Gary Neville comments prove Manchester United aren't learning in transfer market

Manchester United did at least get one piece of business done early this summer. They appointed Erik ten Hag before the season had finished and while Ralf Rangnick was still in the hot seat.

It seemed like a smart move, United getting their house in order ahead of schedule. Yet the deafening silence from the club in the early weeks of the transfer window — a hugely significant summer of change at Old Trafford — means Ten Hag's unveiling now feels like more a PR stunt than the sign of a club boxing clever.

It made perfect sense to announce Ten Hag as early as possible. United's season was fizzling out to the point of apathy, results under Rangnick were unravelling and while Man City and Liverpool slugged out a title bout for the ages, United seemed an irrelevance. A managerial appointment at least brought excitement about the future at Old Trafford.

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Yet it was imperative United built on the momentum that came with Ten Hag's appointment, rather than allow City and Liverpool to jump further ahead with early and significant transfer business, in the shape of their Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez deals respectively. Once again, United are behind the eight-ball when when it comes to recruitment.

Gary Neville summed it up nicely on Twitter. While the former United defender and current Sky Sports pundit is usually dogged and damning in his criticism of his old club, he was relatively mild in his dissection of the early transfer non-activity at Old Trafford.

“I know early in the window but it’s worrying that United are struggling to get business done,” Neville tweeted. “The others seem set and ready yet United can’t get moving. ETH (Erik ten Hag) needs his group