Paul Scholes made his stance perfectly clear on two Manchester United players after the Red Devils played out a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
Erik ten Hag’s men had to settle for a single Premier League point from their trip to Villa Park ahead of the October international break.
Manchester United have endured a poor start to the Premier League campaign under manager Erik ten Hag, who is under immense pressure at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have only managed two league wins in their opening seven matches, with United languishing in 14th place in the Premier League table.
Ten Hag, who inked a new contract extension with United in the summer, has faced mounting criticism over the Red Devils’ poor run of form this season.
United blew a 2-0 lead against Porto in the Europa League last week and snatched a point from their trip to Portugal thanks to a Harry Maguire equaliser in injury time.
Scholes critical of two Man Utd stars
Manchester United failed to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League, despite having their chances against Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Erik ten Hag’s attacking options lacked the clinical finishing in the final third, with Paul Scholes unconvinced by what to expect from two players.
Rasmus Hojlund started the clash at Villa Park and played 64 minutes before United manager Ten Hag withdrew the Danish forward for Joshua Zirkzee.
Joshua Zirkzee, who was signed in the summer from Bologna, dropped a forgettable performance against Villa and struggled to make an impact from the bench.
Rasmus Hojlund, who has scored once in five matches across all competitions this season, missed the opening weeks of the 2024-25 campaign due to injury.
Zirkzee, on the other hand, has managed to score only once in 10 matches across all competitions, despite impressing with his link-up play on the pitch.
Scholes is unsure that Hojlund or Zirkzee could reach a goalscoring tally of 20 for the season, with the United legend claiming that the club lack quality in the final third.
“In forward areas especially, I just don’t think the quality is there,” he said on SuperSport, as per the Metro.
“We go back to the most successful teams, they’re capable of scoring goals. What have we scored? Five goals in seven games.
“Now we had three or four forwards who could get you 20 goals so you’re looking at 80 goals a season there and I just don’t see that in the forward line at Manchester United.
“Look, [Rasmus] Hojlund does alright but is he gonna score you 20 goals? I don’t think so.
“Zirkzee… what is he? Is he a No 9 or a No 10? Is he going to get you 20 goals? I don’t think so.
“I think they’re relying more on hope than actual proven quality and they spent so much money as well.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd attack
Speaking after the 0-0 draw at Villa Park, Ten Hag defended Rasmus Hojlund’s performance after the 21-year-old Denmark striker’s recent return from injury.
“In Porto, our build-up was brilliant. [We were] so good in the first 25 minutes; we outplayed Porto,” he told MUTV, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“Also [Crystal] Palace, in possession we were so good, [so] we have had games this season where we are good.
“But today we didn’t create too many chances, but also we played a great team. We created loads of chances in our seven games but we have to step up.
“We have to take into consideration [Rasmus] Hojlund is returning, he’s still coming up to full fitness. But others are stepping up.
“I was impressed from [Marcus] Rashford, also [Alejandro] Garnacho is so good, and Antony at the end.”
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