'No excuse for Man Utd having only one world-class player' - Ince slams Red Devils' recruitment

Manchester United have “one world-class player”, claims Paul Ince, with there no excuse for the club’s lack of quality after sizeable investment under Jose Mourinho.

Since taking the Red Devils’ reins in the summer of 2016, the man at the Old Trafford helm has splashed out around £387 million ($502m).

Mourinho has, however, claimed to still be in the process of rebuilding , with more funds required in order to close an ever-widening gap to the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea .

Ince has been left baffled by those claims, with a club of United’s stature unaccustomed to being in the position of having to chase down rivals.

The former Red Devils midfielder believes many windows of poor recruitment are responsible for the regression, with questionable deals having left Mourinho with just one global superstar at his disposal.

Ince told Paddy Power in the wake of a humbling 3-1 derby defeat to City : “When I was watching the game, I realised there was not one world-class player on the pitch for United, David De Gea aside.

“How has it come to that? When you look at City, nearly every player is at that level.

“The bottom line is, United’s recruitment hasn’t been as good as City’s.

"Money can’t be used as an excuse either – it’s not as though Jose Mourinho hasn’t had millions to spend.”

While questioning deals done in the past, Ince has also slammed United’s mentality in the present, with Mourinho’s men accused of running scared in a meeting with defending champions City.

He added: “In Jose Mourinho style, they were set up as though they were terrified of conceding any goals, and didn’t want to try and outscore them either.

“Once City got the first goal, they didn’t make any attempt whatsoever to get back to the game. And, even when they tried, they just weren’t good enough.”

A demoralising derby defeat has left United eighth in the Premier League table and sweating on their ability to secure a top-four finish and a return to Champions League competition for 2019-20 .