Paul Scholes names the two ‘quality’ Manchester United stars Erik ten Hag is missing the most this season
Posted by  badge Boss on Dec 13, 2023 - 05:47AM
Erik ten Hag has never had his best Man Utd XI fit at the same time (Photo: Getty)

believes that will improve once two ‘experienced and quality’ stars return from injury but admits the rest of the squad are ‘not good enough’.

United have been in woeful form all season, with the club sixth in the , 10 points off leaders Liverpool, while their ahead of their final group game against .

Though few players have consistently performed well, it should be noted that Erik ten Hag has had to contend with a great many injury issues and has never had his best XI available at the same time.

At the time of writing, seven players are in the treatment, not to mention Jadon Sancho who has been frozen out of the first-team, while Bruno Fernandes is also suspended for this Sunday’s trip to Anfield.

While things look bleak, club legend Scholes is at least optimistic that performances will get better once two key midfielders return, telling TNT Sports: ‘I can’t remember one good result this season.

‘The wins were against teams you’d expect to beat. It’s not those games that define Man United players, it’s big games.

‘I think when and return [from injury], that’ll make them a lot more relaxed. It’ll add a lot more experience and quality.

Christian Eriksen and Casemiro were key players for Man Utd last season (Photo: Getty)

‘I’m hoping when those two come back, things will improve for ten Hag, but in terms of challenging for big trophies, I don’t think this squad is good enough.’

Casemiro recently returned to training having picked up a hamstring injury in November but is not expected back until the new year, while Eriksen is set to remain on the sidelines with a knee injury until Christmas.

United must beat Bayern on Tuesday night to stand any chance of progression to the UCL round of 16, but the German giants have not lost a group game since 2017, and Scholes doesn’t fancy the Reds Devils’ chances.

The former midfielder added: ‘The damage is done. They’ve been in good positions. To lose against Galatasaray at home was a disgrace really.

‘They’ve probably got what they deserved. I don’t know what Bayern Munich’s attitude is going to be like and they also had a surprise defeat at the weekend [5-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt].

‘But I always think big clubs want to come to Old Trafford and win. It’s the prestige of going to Manchester United and winning. If United play like they did against Bournemouth, they could be in big trouble.’

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