Erik ten Hag told to sanction 'fear factor' transfer after brutal Manchester United verdict

Dimitar Berbatov says Manchester United have become 'too soft' and need to find another character like Roy Keane to turn their fortunes around.

One criticism of United over recent years has been a lack of leaders within their squad. This has led to debates over the captaincy and whether Bruno Fernandes is the right man for the job.

Keane himself said he would strip the midfielder of the honour following an under-par display in October’s 3-0 derby defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford. However, others, like Rio Ferdinand, have pointed out that there is no better alternate option.

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Berbatov acknowledges that football has moved on and times have changed within the game, but he is adamant that United need bold characters in the Old Trafford dressing room amid a drab campaign.

“Man United haven’t 100 per cent lost the fear factor yet because teams do still feel the history of Old Trafford and the trophies United have won,” he told Betfair. “When I played for United, teams were coming down the tunnel and they were losing the game already because they saw our team and we had that mix of great players and nasty players.

“You need that mix. And more than ever, United need players that are confident in their ability, they need to be nasty, like Roy Keane was, they need to sacrifice themselves for the team, they need to argue, scream and yell at their teammates if they need to in order to motivate them.”

Berbatov said United ought to try and find a player who emulates the persona of Keane to add that fear factor back into opposition