Christian Eriksen moment summed up Manchester United's lack of planning

On the eve of the new season, Erik ten Hag insisted he was happy with the squad he had at his disposal, reiterating that he would only look to add to it if the ‘right players’ were available. Fast forward a week and the Manchester United manager was demanding new additions following his second humbling of the campaign, the latest painful reality check of how much change is still needed.

For all their summer rhetoric of a fresh start and new ideas, United remain as clueless as they did last season. The pieces might be different, but the puzzle is still the same.

There can be no denying the need for new additions to a playing squad which is paying the price for years of neglect, but there is little faith that United will actually be able to do that.

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The news that they are looking to sell promising homegrown talent James Garner and replace him with the problematic Adrien Rabiot begs all sorts of questions about their recruitment strategy, or more so, the lack of one.

United’s concerns are not only about those they target, though, but also how they actually look to use them.

Lisandro Martinez was Ten Hag’s top target at centre-back but fell victim to all the concerns about his physique at the weekend, being withdrawn at the break with his side four goals down to Brentford. Tyrell Malacia looked lively in pre-season, hardly got a kick against Brighton but at least showed that it’s still alright for a degree of fight on Saturday night.

Then there is Christian Eriksen. He is a worthy addition to a United side that lost so much experience in the summer, but despite being effectively signed as a replacement for squad players Jesse Lingard