For Lee Sharpe, the former Manchester United favourite, spending £50 million on another centre-forward would almost be like buying a new flat-screen TV while you’ve got a gaping hole where the front door should be.
As reported by the stats side XValue, only four teams have conceded more shots on target in this Premier League season than Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United. Luton Town, West Ham, Sheffield United and Burnley. That, from a defensive stand-point, is the sort of company the Red Devils are keeping these days.
No wonder Rio Ferdinand, Lee Sharpe and others are expressing serious concerns about the set up of this United side, Liverpool the latest team to muster over 20 attempts on goal against Ten Hag’s increasingly brittle outfit.
Ferdinand, speaking onVibe with Five after Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo saved United’s blushes with a pair of stunning strikes, fears that Ten Hag’s tactics are actively exposing the weaknesses of his players, with Casemiro the most negatively affected by the box-to-box, basketball-like nature of the Dutchman’s blueprint.
Do Manchesetr United really need Ivan Toney?
Sharpe, meanwhile, feels that Man United should be looking to fix their Achilles heel before they think about making any high-profile reinforcements at the other end of the pitch.
“When you consider that Man United have almost allowed more shots on their own goal this season than any team in the Premier League, I don’t think Ivan Toney is going to help,” Sharpe tells Tribal Football amid reports that the £50 million-rated Brentford talisman remains on the Red Devils’ radar.
“(Toney) might come in and score a hat-trick every week. But, if United are giving the chances away like they are, they could let in three or four themselves.
“I think both ends of the team need to be looked at.”
Toney’s contract expires next year, and has made no secret of his desire to play for a club higher up the footballing pyramid. HITC understands that Brentford will still demand a fee in the region of £50 million, however. And while that may still represent good value for money – Toney is a proven Premier League goalscorer after all and hit 20 last term – signing the England international may be the transfer equivalent of buying another jacket when you’re all out of socks.
Rio Ferdinand explains Ten Hag concerns
“There’s a lot of things going on in the team where we’re not seeing the best of our players, and I think that’s because of the way the team is set up,” Ferdinand adds.
“That type of football leads to seeing players at the worst at times. Casemiro, for all that he’s won and the great player that he’s been, he will look a worse player when the tactics are the way they are, when it’s open, transition football, when there’s big spaces around him.
“In that midfield, at times, another midfielder is 20 yards away, 30 yards away. That never happened at Real Madrid, so you don’t see his worst traits, which is his mobility.”
“Same with Kobbie Mainoo. So you do things with a structure of a team, so you don’t see that. We’re doing things that mean you’re going to see exactly their worst trait. It makes them look worse at times.”