Manchester United legend Nicky Butt says his former club are not in a position to sign high-profile players like they were ten years ago.

Speaking in an interview with Stadium Astro (quotes for Metro.co.uk), Butt claimed that the club are “miles” off competing with the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City. He went on to claim that the Red Devils squad is in such a poor state that they need several senior players but they no longer have the pulling power to bring them in, citing the example of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze:

“Manchester United don’t have that core group so they need to get the chequebook out and sign these £80m players that they used to.”

“The lad at Palace, Eze, if it was ten years ago Manchester United would have put a £70-80m bid and taken that boy. They can’t do it now because they haven’t got the power and that’s the scariest thing.”

Eze’s form this season has been good

The England international has had a decent first half of the campaign, scoring 6 goals and providing 6 assists in 25 appearances.

However, it could be argued that Eze’s performances have not quite reached the levels he managed last season (when he scored 11 times in all competitions) so it is up for debate whether he is actually worth £80m.

Another pundit claims United should have signed a different Palace player

In addition to Eze, his teammate Jean-Philippe Mateta has been suggested as a potential target for the club by Paul Merson, who claimed that the Frenchman is “100 times better” than either Rasmus Hojlund or Joshua Zirkzee.

Some fans would rightly question the notion that United would improve by signing players from a club who are currently just a point above them in the table.

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