Man Utd forward line compared to Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as former Red Devils midfielder accuses attacker of 'sauntering about'

The former Celtic and Scotland manager drew an unflattering comparison between the United front attackers and Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe from their time at Paris Saint-Germain, saying the Red Devils are not aggressive enough when it comes to chasing the ball down.

"I look at the way teams like Brighton, Liverpool, City and Arsenal play without the ball, and their forwards are working tirelessly to press and harry the opponent. They’re aggressive. They force the opposition into mistakes," he told Lord Ping. "Manchester United don’t do that. We haven’t seen Manchester United’s forward players doing that under Erik ten Hag and that worries me. Is it a case of fitness? Is it a case of attitude and desire? I just don’t see the United attacking players being positive in terms of hunting down the opponent and putting them under pressure.

"With the exception of possibly Real Madrid, every single top team hunts down possession and presses with their forwards. PSG used to be like that with three world-class players in Messi, Neymar and Mbappe just trotting about - that is why they never won the Champions League. United’s front three remind me of them, and not in a good way! In a way that says, I’m going to saunter about and not put the work in off the ball.

"When you close down and press as a team, every single player has to commit. I don’t see that whole-hearted effort, and it starts from the front three players. "

The likes of Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund - when he returns from injury - are under pressure to provide plenty of goals as Erik ten Hag's team look to improve on last season's eighth-placed finish in the Premier League. With new signing Joshua Zirkzee added to the mix, the Dutch coach will hope his team have enough firepower to compete with their rivals.

After beating Fulham 1-0 in their opening Premier League game of the season, the Old Trafford club will hope to make it two straight wins when they meet Brighton this weekend, followed by a home game against Liverpool a week later.