Manchester United legend Teddy Sheringham was left perplexed by the club’s approach to last summer’s transfer market.
The window marked the third of Erik ten Hag’s tenure, although he was virtually limited to loans in January 2023.
It saw Old Trafford open its doors to the likes of Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount as the more blockbuster arrivals, as well as Jonny Evans on a free, Altay Bayindir as the backup goalkeeper and Sofyan Amrabat on loan from Fiorentina.
United forked out an initial £55 million to acquire long-serving Blue Mount from Chelsea, despite the fact that he was out of contract in 2024 and could’ve been signed for nothing, as all reports suggested he had no desire to extend his stay in West London. He has since, through no fault of his own, played just eight Premier League games due to two separate injury setbacks.
Sheringham cherry-picked duo Declan Rice (Arsenal) and Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) as two players that the club should’ve been pursuing before the 2023/2024 term began. The England duo both completed mega-money moves away from their boyhood clubs and despite longstanding interest from the Reds, they were nowhere to be seen when the bids were flying in.
Sheringham weighs in on United’s transfer business
“The problem for Man United for me is the leadership qualities,” the treble winner told talkSPORT. “You look at the players who were available in the summer. For me Harry Kane and Declan Rice. Years ago under Fergie, they would have been snapped up. At least they would have been in for those types of players.
“This summer they weren’t even in for the players and that was the disturbing thing for me. Once you get players like Kane and Rice playing the game professionally week in, week out, leading by example, other players follow. At the moment you have players at Man United who are looking after themselves rather than each other.”
