More

    Neville believes Manchester United struggled in January with Ten Hag as manager

    Manchester United let Erik ten Hag into the January transfer window by failing to sign a striker, club great Gary Neville has said.

    Loss to Newcastle United on Sunday saw United drop to fourth place in the Premier League, one point ahead of Tottenham, with whom they have a game in hand, with a fierce scramble to finish in the top four before the end of the season.

    United’s away form has been a major issue this season, with six of their seven defeats coming away and upcoming encounters with fellow European rivals Tottenham and Brighton & Hove Albion will be cause for concern.

    According to Neville, the club’s inability to adequately recruit a new striker midway through the season following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo is at the heart of their problems.

    “He failed badly, Eric ten Hag, in January, if you look closely. Because this interview with Cristiano Ronaldo with Piers Morgan was done in November, ”the expert told Sky Sports.

    “He was always going to leave at the start of the World Cup. Back then, Manchester United had six weeks before the transfer window began.

    “They made a conscious decision not to give Erik ten Hag the money because they don’t have any. They made a conscious decision to tell him that he would have to borrow someone.

    “Who is going to loan Manchester United a world-class striker in January? Nobody is going to do it.

    “I don’t blame Vought Weghorst in any way. He did a really good job. He is a substitute for Manchester United and Erik ten Hag and I think he does absolutely everything he can on the pitch.

    “Obviously he is not good enough to be a Manchester United striker. But they needed support in January.

    “They lost Ronaldo, they lost Edinson Cavani in the summer and Anthony Martial was injured. You can’t play without a center forward. To really play football well, your centre-forward and your goalkeeper must play well. It’s just a rule. He doesn’t always play well.

    “So for me, Eric ten Hag was badly let down by the club in January in the sense that they have this £900m debt and cannot afford to bring in anyone else. This is the harsh reality.”

    Related articles

    Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Share article

    Latest articles