‘Man Utd need more signings & a new identity’ – Schmeichel says Red Devils are still in ‘transition’
The legendary former goalkeeper admits inconsistency continues to hold the Old Trafford heavyweights back, with slow progress being made
Manchester United will need to dip back into the transfer market in January as they remain a team in “transition” that lacks “characters” and “identity”, says Peter Schmeichel.
The Red Devils have found the going tough through the opening months of the 2020-21 campaign.
Impressive performances have been put in on a Champions League stage - while progress has been made through to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup - but Premier League form remains a source of concern.
No top-flight victories have been secured at Old Trafford this season, with just two taken in total from six games so far.
United are enduring their worst start since David Moyes’ ill-fated tenure in 2013-14, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the latest coach to find consistency hard to come by.
A 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal was suffered last time out, in a game which saw the Red Devils severely lacking in creativity, with Schmeichel of the opinion that more money needs to be thrown at long-standing problems.
The legendary former Red Devils goalkeeper told beIN Sports: “They are inconsistent. Make no mistake, this is still a team in transition and a developing team.
“They still need to bring new players in. It’s still a team that needs to find its identity and to find the main characters of the team. That was evident [against Arsenal].
“It was very hard to see what we were trying to do. I have to say, it was made fairly easy for Arsenal.
“It’s something that needs to be worked at. I still think we’re trying to recover from the 27 years of one manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] and finding a new identity.”
Schmeichel believes too many so-called stars are failing to deliver for United at present, with Paul Pogba among those seeing their performance level called into question while the likes of Harry Maguire and Mason Greenwood contend with issues on and off the field.
“I think some of the big players need to improve,” Danish icon Schmeichel added.
“There are a few players in there that are recovering from a lot of unwanted media attention that has nothing to do with football.
“A few big players are under pressure from external things, like Maguire and Greenwood.
“You have to be happy, the camp has to be happy, to challenge for titles.”
United, who will be back in Champions League action away at Istanbul Basaksehir on Wednesday, have slipped to 15th place in the Premier League table.