Manchester United legend Edwin van der Sar has highlighted that the Red Devils are struggling in the Premier League, given they are lacking the presence of strong characters, who can lead from the front.
The Red Devils have made a dismal beginning to the top-flight campaign with just nine points from the opening eight matches and they are currently occupying the 12th position in the standings.
This has already produced an unwanted statistic with the club making their worst-ever start to a Premier League season and there are currently question marks whether the team can even compete for the top four.
Amid this, Van der Sar has stated that the current crop of first-team stars don’t have the same leadership qualities from the past and that has hampered their performances on the playing field.
“I think for ourselves, when I came in the dressing room we had Ryan Giggs, you had [Paul] Scholes, you had [Rio] Ferdinand, [Gary] Neville and even Roy Keane at that time,” he told ESPN.
“So I think there’s always been strong characters. And I think for the last couple of years the strong characters have disappeared and [are] not making a difference anymore.”
United have struggled in the centre-forward department this campaign and the summer departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez (on loan) have left Solskjaer with limited options at his disposal.
Barring the opening few weeks, Anthony Martial has been out of action due to a hamstring problem, and this has left Marcus Rashford to play upfront, where he has been disappointing with his positioning and finishing.
Owing to this, United seem keen on pursuing an experienced striker at the turn of the year and a recent report from The Express has claimed that they have a verbal agreement with Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic.
Furthermore, it is stated that the former Croatia international could be pursued from the Bianconeri in December itself such that he can acclimatise to the conditions before his registration in the New Year.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login