25 January 2023 , 07:29
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Paul Scholes has appeared to hit out at those blaming Manchester United’s dip in form on poor recruitment in a passionate rant on social media.
United’s nine-game winning streak was brought to a halt by a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last week before Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a 3-2 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday. They are fourth in the Premier League, but any thoughts of a title challenge have been dented by Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-minute winner in north London.
The club splashed over £220million on transfers in the summer, with Antony, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia all joining to bolster Ten Hag’s squad. That outlay has meant financial pressure in the January transfer window, with loan signings Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst the only arrivals so far.
Antony has been heavily criticised over the past few days, with pundits hitting out at the £85.5m winger’s lack of end product. But Scholes appears to think that attacking United’s efforts in the transfer market deflects from what he sees as more important aspects.
Writing on Instagram, the former United midfielder said: "Here we go again, managers and every other f***** blaming failure on recruitment... I don't see these people complaining when they sign the players, I see nothing but excitement at new players coming through the door.
World Cup hero wants Man Utd move as doubts over Harry Maguire's future grow
"Just because you like them as players already it doesn't mean you don't have to improve them as footballers and people. PS... just covering my a*** if @salfordcityfc don't have a successful season!! Laters!!"
Paul Scholes thinks the focus should be on improving the players Manchester United have (Michael Regan/Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Do you agree with Paul Scholes? Comment below.
As well as offering his opinion on his former club, Scholes also co-owns Salford City along with some of his other Class of 92 graduates. Salford are on course for a successful season, sitting fifth in League Two following their 1-1 draw with Colchester on Tuesday night.
While he seems to think that the focus on United’s work in the transfer market is overblown, Scholes has previously suggested the club needs to provide Ten Hag with greater squad depth.
"I think they look an exciting team again,” he told BT Sport in early January, after a 1-0 win over Wolves. “The best teams have the best forwards, at the moment they don’t have the best forwards, they’ve got very good forwards but I keep going back to the bench, they haven’t got those players who change a game, the football’s been good to watch.
"Casemiro and Eriksen have made a huge difference, there’s a real bit of quality with [Bruno] Fernandes in front of them. The back four, I still think they can improve.”
United have since brought in Weghorst on a short-term loan deal to plug the hole left by Cristiano Ronaldo. But they appear set to wait for the summer transfer window to enact the next stage of their transfer plan, with Ten Hag targeting a centre-forward and midfielder.