Gullit tells Man Utd they’ve ‘missed the boat’ on attracting top players; sends Mainoo warning | OneFootball

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit reckons Man Utd have “missed the boat” of winning another Premier League title in the near future.

The Red Devils have failed to properly challenge for a Premier League title since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013 after winning the league.

There was hope before the season that Man Utd could be up there this term if Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the board backed Michael Carrick in the transfer market.

Carrick guided the Red Devils to a third-placed finish last season and qualification for this campaign’s Champions League – but things have not got off to the best start.

Man Utd have lost two, drawn one and won one of their first four Premier League matches this season, while they have beaten Sabah in their first Champions League game.

The Red Devils invested heavily in midfield to bring in Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba but supporters wanted to see a new left-back and attacker brought to the club.

And Gullit has ruled out a title challenge this year and questioned whether Man Utd can get near a Premier League crown anytime soon.

Gullit told ComeOn: “Manchester United? They cannot compete this year. Not yet. I think they still lack a little bit of quality as we can see they cannot control a game. They take a lead, it can still go either way.

“That is not something that is going to be easy to fix when there’s something that you miss because it does depend on a lot of individual quality, not just the team quality. If they want to achieve things again, it will take some time.

“The most important thing that Manchester United can show this season is patience. It’s a simple fact. They don’t have the best players in the Premier League anymore. They all play for the other teams at the moment. United are having to deal with the fact that the players they really need all play for the other clubs. They missed the boat about five or six years ago.

“The top players went to Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, and United have missed the boat, and it will take some time for them to get themselves in order to get back to a level where they can have a chance at winning another Premier League title. There are too many stronger contenders with a lot more quality this season.

“Sir Alex Ferguson himself said it will take 10 years and that could be it. They are in a hole. They have been in a hole since Ferguson left and I think he knew what he was doing. That’s why he retired at that time. He is clever. He saw this all coming and retired just in time.

“He knew at that moment that it was the end. Things were changing because more and more teams had money to spend and were bringing in these top coaches, and the top players only want to play for these top coaches. That’s not Manchester United anymore. It will take them some time to come again.”

Gullit on Man Utd starlet: ‘You can’t expect him to take the whole team by the hand’

Kobbie Mainoo has impressed in recent weeks under Carrick but Gullit has warned Man Utd that they can’t expect him “to take the whole team by the hand”.

Gullit added: “Kobbie Mainoo is a very technical player. He is still young though and we have to give him a break. Don’t bombard him immediately saying he is the best player we have seen or whatever else. He needs time to mature and he also needs older, more experienced players to do that, who know his position. He needs to be around them in order for them to teach him, especially during training sessions. What to do, what not to do.

“Manchester United are a team in transition. It’s not easy for a player like Kobbie Mainoo in this situation. You can’t expect him to take the whole team by the hand at his age. He will have his ups and downs. He will play good games, as we have seen, but bad games also, and that’s normal for a kid his age. It will take him much more time to get some consistency and that is normal. A very normal thing.

“You have to look for that experience.”