Former Premier League star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has absolutely ripped into Manchester United over a series of poor transfer decisions by the club in recent times.
The Dutchman, speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at its launch of the 5-A-Side Bet on Leeds v Arsenal, has slammed United for selling Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan, having failed to get the best out of him at Old Trafford, and then for their subsequent ’embarrassing’ deal for the loan signing of Odion Ighalo.
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Hasselbaink also suggested the Edinson Cavani signing was the kind of thing that never used to happen at Man Utd, though some might question the wisdom of that, given that Henrik Larsson had a highly successful loan stint at the club in the latter years of his career.
“Man United have made big, big mistakes,” he said. “Look at their striker situation. They let Romelu Lukaku go – he’s playing brilliantly for Inter Milan and Belgium at the moment – why isn’t he doing that for United?
“OK, you don’t fancy him. But the rule – and every manager knows this – is that you cannot let a striker go if you don’t have another striker replacing him. If you don’t have another striker on your books – even if you don’t fancy the striker you have but you know he’s going to get you 15 goals a year – you keep the one you do have until you can bring a replacement in.
“United have dealt with that situation so badly. They haven’t been able to replace him, but they’ve let him go. How can you do that? I don’t know if Solskjaer has made that call, or whoever, but when you make it, you need to have a replacement ready. Marcus Rashford is not an out-and-out striker. Anthony Martial is not a striker; he’s a wide player. He wants to play as a striker but he’s not going to get you 20-25 goals a season.
“Then they go and get someone from China to come and sit on the bench. That is embarrassing for Manchester United. Nothing against Odion Ighalo, but Man United shouldn’t have to bring players out of China. Then they have to get an old player – who is still fit – in Edinson Cavani who has to come in and do the business. You never used to see that kind of thing happen at United.”
Most Man Utd fans would struggle to argue with this, however, as there’s certainly been plenty of poor decisions made in terms of recruitment in recent times, and the failure to get the best out of quality players like Lukaku, as well as Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria and others, is damning for the club.