Manchester United currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League table.
Former player and current pundit Paul Merson believes Manchester United will finish outside the top four unless they bring in some key additions in the January transfer window, the Daily Star report.
Jose Mourinho’s hasn’t made the best of starts to life as manager of the Red Devils, winning just five of 11 Premier League matches to fall eight points behind league leaders Liverpool.
United spent heavily in the summer on the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Eric Bailly and record signing Paul Pogba, yet they are still evidently short in a number of areas including central midfield.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho with Paul Pogba before the match
Writing in his column for the Daily Star, Merson believes the Old Trafford giants will fail to finish in the top four this season unless they manage to rectify some of their weaknesses this coming January.
Jose Mourinho has got to buy some players in January or Manchester United will not finish in the top four. That team is not good enough and they seem to have a lot of problems,” Merson wrote.
“United need a central midfielder who can dominate matches because they still don’t have one. Paul Pogba has yet to dominate a single game.”
“Their best midfielder at the moment is Michael Carrick, and he’s 35! How can that be at a big club like United?”
Manchester United’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic
United did manage to end a four game winless run in the league with a 3-1 victory over Swansea City last weekend, but only two wins from their last eight league matches is simply not good enough.
With Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur also all vying for not only a top four spot but the Premier League title, United’s task isn’t exactly an easy one.
Mourinho knows how to pick up points against his direct rivals, but it’s those results against the likes of Watford, Burnley and Stoke City which have so far caused the major concerns.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho
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