• The last time the Premier League trophy was lifted at Old Trafford was back in 2013.
• United sit sixth in the Premier League table with five matches left to play.
Image: / REUTERS
Liverpool legend Graeme Souness believes it will take Manchester United multiple transfer windows and hundreds of millions of pounds before they have a side capable of challenging for major titles.
Souness watched from a television studio as United exited the Champions League on Tuesday night when they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Barcelona to complete a 4-0 drubbing on aggregate.
Many of the players who played are either not good enough or uncertain to stay, according to Souness, who is not yet convinced that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is going to be able to succeed as United manager long term.
The last time the Premier League trophy was lifted at Old Trafford was back in 2013 and Souness said: “There is no quick fix at Manchester United.”
“People will think I’m coming at this from being anti-United, but not in the slightest. I’m a football person and Ole has got a massive job on his hands there. There is no quick fix. Right now, what you are looking at, unless they have a stream coming through the youth system, they will have to go big, big, big in the transfer window.”
“They are not going to do it in one transfer window. After they sacked (Jose) Mourinho, I felt they needed to give the job to someone who had a link to the club and that’s what they’ve done. It remains to be seen whether Ole is the right man for the job.”
“What you would have to say with the previous two managers is their transfer dealing have been poor. That needs to change if Manchester United are going to be successful. They have not bought well in the last four or five years and they are paying for that now.”
“From the team that started in Barcelona, how many can you say are going to be in that team and be the main men in that team for the next five years? Would you put your house on (Paul) Pogba? I certainly wouldn’t, even though people will expect me to say that. Then you think of (Alexis) Sanchez and he will be going out the door. (Marcus) Rashford is up and coming, but is he the real deal? We’ll have to wait and see on that.”
“The goalkeeper is suddenly looking vulnerable. The full backs? No. The centre backs who played in Barcelona? No. (Jesse) Lingard I’m not sure about. There are a lot of positions there that need to be looked at and you don’t solve all of them in one transfer window.”
United now face a battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League. They sit sixth in the Premier League table with five matches left to play. Souness added: “Now United are fighting to get into the Champions League where the real dosh is. They have to be in it, but they can’t keep spending £200m or £300m in every transfer window to get there.”