Legendary midfielder Paul Scholes has questioned the signings of Andre Onana and Matthijs de Ligt, insisting they have not aided Manchester United’s ability to play the ball out from the back.
United swooped for Onana in July last year after it was decided David de Gea’s contract would not be renewed. The goalkeeper was manager Erik ten Hag’s first-choice option to replace the Spaniard because of his ability on the ball.
Ten Hag had previously worked with Onana at Ajax and was very keen to be reunited with him at Old Trafford. He improved as his debut season in M16 unfolded, making 51 appearances in all competitions, helping the club win the FA Cup.
READ MORE: Cristiano Ronaldo backs former United teammate for key role
READ MORE: I have worked with Jason Wilcox – I know one thing he’ll definitely do at United
Onana was reunited with former Ajax teammate De Ligt at Old Trafford last month, with the latter being signed from German outfit Bayern Munich. Alongside Leny Yoro, he was drafted in to strengthen United’s centre-back options.
De Ligt, 25, has made just three appearances for the club thus far, making his first start in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool prior to the international break. He was deployed in the heart of the defence alongside another former Ajax man, Lisandro Martinez.
But despite De Ligt only being three games into his United career, Scholes is not convinced he, nor Onana, have improved United’s chances of successfully playing the ball out from the back.
“When Pep [Guardiola] first started doing it, you thought ‘wow, that’s brilliant’ and he’ll still do it now, of course he will,” Scholes told the Stick to Football podcast.
“I think [Mikel] Arteta’s Arsenal are good at it but the players have got to be good enough to actually do it.
“I think Ten Hag actually wants to do it a bit with bringing that ‘keeper [Onana] in and De Ligt, but they’re still not good enough at doing it and they end up just booting it anyway.”
