Charlie Nicholas branded Manchester United’s defence ‘shocking’ and insisted David de Gea can no longer be regarded as a top-level player.
United take on Aston Villa on Sunday in the Premier League and Nicholas has laid into the Red Devils’ senior players, including De Gea and Ashley Young.
Nicholas questioned why United would give 34-year-old Young a new deal and said the direction of the club was a concern.
He said on Sky Sports: ‘Man Utd are shocking defensively. David de Gea is not mentioned anymore – he is not making mistakes but he is not saving shots, which is what he came synonymous for.
‘He has won the Player of the Year award many times for them, and some of that was under Mourinho and even Louis van Gaal.
‘Nobody mentions him as a top-level player any more.
‘Ashley Young has been found out that he was never a left-back or right-back, so why give him a contract?
‘Seriously, Man Utd where are you going? Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood have been decent, but can they carry them along?
‘Can Marcus Rashford do it? You cannot survive on ten minutes of football.
‘They don’t want change, they want to build.’
With United languishing in the middle of the Premier League table, Nicholas doubts Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is up to the challenge at Old Trafford.
With Mauricio Pochettino now on the market after being sacked by Tottenham, Nicholas urged United to move for the Argentine.
‘If Man Utd do not see off Villa, and with games against Tottenham and Man City coming up, Solskjaer could be in trouble and I think they should go for Brendan Rodgers too, along with Arsenal,’ he said.
‘Mauricio Pochettino is floating everyone’s boat, but if you look at the real situation of how it has developed, then Rodgers is a better fit for both of those teams than Pochettino is, because he knows how to win trophies.
‘He won nine domestic titles at Celtic and it might be a lot easier there but he knows how to do it. ‘It is not a case of being insecure, Rodgers has his beliefs and strengths and goes and does it. I would be amazed if Manchester United were not interested in him.’
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