Manchester United must make drastic change to their transfer plans to support Erik ten Hag

Any hopes Manchester United fans had of a new dawn breaking at Old Trafford are in serious danger of going up in smoke just over a week into the new season.

If the opening day defeat to Brighton wasn’t bad enough, supporters’ humiliation was compounded on Saturday as they saw their side thrashed at Brentford. It was a performance that confirmed what many have known for a long time – this is a team in major need of an overhaul.

United’s various problems have been horribly exposed over the opening two games of the season. A lack of quality across the pitch has not been properly addressed by the club, despite Erik ten Hag signing Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen.

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To his credit, Ten Hag has identified the problem areas and tried to address them. He tasked United with signing Frenkie de Jong, Antony and Jurrien Timber in order to solve three major issues – so far, the club have failed to resolve any of those areas.

Having now had their problems laid out in the most public of fashions, it’s time for the club to break from their usual approach and finally make some big calls. Far too often, they’ve been guilty of sitting on their hands over the past year.

When the writing was on the wall for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United should have taken action following the humiliation at home to Liverpool. Instead, they allowed a club legend to tarnish his reputation further before there was no other option.

When the Reds surrendered meekly to Wolves at the start of January, it was the perfect time to dip into the market and support newly-appointed interim boss Ralf Rangnick. They chose to ignore his suggestions, and they’re