Paul Scholes tears apart SECOND Man Utd transfer as coaching dynamic questioned

Manchester United's transfer business has long been questioned under Erik ten Hag and Paul Scholes has taken fire at two of their recent captures - including Joshua Zirkzee

By: irishmirror.ie

Oct 02 2024
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Paul Scholes tears apart SECON

Paul Scholes doesn't believe Manchester United 's assistant Ruud van Nistelrooy would have gone after Joshua Zirkzee in the summer.

The Dutchman was bought in from Bologna after a breakout season in Serie A and was the only frontman signed by the Red Devils. He scored on his debut to see off Fulham but hasn't found the net since as Erik ten Hag attempts to find his best position.

Having a prolific forward in their ranks has proved tough with United struggling to find a striker whom they can really on for a regular supply of goals. Scholes isn't convinced Van Nistelrooy, who was a Golden Boot winner at Old Trafford as a player, is being consulted for his opinion.

Instead the ex-United man believes Ten Hag is making all the calls but doesn't understand why he isn't leaning on someone of Van Nistelrooy's knowledge and experience - suggesting the former PSV man wouldn't have wanted Zirkzee or Rasmus Hojlund, who was signed 12 months earlier.

He said: "Coaches are control freaks, they want to do everything. If you were Ruud watching that, he is maybe thinking, 'I will take a back seat, I don’t want to get involved in that.'"

But Scholes went on to add: "He also has to be involved in the recruitment side of it, signing a centre forward. Or two centre forwards. 'Ruud, who do you think?' I am not sure he would have picked Zirkzee. I am not sure he would have picked Hojlund. Look, there is probably not a plethora of centre forwards out there but you would go consult him, wouldn't you?"

Hojlund endured a slow start to life in Manchester, failing to score in the Premier League until Boxing Day. He enjoyed a purple patch midway through the campaign and just managed to hit double figures come the end and is currently sidelined.

Ruud van Nistelrooy is now Erik ten Hag's assistant having arrived in the summer (Image: Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Scholes has continued to question the recruitment decisions at Old Trafford and was less than impressed by the capture of Matthijs de Ligt. Bayern Munich 's willingness to let the centre-half leave has raised some alarm bells as Ten Hag reunites with yet another of his former players.

Defensively United were exposed last term, which in part was down to a plethora of injuries than ripped through their resources. That said, Scholes is yet to be convinced that De Ligt is a marked improvement on Harry Maguire, who himself is not a guaranteed starter.

He said recently: "When you bring players in, you expect them to be a lot better than who you’ve already got. I don’t see players coming in who are a big difference. De Ligt has come in for Maguire, let’s say, but there’s no big difference there."

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