Ex-Manchester United captain Roy Keane is not sure the Red Devils' youthful crop of new signings have the winning mentality to succeed at the club.
Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, both aged 21, were signed from Swansea City and Crystal Palace this summer, while Harry Maguire was brought in from Leicester in a record-breaking deal.
And Keane was keen to stress that the new players should be given time to settle, with both James and Wan-Bissaka having impressed under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so far – though he still has his doubts.
“The only concern I have about the three players that came into the club is the clubs they came from,” Keane said on Sky Sports .
“They’re not used to winning week in, week out like you’d expect from Manchester United, and you also need the senior players that can give them a helping hand - and I’ve had doubts about that for a number of years."
Keane, who went on to enjoy huge success at United, was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson in 1993 after finishing bottom of the Premier League with Nottingham Forest.
“It’s another intriguing game today [against West Ham] to see how United cope with it," he added. "But United had to go down that road of buying younger players, hungry players.
“I think what can’t be tolerated over the next few months, like last season when they were defeated at Brighton, the players actually came out and said it ‘we’re not sure our attitude was right’ and all this garbage.
Getty“I think Manchester United fans will forgive a lot of things once players go out and give their lot, with these new signings and the lads that have gone out the door, Ole had to make these changes and only time will tell if it will work. But the way they’ve started the season, the jury is still out.”
Despite his misgivings, Keane believes United had no option but to buy young after years of mis-steps in the transfer window.
However, while he thinks youth is the answer to his former club’s problems, he will have little patience if results aren’t quickly forthcoming.
“I think they’ve made a number of mistakes over the last few years in terms of recruitment, there’s no doubt, and I think they had to go down that road,” he said.
“But I still think it’s so early in the season, we’ve got to give these lads a chance to mature at the club.
“When there is young players coming through, what you have to remind them in their development, finishing in the top four, is that you’re playing for Manchester United to win.
“Don’t forget about all that. God help me if in our dressing room someone mentioned finishing fourth is a great achievement, he would have been lynched!
“A couple of weeks ago I would have said United, I’m not sure about top four, but having looked at Spurs and Arsenal over the last few weeks, they should be expecting to finish fourth.
“I think it’s there, it’s there for a lot of teams, and United have still got the players to do that. There has to be some sort of pressure on Ole because you can’t be saying ‘we’ve got a two or three-year plan’, that’s nonsense, you’ve got to win football matches.”