Manchester United headed into the summer transfer market with major surgery required to the squad, after a record Premier League low of 15th sent shockwaves around Old Trafford.
INEOS were tasked with transforming the options available to Ruben Amorim who failed to get a tune out of the crop left behind by Erik ten Hag.
United struggled for goals last season and sought to solve that issue as a priority in the window.
Therefore, a new front line was granted to the Portuguese head coach in the shape of Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.
However, United are running into the same old issues and have found consistent performances hard to come by since the start of the new campaign.
Was the money better spent elsewhere?
United’s rocky opening to the season has heaped pressure on Amorim and Owen Hargreaves believes the summer moves have left more questions than answers around the new-look side.
As reported by The Mirror, Hargreaves claims the singings of Mbeumo and Cunha in particular have had a detrimental effect on Bruno Fernandes, who has found himself in a deeper role this term.
With the two new stars now occupying the roles behind the striker, Fernandes has been tasked with controlling things further away from the opposition’s goal.
Best number 10 in the division
Hargreaves says he would have used the summer budget in other areas in order for Fernandes to continue occupying his role as a number 10, where he has been so dangerous over the years.
“You have the best number 10 in the division, and you drop him (deeper) because you want someone to play through midfield because you have Cunha and Mbeumo.
“So why didn’t you just sign a central midfield player to play there and let Bruno do his thing with Cunha? Then a goalkeeper. It would have fixed a lot of issues,” he said.
Hargreaves adds that he can see the logic behind United’s summer strategy but clearly believes other positions should have been prioritised over multiple signings in attack.
“I appreciate that you needed more goals. They (United) have thought that more goals will get us higher up the table than, say, a world-class goalkeeper,” he said.
United did add to their goalkeeping ranks late in the market and early signs suggest Senne Lammens will be closer to solving that problem position than Andre Onana or Altay Bayindir.
Lammens’s solid debut against Sunderland has left him favorite to start the blockbuster fixture at Anfield this coming Sunday, with United gunning to leave a mark on their old rivals and finally get their season up-and-running.
Featured image Molly Darlington via Getty Images
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for three years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology through the Open University. His favourite match attended was the Champions League victory in Paris under one the guidance of one of his idols, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
