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Manchester United chief of recruiting Ed Woodward is to blame for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s problems more than the Norwegian coach himself, former forward Louis Saha suggested. Saha believes United need to make four more signings in the Bruno Fernandes mold.
The Portuguese playmaker signed in January and has made a huge impact, churning out 13 goals and 10 assists in just 21 Premier League appearances.
The 26-year-old, who could eventually cost United around £ 68 million if all the add-ons are met, even wore the bracelet for United in their Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain last month.
Fernandes has proven arguably one of the Red Devils’ best buys of the Premier League era, but Saha wants to see more acquisitions of a similar standard.
And he thinks that with the pressure on Solskjaer, although his United players helped ease him a bit with a 3-1 win over Everton at the weekend, Woodward must take some of the blame.
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Saha explained on Stadium Astro: “[Marcus] Rashford is a quality player, [Anthony] Martial is a quality player, even [Mason] Greenwood when he comes in is a quality player. You have [Paul] Pogba, you have Fernandes, all of those are great players.
“What bothers me is the animation, the energy, the consistency. Those are factors that make you win games and championships. You can’t afford to depend on one or two or three players. This is Man United.
“Those guys are used to having challenges everywhere and they want to win titles, not just play some good games. Having a Bruno Fernandes is not enough. Having a good Pogba every now and then is not enough.
“Liverpool’s real base is a team, they have animation and it’s built with [Virgil] van Dijk, goalkeeper Alisson and the three forwards, having that consistency is built on the foundation.
“It’s like tossing a coin for United, a good game here, a bad game there. This is what’s not right.
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“When I look at it from an external point of view, for me there is more of a problem with the structure above in the way you build the team for the coach. I don’t think it’s all there.
“You need to have someone able to help the mindset and challenge people who are comfortable, I don’t see this. Something is missing.
“I can recognize this on the field. You will always question a young coach who has not tried it in this scenario. The focus is on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But you also have to look at the recruiting.”
Saha believes United desperately need more leaders on and off the pitch like Fernandes.
He added: “Some new signings like Fred, you can see the quality but he is not the player who is going to make the difference.
“The signing of Fernandes, you need four of them. You need four of them to really compete and this is what is missing.
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“Solskjaer needs to know the mentality of the new players, not just someone who wants to play for United and wants a good experience.
“I want players there who want to win the Champions League and win great trophies. This is the mentality of the leaders and it is required here.”
Speaking after the win over Everton at Goodison Park, Fernandes addressed United’s need for greater leadership in the locker room.
“I think we know inside the dressing room what we have to do with the players we have,” he told BT Sport.
“Everybody needs to be a leader. Some people need to lift their spirits, they don’t talk too much but they are doing things right.
“Others need to talk a little more, participate more in the game, feel more part of the game. At the end of the game, three points are for everyone, not just one player.”
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