Manchester United news: Paul Scholes knew his former side was in trouble after Ed Woodward made his first two signings

What's the story?

Paul Scholes has admitted that the alarm bells at Old Trafford started ringing right after the signing of Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini during the first season of the post Sir Alex Ferguson era.

In case you didn't know...

After the departure of Ferguson, Manchester United moved away from the tried and tested formula of buying young and talented British youth. Instead, they resorted to buying global superstars in a quick-fix bid to regain their stature in the Premier League.

However, that strategy didn't exactly work. Many big names adorned the famous red of Manchester but failed to reproduce their best at the Theatre of Dreams.

The heart of the matter

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has lashed out at executive chairman Ed Woodward in an interview with the Metro.

"I think there were alarm bells straightaway really when David [Moyes] took over and he signed Juan Mata and Fellaini for something like £70m. They’re good players in their own right, but I don’t think they were Manchester United players," Scholes said.

"I don’t think Sir Alex or David Gill would have signed those types of players, so I think from then on, alarm bells have rung and we’re in the position we are now because of buying players who we don’t really think are Man Utd players," Scholes added.

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over the reins, many fans believed he would right the ship and set United back on the winning course. The results haven't been positive so far, but Scholes is hopeful that the change will come.