"Why didn’t you just sign a player to play there" - Owen Hargreaves names position Manchester United should've strengthened before Mbeumo signing

Owen Hargreaves has claimed that Manchester United should've signed a midfielder before going for Bryan Mbeumo. He said that they are having to play Bruno Fernandes out of position because of their transfer activity.

The Red Devils signed Mbeumo for a reported fee of £71 million from Brentford in the summer. They had already signed Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers before bringing in the Cameroonian. However, they failed to sign any senior midfielder in the summer.

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves opened up on their summer signings on TNT Sports, saying:

"Bruno is their best player by a country mile then they go and sign two no10s to play in his position. And he has to play as a defensive midfield player almost. I appreciate you needed more goals, they [United] have thought more goals will get us higher up the table than say a world class goalkeeper."

"But actually, you have the best no10 in the division with Cole Palmer, and you drop him [deeper] because you want someone to play through midfield because you have Cunha and Mbeumo. So why didn’t you just sign a central midfield player to play there and let Bruno do his thing with Cunha? Then a goalkeeper. It would have fixed a lot of issues," he added.

Mbeumo has scored two goals and provided one assist in eight games across competitions for Manchester United.

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Paul Scholes criticized Manchester United's transfer strategy in terms of strikers

Manchester United icon Paul Scholes also criticized the club's transfer strategy this summer. He pointed out that they replaced Rasmus Hojlund with a similar young striker like Benjamin Sesko, instead of trying to reduce the pressure on him.

Scholes said:

“The centre forward for Man United is a great example. You look at Rasmus Hojlund, a 22-year-old kid. He came when he was probably 20 years of age. Centre forward for Manchester United and everything was on him. The pressure was on him."

“He should be coming in and out of the team. He should be one of three or four centre forwards. So this summer what did they do? they let him go and they buy another one who’s very, very similar. Exactly the same 22 years of age. And the pressure on him, he started okay, I said, he looks like he’s getting a little bit better. But where’s the common sense in that?”

The Red Devils signed Hojlund for a reported fee of £72 million from Atalanta in 2023. He struggled at the club, recording 26 goals and six assists in 95 games, and has now joined Napoli on a season-long loan.

Manchester United then signed Benjamin Sesko for a reported fee of £73.7 million from RB Leipzig in the summer. He's scored two goals in eight games for them.