Roy Keane has dismissed suggestions that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a squad of great players at Manchester United, insisting the club won’t return to the top with their current crop of midfielders.
United have responded well to the humiliation against Tottenham with encouraging performances against Newcastle, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig.
But many still believe Solskjaer is still not getting the best of out of what should be a highly-competitive squad.
The Reds strengthened their midfield this summer with the addition of Donny van de Beek, but Keane thinks people would be foolish to assume the club are ready to challenge for titles, particularly with a midfield of Fred, Nemanja Matic and Scott McTominay.
“I don’t think they’re bad players, but they won’t get United back to winning league titles,” he told Sky Sports, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
Tim [Cahill] makes a point there about Man United having great players, I don’t see it, I don’t see the great players.
“They have some very good players, but they need to show a bit more. Van de Beek has come into the club, and there’s nothing wrong with biding your time, but if you think Fred, McTominay and Matic in midfield will get Man United back to the heights of winning titles, then you’re living in cuckoo land.
“They won’t, I think they’re good players – I like them – but not to the next level, and that’s surely what United are looking for.”
Solskjaer’s United rebuild didn’t accelerate as much as he would have liked this summer as key areas of weakness weren’t addressed in the transfer window.
Keane is right in the sense that these three midfielders named in a partnership won’t bring success, but the likes of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes accompanying them should make United competitive at the very least.
Pogba and Fernandes start in a midfield diamond with Fred and McTominay for the Reds against Arsenal this afternoon, with Donny van de Beek dropping to the bench.
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