'They are a million miles away' - Paul Scholes blasts Manchester United's lack of ambition and transfer policy

Speaking on The Good, The Bat & The Football podcast, Scholes expressed deep concern over the direction Manchester United have taken. The club have managed just one victory in their opening five Premier League games, suffering defeats to Hull City and Manchester City, while drawing with Everton and Fulham.

They also crashed out of the Carabao Cup early on. Scholes stated: "It feels quite sad to say this but Man United are a club now that are not trying to win the league with recruitment."

United lost Casemiro to Inter Miami and missed out on top midfield targets Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, while baulking at fees for Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes. Instead, they signed Carlos Baleba for £70 million, Andrey Santos for £48m, and Youri Tielemans for £35m.

Scholes explained: "Santos, Baleba, they've brought players in that physically they may be better. Santos played 11 games for Chelsea, they paid £50million for him. But he's not getting into the team... I think they're a million miles away."

Former teammate Nicky Butt also criticised the club, highlighting the failure to sign a left-back for Luke Shaw, 31, and the bizarre use of Matheus Cunha as a striker instead of Joshua Zirkzee. Butt said: "Playing Cunha as a nine - it kills him, he's not a nine... Zirkzee doesn't look anywhere near a Man United number nine."

He also questioned CEO Omar Berrada's vision, adding: "(Omar) Berrada the CEO said they're going to win the league by 2028. That's never going to happen the way it's going, never in a million years."

Looking ahead, Carrick faces an uphill battle to salvage the season under a hierarchy that has already sacked two managers since INEOS took charge in February 2024. With the team trailing far behind their rivals, the manager must urgently find a winning formula using his current squad. The upcoming games will be crucial for Carrick to prevent the campaign from unravelling completely before the January window opens.