Paul Merson has harshly criticised Manchester United's transfer policy, particularly the €56.3 million signing of Andre Santos. He believes the club has spent heavily without building a balanced team.
Last summer, Manchester United focused on strengthening their midfield, signing not only Santos but also Carlos Baleba alongside Youri Tielemans.
The Brazilian lost his starting place after the defeat to Hull City in the opening match, but due to an injury to Kobbie Mainoo, he started the last five matches across all competitions.
Merson questions the transfer fee for Santos:
I don't think they are going to get relegated, that's for sure. But this is no longer the Manchester United we know, and there is no quick fix here. Everything has been done wrong at the top.
In their first transfer window, they reinforced their attack, but that proved to be insufficient. Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko — they are good players, but they are not the type who will score 20-25 goals a season.
At Manchester United, players need to be performing at seven or seven and a half out of ten every week. Instead, they are sometimes at four, other times at nine. That’s fine for Wolverhampton or Brentford, no offence, but not here.
Merson is particularly baffled by the signing of Santos:
As for the midfield, I would very much like to understand what they saw when they paid £50 million for Andre Santos.
Tell me what you saw that I didn’t, when I watched him at Chelsea every week?
Youri Tielemans is a good player, but he lacks movement around him in this team. At Aston Villa, he had that.
How is it that I can see the lack of balance in the midfield they have bought, but they cannot?
Two years ago, we looked at Casemiro and said he was already well below the required level. Now you look at him and think how much they are missing him.
Merson also criticises the decision to delay the rebuilding of the defence:
Now they say they will address the defence in the next window. It’s madness.
You cannot build a house on a swamp. You just can't.
Why not start with the defence and then move forward?
Manchester United is indeed planning to strengthen their defensive line by 2027, with a focus on acquiring a new left-back and a central defender in case Lisandro Martinez departs.
The club may also return to the market for a forward if they find a buyer for Joshua Zirkee.
