‘I don’t think Man Utd will finish in the top five’ – Gary Neville makes bold prediction that would leave Red Devils without Champions League football & Erik ten Hag under extreme pressure

The Red Devils did secure a top-four finish last season, returning them to the Champions League, while a six-year wait for major silverware was brought to a close in the Carabao Cup. Big money was spent over the summer in an effort to build on those foundations, with the likes of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund snapped up.

United have stumbled out of the blocks, though, picking up 12 points from eight games to sit 10th in the table as things stand. Neville does not expect things to get much better, with the Red Devils legend telling his podcast for Sky Sports: “I don’t think Manchester United will finish in the top five this season. I think they are way off it. And I’m surprised because seven or eight weeks ago, I had them third, But honestly from what I see at the moment, I don’t think the goalkeeper is settled in, I think he should have saved the one yesterday so that is a problem. If you’re goalkeeper is not settled in and there is a bit of instability around that, it does create a big problem. I’ve had that at United. So United, not for me.”

Chelsea are another heavyweight outfit to have struggled for consistency, despite spending £1 billion ($1.2bn) across the last three transfer windows, but Neville believes the future is brighter at Stamford Bridge than it is at Old Trafford. He added: “Chelsea, I think are probably nearer to it if they can go on a run because they have got some really good young talented players. Their age is a lot better than United’s squad.”

United did take maximum points from their last Premier League fixture, but needed a stoppage-time brace from Scott McTominay in order to edge out Brentford, and pressure is already building on Erik ten Hag during his second season at the helm – failure to qualify for the Champions League could lead to another change being made in the dugout.