Graeme Souness has criticised Manchester United‘s sustained use of young forwards and compared the Red Devils’ options unfavourably to those of Barcelona and the world’s other major sides.
While United’s superb history in England, and their excellent contribution to the Champions League sets them apart as one of the biggest clubs in Europe, Souness is surely right to criticise United for failing to build a roster of offensive options that can compare with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
“You’re relying on [Marcus] Rashford at 18, [Anthony] Martial at 20 and [Jesse] Lingard at 23 to get you goals,” the former Liverpool midfielder began, speaking in light of the Red Devils’ 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.
“It’s Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world and every time we’re here to talk about them that’s what we end up talking about,” Souness continued, speaking on Super Sunday [as per Sky Sports].
“One shot in 90 minutes for Manchester United is not acceptable,” he continued, before name-checking the European giants whose options far surpass those of United, “you’re asking boys to do men’s jobs.
“The other teams in the world at their level are Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid – look at their strike forces.”
Indeed, while Rashford, Martial and Lingard have a combined 15 league goals, Barcelona’s front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar—players with remarkably more experience and talent than the Red Devils’ options—have a combined 69 goals in La Liga.
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Even casting an eye over Bayern and Real, who can call on superstars such as Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Thomas Muller, it’s clear that United’s offensive options are far inferior to those of the clubs who—at least according to Souness—are on the same level as the Old Trafford giants.