Ex-Manchester United forward Dwight Yorke claims Erik ten Hag is firmly to blame for the lack of quality players in the first-team squad.

The Dutchman has been accused of bringing in too many signings whom he has worked with previously and, speaking to Prime Casino, Yorke says the club has fallen behind the Premier League elite as a result:

“It’s where we are as a club, and it’s baffling just how far we’ve fallen, but the players are simply nowhere near as good as they’re making out.”

Yorkes cites the likes of Alexander Isak and Michael Olise as examples of players that United should have pursued:

“Players like Alexander Isak at Newcastle and Michael Olise at Bayern Munich. You can’t tell me that they wouldn’t have come to Manchester United. You want hungry players to come in at United and take the club forward. These current signings, we don’t know them until they actually come to the club.”

United could have bought both Isak and Olise

Ten Hag had the finances to bring in better players. Isak was on the market during the Dutchman’s first transfer window in charge but he joined Newcastle for £63m instead. The Red Devils, meanwhile, spent £86m on Antony.

The situation was slightly different with Olise this summer. A host of teams wanted the Frenchman (including Chelsea, Newcastle and United) but he chose to join Bayern Munich for €60m (£51m).

The fee in question was not outside the club’s price range and, if they had pressed to sign Olise earlier, there was a chance he could have made the switch to Old Trafford.

Transfer decisions have to be taken out of the manager’s hands

Ten Hag has simply had too much say over transfer dealings over the last two years. Some assumed that would change after INEOS put a new recruitment structure in place.

However, the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui (two more players that ten Hag had worked with at Ajax), suggests that wasn’t the case. Any future head coach shouldn’t have the same level of influence on signings.

Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here