Ex-Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt (Picture: YouTube)
Nicky Butt says Manchester United would have already signed England winger Eberechi Eze during their heyday under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Butt enjoyed a huge amount of success at Old Trafford – winning six Premier League titles, three FA Cups and the Champions League – but fears it could be quite some time before his former club secure more major honours.
Manchester United are just 13th in the Premier League table going into the final third of the 2024-25 campaign with a goal difference of minus six, having lost 11 of their 24 league games.
Performances and results were expected to pick up after highly-rated Ruben Amorim was appointed to replace Erik ten Hag, but United have got even worse under the former Sporting Lisbon boss, according to club legend Gary Neville.
Butt believes it will be years before Manchester United are ready to challenge for the Premier League title again and says the club will need to spend big on ‘four or five top players’ to even start to make up ground on the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
The ex-England midfielder has also bemoaned the fact United no longer pick off the best talent from their Premier League rivals, naming Crystal Palace star Eze as a player who would already be at Old Trafford if Fergie was in charge.
England international Eze, who has been one of the most exciting players in the English top-flight over the past three seasons, was heavily linked with a £60m move away from Selhurst Park last summer but ended up staying in south London.
Crystal Palace and England winger Eberechi Eze (Picture: Getty)
‘Listen, Manchester United are a million miles off challenging for the title,’ Butt said on Stadium Astro. ‘Look at Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and the way Chelsea are building.
‘United have a massive job on their hands and it’s going to be three, four, five years before they are in a position to challenge again. They might win a cup with a bit of luck but they certainly won’t challenge for the Premier League for a good few years.
‘It’s going to take a lot of patience, a lot of planning, a lot of money and good signings to get up to the levels. Liverpool are going nowhere, Arsenal will get better, Man City will get a lot better again, Chelsea are getting better.
Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (Picture: Getty)
‘As much as I love Manchester United they don’t have a God-given right to win trophies. It’s a big project. They’re not going to get in ten players this summer and challenge next season, it’s just not going to happen.
‘So it’s about the project and the plan and it’s going to take time. They have to spend money, whatever it costs, on four or five top, proper players, proper men. Then these young boys already at the club can link onto then.
‘But who’s telling the young players what to do and how to train at the moment? Manchester United don’t have that core group so they need to get the chequebook out and sign these £80m players that they used to.
‘The lad at Palace, Eze, if it was ten years ago Manchester United would have put a £70-80m bid and taken that boy. They can’t do it now because they haven’t got the power and that’s the scariest thing.’
United’s dismal form under Amorim continued on Sunday as the Red Devils were beaten 2-0 at home by Crystal Palace. They return to action on Friday night with a FA Cup clash against Leicester City.
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