Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood have brought the injection of quality that Manchester United were badly needing, claims Gary Nevile.
The former United defender believes the mentality has shifted in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad after they extended their unbeaten run to 17 matches in all competitions, with a 3-0 win at Aston Villa.
Fernandes, Pogba and Greenwood were all on the scoresheet at Villa Park and Neville was there to watch a United side brimming with confidence. They are now just one point off the top four.
"Manchester United are playing with confidence, arrogance, particularly against teams that are in the lower end of the table, teams they have struggled to break down in the past," Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
"They look authoritative, they have possession, control and patience. They are so sure now that they can go from walking to injecting quality through Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Greenwood, Martial, Rashford. They have so many options and United are looking formidable.
"They are still not there in terms of Manchester City and Liverpool, that is where they need to get to, but they are on an upward trajectory and are certainly looking a lot better than they were.
"There is cause for optimism. You were thinking there wasn't a midfield, that Pogba was going to leave, they didn't have a right winger and all of a sudden Greenwood appears, the back four and goalkeeper have looked shaky at times, but they are getting themselves together."
United had none of the four players Neville mentioned in their side back in January. Pogba and Rashford were both sidelined with serious injuries, Fernandes had not yet signed from Sporting Lisbon while Greenwood hadn't made his breakthrough into the side.
All four, along with Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic, have now formed a formidable front six for Solskjaer. And Neville is confident that United will overtake Leicester and finish in the top four.
"Leicester have had a great season, for them to be in front of United at this stage is a great achievement," he said. "But you would be surprised if United didn't go and follow this through. They've got a good run of fixtures and have got Leicester to play as well.
"At times this season I wondered what was going to happen, but I think they will overtake Leicester and get into the Champions League, and they could even win a trophy with it all to play for in the two cup competitions they are still in."
