Sir Jim Ratcliffe has finally acquired a 25% stake in Manchester United following several months of talks, and major changes are on the horizon as he takes charge of the football operations of the club.
Alan Shearer is hoping the Red Devils can experience an upturn in fortunes after his arrival, but he believes manager Erik ten Hag has had his authority undermined after some of the key decisions he made failed to yield much-needed results on the pitch.
The Man United boss has signed the players he desired since joining the Old Trafford club last summer, but the majority of them have struggled, with Shearer singling out his reunion with former Ajax star Antony for criticism.
“When it gets to the point where you don’t trust the club to get it right, it chips away at your conviction,” the former Newcastle United striker wrote in The Athletic.
“It’s probably harsh to pick out individual players, but Manchester United paid £82 million ($101.9m at present exchange rates) to sign Antony from Ajax, where he’d played under Ten Hag, and he doesn’t look anywhere near it.
“Things like that can only undermine faith and belief – suddenly the manager’s judgement looks shaky.”
Many pundits have questioned the level of freedom the club have given Ten Hag in the transfer market, especially after they overpaid for most of their signings.
Things would have been different had the players hit the ground running, and Ratcliffe will be eager to ensure a new football director capable of recruiting the right players for the right fee is brought on.
Antony is not worth half the fee he was signed for and is yet to score or assist in 19 games across all competitions this season.
Ten Hag showed plenty of faith in the Brazilian, but he has been very disappointing. Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat have also been largely underwhelming.
The recruitment structure at the Theatre of Dreams needs to be overhauled if Man United want to start winning silverware anytime soon, and Ratcliffe and his team have their work cut out for them.
Some of the big-money signings and big earners need to be moved on as soon as possible, and Ten Hag also has to start delivering the goods once again if he wants to remain in the Old Trafford dugout.
