Former England striker Alan Shearer believes Manchester United are paying the price for failing to sign a new central midfielder in the summer transfer window.
United transformed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s attacking arsenal by bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford from Juventus and signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund, while bringing in Raphael Varane from Real Madrid in a bid to tighten up the defence.
But Shearer believes United missed a trick by failing to recruit a new player in central midfield when it would have been wise to add a fresh option.
Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic were partners in the middle of the park in the 4-2 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday, with Solskjaer unable to deploy his preferred pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred after the latter represented Brazil on Friday.
Speaking on Match of the Day, Shearer fumed: “That was Man United's problem last season, they didn't invest in that position. It's the same again (this season).
“There's no one in there to really press and take control from the front. You can't do that in the Premier League.
“They will always score, Man United, because of the brilliance they have going forward. But you cannot press if you haven't got that aggression.”
Shearer joined the chorus of pundits saying United appeared to lack a coherent plan at Leicester, with the away side’s shortcomings ruthlessly exposed by the hosts.
“If you don't know what to do, then you've got to sit back and be compact as a team,” added Shearer. “The team that I saw (on Saturday) didn't know whether to go or whether to sit. When they did go, it was half-hearted and not as a team.”
