Former Arsenal and England international Paul Merson has revealed that Manchester United will not finish in the top four of the Premier League next season because of don’t have a central forward with Cristiano Ronaldo set to leave Manchester United this summer.
Manchester United finished sixth in the Premier League and endured one of their worst seasons in the top flight league in the club’s history under interim coach Ralf Rangnick.
Erik Ten Hag was appointed in March to replace Ralf Rangnick as the substantive coach for Manchester United and He will be the seventh manager to be appointed since the Departure of Sir Alex Furgersion in 2013.
The Red Devils have also failed to win the Premier League in 9 years and have not won a major trophy since 2017 under Jose Mourinho. The Dutch international started pre-season with his new team on Monday and is expected to be in Asia next week for their pre-season tour.
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Manchester United has been very slow in the transfer market missing out on Darwin Nunez to Liverpool.
And are likely to miss out on Erik Ten Hag’s number transfer target Frenkie De Jong with Chelsea now interested in the Dutch international and ready to hijack Manchester United’s move for the 23-year-old.
With Cristiano Ronaldo likely to leave Manchester United in the season, Paul Merson believes Manchester United’s lack of a proper goal scorer next season will undue their quest for a top four finish.
What did Paul Merson say?
In an interview with Sportskeeda, the former Arsenal and England playmaker said: “Manchester United are in disarray and they need to sort this out.
“At the moment, it’s a bit like a circus there. Erik ten Hag has come in, but they haven’t got a center-forward.
“They would’ve gone for Darwin Nunez if they knew Cristiano Ronaldo was going to leave. Manchester United have known that they’ve failed to qualify for the Champions League for a long time now.
“They don’t have a striker, and Marcus Rashford isn’t a natural goalscorer. They haven’t completed Frenkie de Jong’s signing from Barcelona.
“United are going to Thailand and Australia, and they need to solve these problems before their tour. At the moment, Man United is looking at just another season.
“I thought they’d have a shot at the top four – I just don’t see that anymore. They’ve lost Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic, and Paul Pogba and they’ve got bundles of work to do.
“Manchester United is a million miles away from winning the Premier League. They’re not winning the league even if Ronaldo stays. If he does, he isn’t going to be there the following year.
“Where is the plan? Keep on picking the same players, and you’ll get the same results. I wouldn’t even fancy them getting into the top four.”
Manchester United had signed Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord for £ 22 million. The Dutch international has started pre-season and will join the rest of the squad for the Asia tour. They have also agreed on a deal in principle with Christen Eriksen.
