has urged Manchester United to hijack Atletico Madrid's £34million move for Cristian Romero, despite branding the Tottenham captain a 'nutcase' and an 'absolute clown'.
The 28-year-old Argentina defender is expected to leave Tottenham this summer after being given the green light to join Atletico Madrid, who are deep in talks with the north London club and only a few million apart in negotiations.
Manchester United are exploring options to strengthen Michael Carrick's squad ahead of the new season, in which they will compete in the Champions League after finishing third in the Premier League last season.
Scholes, who has previously criticised Romero's rash and ill-disciplined defending at Spurs, made the surprise call for United to hijack Atletico's pursuit on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast.
"This is one you might laugh at. Cristian Romero from Tottenham," he said. "I know it might sound stupid, but I just think... I like him. I think he's a nutcase. He's a very good defender that does some stupid things. He is an absolute clown."
Why Scholes rates Romero
Scholes said that if someone could get hold of him, like Michael Carrick, who is very calm and relaxed, he might be able to help him.
"He seems like a bit of a cult hero defender, really. I know it might sound strange, but I think the fans at Old Trafford would like him," Scholes said. "There's a bit of something about him. He's won the Europa League with Spurs, he's won a World Cup, two Copa Americas. There's definitely something about him and he's cheap, £30-40million."
United's defensive options
Carrick already has a string of centre-half options heading into the season, including Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Ayden Heaven and Romero's international team-mate Lisandro Martinez.
Even so, Scholes said centre-half is probably the biggest area United need to address. "You need to have centre-halves that are reliable for the Premier League. You'd like to have them fit enough to play in most games," he said.
"Harry Maguire not so much, but Martinez picks up a lot of injuries. They've got the young lad Ayden Heaven, who I think is a really bright prospect, but he's still going to make mistakes. He's young," Scholes said. "Centre-half is a position they need to address if they are going to be challenging towards the top end of the league."
Manchester United's first Premier League match of the season is away to newly-promoted Hull City on Saturday, August 22.
