Gary Neville has accused Manchester United of letting down new boss Erik ten Hag due to their inactivity in the transfer market this summer.
This summer, United concluded the £14.1million signing of Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord and the arrival of Christian Eriksen as a free agent following his exit from Brentford. Lisandro Martinez became their third signing of the summer transfer window after United reached an agreement with Ajax for his transfer to reunite him with Ten Hag.
However, there has already been a significant exodus of players from United this year. Paul Pogba has joined Juventus after United confirmed his exit at the end of his contract before the club also said their goodbyes to Jesse Lingard, who has joined Nottingham Forest. Spanish playmaker Juan Mata's exit at the end of his contract was then confirmed.
Nemanja Matic has departed too, joining Roma, while Edinson Cavani and Lee Grant – who has taken up a coaching role at Ipswich Town – have also left the first-team squad at United. Dean Henderson has joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan deal, Alex Telles has been loaned to Roma while Andreas Pereira has moved to Fulham on a permanent deal.
Furthermore, Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave United just one year after his return to Old Trafford – adding disruption to a pre-season whereby United’s first-team squad is six players fewer than last season. That has left United desperately short of attacking options, while their number one transfer target – Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong – has still not been attained despite negotiations lasting 13 weeks.
Speaking ahead of the Premier League season commencing with Arsenal ’s trip to Crystal Palace on Friday, Neville said: "I'm not putting any pressure at all on Ten Hag at this moment in time because I don't think he's been given the tools to work with that he should have been at this stage of the season. That might change in a couple of weeks.
Have Your Say! Does Ten Hag need more support in the transfer market? Tell us what you think here.
"I think that he's got a really difficult job and I think Manchester United fans are in patient mode."
United start their campaign with a home clash against Brighton on Sunday, which Neville believes is important for the squad to show their progress from last season: “They need a strong start and a home win. That is not taking Brighton for granted, but they need to start really well.
“Last season, they were conceding so many chances in games that they were counterattacked on all the time and even when they were winning games at home, they looked vulnerable. They need to start off really solidly and show that they are sound in defence and that the patterns of play are good.”
