is like a ‘circus’ and they will not finish in the Premier League top four next term due to a key reason, according to pundit Paul Merson.
United have failed to land a trophy in over five years, suffering three sixth-place Premier League finishes in six of the last seasons and Merson feels they will once again miss out on the Champions League .
The club have struggled with their recruitment so far this summer as several high-profile players, including , left Old Trafford while star man is thought to be nearing an exit, with .
However, according to Merson there is one reason in particular that United will fail to push on in 2022-23 and that is their lack of goals, with the club only registering 57 last term – which was only the eighth-highest total in the league.
‘Manchester United are in disarray and they need to sort this out,’ he told . ‘At the moment, it’s a bit like a circus there. Erik ten Hag has come in, but they haven’t got a centre-forward.
‘They would’ve gone for Darwin Nunez if they knew Cristiano Ronaldo was going to leave. Manchester United have known that they’ve failed to qualify for the Champions League for a long time now.
‘They don’t have a striker, and Marcus Rashford isn’t a natural goalscorer. They haven’t completed Frenkie de Jong’s signing from Barcelona.
‘United are going to Thailand and Australia, and they need to solve these problems before their tour. At the moment, Man United are looking at just another season.
‘I thought they’d have a shot at the top four – I just don’t see that anymore. They’ve lost Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and they’ve got bundles of work to do.
‘Manchester United are a million miles away from winning the Premier League. They’re not winning the league even if Ronaldo stays. If he does, he isn’t going to be there the following year.
‘Where is the plan? Keep on picking the same players, and you’ll get the same results. I wouldn’t even fancy them getting into the top four.’
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