Jamie Carragher has claimed that Manchester United are no different under the leadership of Erik ten Hag than they were during Ole Gunner Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho’s regime.
The Old Trafford outfit have had a low start to the 2023/2024 Premier League campaign, sitting in eighth position in the EPL table.
The 53-year-old Erik ten Hag has been struggling to duplicate the type of football that he had during his days as Ajax manager.
Most of the Dutchman signings have failed to make a massive impact, with lately rejected players like Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire returning to the team.
Since Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, the Dutch head coach has signed about 20 players most of whom were acquired on permanent deals.
The manager’s mission is to rebuild Man United midfield last season, bringing in the likes of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. He added new players to the team in the summer by signing Mason Mount, Andre Onana, and Rasmus Hojlund for big money deal.
The team have also depended on loan transfer since Ten Hag took charge, bringing in six players on short deals which includes current loanees Sofyan Amrabat and Sergio Reguilon.
Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, and Lisandro Martinez have been the best of the manager additions last season, with Antony failing to live up to expectations despite his big-money move.
Mason Mount, on the other hand, is yet to fit into the coach system, while Hojlund hasn’t had much impact.
However, Jamie Carragher claims Manchester United should be signing a lot more of the players Ten Hag has brought. He further compared the Red Devils style of play directly to how they were under the management of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho.
During his recent interview, the Liverpool legend said that it is high time to start challenging the Man United head coach Ten Hag.
The former Reds defender claimed that Man United equals a team reaching the end of a cycle instead of a fresh circle under a reasonably new manager.
Speaking about Man United, Jamie Carragher said; “Ten Hag has signed sixteen players for £ 400 million since July 2022. By any measure – and no matter how unpopular the club’s owners – that is enough for a manager to radically redesign a team”.
He added; “No one was demanding Ten Hag create a title-winning side in one or even two years, but it was reasonable to assume the United line-up would be distinguishable from the tactical set-up of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho. The most damning criticism is that they are not. Their game plan is virtually identical”.
Manchester United have bound together three straight wins in a row since their defeats at the hands of Galatasaray on the 3rd of October in the UEFA Champions League.
They first beat Brentford by 2-1 in which McTominay scored two stoppage-time goals.
They also followed that up with a 2-1 victory over struggling Sheffield United who are yet to win in their last home games.
The team’s recent success was in the UEFA Champions League match against Copenhagen, who had a last-minute penalty but was denied by Andre Onana.
What’s next for Manchester United?
The Red Devils will face a tough test on Sunday, 29th of October when they’ll lock horns against Manchester City in the English Premier League at Old Trafford.
