Manchester United legend Paul Scholes says the club’s recruitment is in a ‘sad’ state and Andrey Santos is illustrative of that.
The Red Devils finished last season brilliantly under Michael Carrick, returning to the Champions League thanks to finishing third in the top flight.
There was excitement for what the summer transfer window would bring, but it did not really live up to expectations for Manchester United fans.
The midfield has been revamped, with Casemiro departing on a free transfer and three big signings being made in the forms of Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba.
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There were expected to be reinforcements brought in in defence, especially at left-back, but the only other first team signing proved to be veteran goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer.
Manchester United have not won the Premier League since 2013 and Scholes now feels they are not signing players in a bid to get their hands on the title again.
The former England midfielder looks at Santos as an example of this, questioning why the Red Devils paid £50 million for a player who was down the pecking order at Chelsea and is already struggling to make the team at Old Trafford.
‘It feels quite sad to say this but Man United are a club now that are not trying to win the league with recruitment,’ he said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
‘Santos, Baleba, they’ve brought players in that physically they may be better. Santos played 11 games for Chelsea, they paid £50million for him.
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‘But he’s not getting into the team, now Baleba might make a bit of difference. But again, if you’re recruiting at the start of the season for Manchester United, it should be for players that you think you can go and win the league with. I think they’re a million miles away.’
Scholes accepts that his former club may have been trying to sign higher level players, such as Elliot Anderson who left Nottingham Forest for Manchester City, but have settled for lesser signings.
‘I think they’re just trying to consolidate from what Michael did last year, which is hard to get your head around,’ he said.
‘Were United trying to buy an Elliot Anderson? Probably. Now that’s a signing where you think that might help you get a lot better. The players they’ve bought aren’t making them any better.’
Scholes, who played with Carrick for Manchester United, feels the manager will be unhappy with the signings the club made for him during the transfer window.
‘Michael must be really disappointed with what has happened in the summer,’ said Scholes. ‘I reckon behind the scenes he thinks he’s been let down. What Michael did last year was very, very good.
‘The most important time for Michael was the start of this season. These games now are where you put a marker down, it gives you a foundation for the rest of the season.’
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