Former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker has previewed our next fixture against Tottenham.
Parker shares his thoughts on Jadon Sancho’s chances of starting and highlighted Yves Bissouma as a threat.
United travel to Tottenham for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday and Erik ten Hag will be looking for a better performance from his side than what they managed in the 1-0 win against Wolves.
The underwhelming display in Monday night’s Premier League opener at Old Trafford could persuade Ten Hag to make some changes to his line-up.
However, Parker does not believe Sancho warrants a start for this one, even though he impressed after coming off the bench against Wolves.
Speaking to mybettingsites, Parker said: “People might be looking at and saying Sancho looks alright because of how he was last season. But he ran with it and he ran with it, then he checked back. And he passed it back. He made a few runs into the box. If they say he had a go or he had an effort then yes but that’s not what you expect from a player at Manchester United.
“You’re looking for a bit more. He had an opportunity there to go and grasp it. Really dig in. Garnacho was awful. He never grabbed it but I have to say Semedo has gotten better and better since his time at Wolves where he started awful. But he’s come back and he’s got stronger and stronger, and he was very good defensively.
“But no, I don’t agree with that. I mean, no, I’m not giving anything to any player.”
Furthermore, Parker tips Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma as a threat for the Reds.
He added: “You should never set anything after the first game, that’s what they all say but I don’t see why you can’t because allegedly they’ve had 7-9 pre-season games already.
“So why can’t you suddenly come out and draw conclusions after the first game? That’s where you’re meant to be putting down your foundation. At the moment United haven’t put down a foundation but they’ve dug a bigger hole.
“You look at Tottenham and all of a sudden, I’m seeing the Bissouma we saw at Brighton. Incredible. Same drive, same aggression, driving with the ball, clever little passes.
“What have Man Utd got to expect against Spurs? A team that are playing as a team. A team that does not have individuals anymore. They’re actually going to get people working.”
Parker also expects Tottenham to surprise people.
“Tottenham can get better. Tottenham can surprise people. It’s the strength of the manager. People are digging him out on certain things. I’ve seen quotes from normal people – ‘he doesn’t know the Premier League’ – that rubbish. He knows football.’
“He’s learned the hard way by working with amateur players. All the players he worked with had ambitions to be better and play at bigger places than where they were. He did that at Celtic as well, bringing in Japanese, Korean and Portuguese players. Hungry players.
“Bissouma is the one United need to focus one because he’s a good athlete. He’s going to work hard with or without the ball.
“Richarlison is another one. He’ll get the regular football he wants and he’ll only get better and better. He’s a centre forward who if he’s having a bad time, then the opposing centre halves have a bad time as well. Like Mark Hughes, he moans and gets into their heads and defenders lose their way and he wins something from it.”
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