"I'm struggling to get excited" - Paul Scholes on Manchester United ahead of the 2024/25 Premier League season
Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has expressed concern over the Red Devils' prospects in the upcoming 2024-25 campaign. Speaking on The Overlap podcast, the former United midfielder highlighted various areas of concern for the side.
Scholes said:
“I’m struggling to get excited.”
Scholes highlighted the issues in midfield as a primary concern. He felt that it was a huge problem for Manchester United last season as they regularly found themselves exposed. With a decline in Casemiro's performances combined with the unavailability of Mason Mount, that area of the pitch posed problems for Erik ten Hag's side in the previous campaign.
The former United midfielder also stated that central defense could be another area of concern for the Red Devils. While they have signed youngster Leny Yoro this summer, the Frenchman picked up an injury in pre-season and is expected to miss around three months of action.
Further, the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire also had injury concerns last year. Having shipped in 58 goals across their league games in 2023-24, the Old Trafford faithful will be hoping to see improvements in this area.
Finally, Scholes was also apprehensive of Andre Onana in goal. The shot-stopper joined from Inter Milan last season and endured a torrid start to his United career. While he grew in confidence as the campaign progressed, it remains to be seen if he can be consistent in his second year.
Manchester United legend expresses worry over the standards at the club
Manchester United icon Jaap Stam stated that he expected higher standards from the club. The former defender suggested that the side needed to play in a certain way to improve.
Stam said (via the Strettycast podcast):
"You are always hoping that the club is going to be ending up at the top of the league. That’s how I know United. It’s about winning the league and anything less isn’t enough."
“We can speak about finishing in the top four, but we are kidding ourselves. I think we need to make sure that we are going to be winning the league. That is what we are all working for after a couple of years with a new manager. They need to invest and make changes. The manager needs to get his team to play in a certain way to compete with the best in the Premier League. That is what United stands for.”
The Red Devils endured a difficult 2023-24 campaign. They finished eight in the league, their worst-ever finish in the Premier League era. However, they defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup final to make it consecutive seasons with silverware.
Manchester United fans will hope for a better campaign this time around. They will kick off their Premier League campaign when Fulham visit Old Trafford on August 16.