Jeff Stelling believes Manchester United had a “poor” transfer window after failing to tackle two crucial problems.
Ruben Amorim got the green light from the board this summer as he looked to strengthen the squad he took over from Erik ten Hag. Whilst splashing out over £200million on the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko might appear successful on paper, Stelling thinks the club have ignored two vital areas of the pitch; the midfield engine room and the goalkeeper position.
Discussing the necessity to upgrade an ageing midfield on talkSPORT, the former Soccer Saturday presenter said: “The two principal reasons why I think United have had a poor transfer window is that they needed to bring in someone with an engine in that midfield.
“I thought it was absolutely essential and they haven’t done so. Yes, they’ve got Kobbie Mainoo, but he hasn’t got the sort of legs required to drive that midfield forward.”
Mainoo’s summer at Old Trafford has been a turbulent one, given that the English youngster wanted to depart the club on loan after struggling to dislodge Bruno Fernandes from the starting lineup. Nevertheless, Amorim wasn’t enthusiastic about the prospect of the 20-year-old leaving his squad, informing reporters last month: “I want Kobbie to stay and he needs to fight for his place.
“We need Kobbie. That is not going to change. The players not playing with be disappointed but everyone will have opportunities. You have to fight in the week.” Mainoo was eventually prevented from departing, but the Red Devils did precious little to bolster their ageing midfield.
Despite being heavily linked with Carlos Baleba throughout much of the transfer window, Brighton’s eye-watering £100m valuation of the player proved too steep for the time being, particularly given that Amorim had already spent a significant chunk of the club’s budget on revamping the attack.
Nevertheless, Stelling also slammed the club’s decision to splash out on 23-year-old keeper Senne Lammens, who arrived at United in an £18.2m deal from Royal Antwerp on deadline day.
Whilst the Red Devils had been connected with Aston Villa’s unsettled Emiliano Martinez, they eventually plumped for Lammens, who is nine years younger than the Argentine and represents a considerably more affordable alternative.
Although he brings youthful promise to Amorim’s squad, he lacks the crucial Premier League know-how that 32-year-old Martinez possesses, having excelled for Villa over the last five years and also gained valuable experience at Arsenal. It’s something Stelling reckons could have proved enormously valuable moving forward.
He continued: “And, they’ve gone for the cheap goalkeeper option. Lammens might turn out to be a fantastic goalkeeper but it’s a humungous step for him to go from playing for Royal Antwerp in front of 12,00 people in the Belgian league to huge crowds at Old Trafford. For me, Emi Martinez was the obvious choice for Manchester United.”
Amorim claimed he was satisfied with his goalkeeping options earlier in the transfer window, despite both Altay Bayindir and Andre Onana’s subpar performances in between the sticks.
Bayindir has started in all three of United’s Premier League matches this campaign and faced criticism following the Red Devils’ 1-0 opening day defeat to Arsenal. The 27-year-old made a mess of clearing a corner, allowing Riccardo Calafiori to nip in at the far post and net the decisive goal.
Meanwhile, Onana was given the nod during United’s Carabao Cup encounter with Grimsby Town last month, where he too was slated for mistakes that helped the League Two outfit establish a 2-0 advantage by the interval. Although strikes from Mbeumo and Harry Maguire levelled the tie, they were eventually knocked out following a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
United’s league campaign has produced mixed results so far, collecting one victory, one defeat and one draw from their opening trio of fixtures, and Amorim will surely be seeking a more impressive display when they resume after the international break for the Manchester Derby on Sunday, September 14.
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