The former Red Devils midfielder believes that with the addition of “a couple of players”, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team can compete with the European elite
Manchester United should be “quietly confident” of coming out of the Champions League ‘Group of Death’, says Owen Hargreaves, and the Red Devils are seen as being “a couple of players” away from serious contenders.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team is preparing to return to elite European competition in 2020-21.
They have faced the toughest tests after returning to that stage, and the group stage draw pitted them against last season’s defeated finalist Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig 2019-20 semi-finalists and champion. Turkish Istanbul Basaksehir.
Securing a top-two result when lining up against players like Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Dayot Upamecano and Demba Ba won’t be easy, but Hargreaves believes that a positive ending in the summer transfer window may leave United with a sense of optimism. .
The former Red Devils midfielder said BT sport: “I think they can have confidence, a calm confidence.
“PSG are the strongest team in the group, but Man United are the second strongest team in the group. Leipzig has a brilliant young coach and he will love playing against Manchester United.
“But look, they’re not shooting all cylinders right now and I hope they can get a couple of players in.
“The group they have is not ideal, but hopefully they can come in, get a couple of players and finish if not first, finish second.”
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle also believes United are capable of hitting the coup stages, but admits the draw could have been kinder to them.
He said: “I think United have the hardest, sure, they look like some tasty games there.
“They’ve been trying [to get players in], No doubt about that. Ole hopes to get over the line with a couple of signings.
“It is difficult, when you are choosing your best option in [Jadon] Sancho, and you can’t make that deal, then the other options all of a sudden, you have to move really fast. I still think they are capable of surpassing this group, I really do.
“We haven’t seen the best of United yet, at the end of last season they were playing very well. I thought they had the midfield balance working well, they have to go back to that and they are capable of doing it.
“Normally, there is always pressure on Manchester United, of course, but this year, I think it is a bit like Chelsea in a way: a work in progress. They can’t wait too long, if they rank outside of this group we’ll see where they do.
“If they can win it, I don’t think they can, but yeah, the pressure will ease them a bit.”
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