Paul Scholes baffled why Erik ten Hag isn’t playing Manchester United star after Aston Villa draw

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Erik ten Hag might have managed his final game for Manchester United following their goalless draw at Aston Villa on Sunday.

Given where Aston Villa are at, then that’s a productive and positive point for Manchester United, but you feel that there is a lot more to it than that.

The performance wasn’t one to excite the supporters and it just further questions if ten Hag is the right man for Manchester United moving forward.

Not only have many questioned his style of play, or lack of it, since being appointed manager in 2022, but his recruitment has come under fire too.

As Paul Scholes pointed out, after Manchester United’s draw against Aston Villa, there are ‘no excuses’ now because they have spent a lot of money on the squad.

The same applied this summer when the powers that be backed the Dutchman and allowed him to bring in who he wanted.

One of those included, Manchester United paying Paris Saint-Germain £42 million for midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

The 23-year-old has played 104 minutes of Premier League football since joining and he was an unused substitute at Villa Park.

Scholes thinks there is something ‘fundamentally wrong’ that Ugarte has been brought in by ten Hag, yet after two games ‘he isn’t playing’, as he told Premier League Productions (06/10/24 at 7:25 pm).

Manchester United did play against Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night – Ugarte wasn’t used then just like at PSG – so, out of all the players, he was the freshest, yet wasn’t used.

Why isn’t Erik ten Hag playing Manuel Ugarte?

“Again, they have spent money in the summer,” said Scholes. “There are no excuses anymore. This is his team. He has made excuses for injuries, which sometimes you can understand, but other times you can’t. You spend a lot of money on a squad. He is running out of excuses.

“Even, at the start of the season, he said ‘I have got young players’. He is buying players to improve the squad. This Ugarte is a prime example. He has brought him in to improve this team. Now, after two games, he isn’t playing. There has to be something fundamentally wrong with that.

“The players they go in for, it seems like they are too easy to get. They aren’t players that you aren’t competing with an Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona or a Real Madrid for these players anymore. You are bringing in players that aren’t playing for their teams. You think of de Ligt at Bayern, he couldn’t get into the team. Ugarte at PSG, he couldn’t get into the team.”

Will Manchester United sack Erik ten Hag?

The writing seems to be on the wall for ten Hag and you sense it’s a matter of time before he is out of the door and replaced.

The international break is now here and it’s probably ample time for those in the Old Trafford boardroom to make a change if they are no longer convinced.

READ MORE: Jamie Carragher absolutely blown away by ‘outstanding’ Man United player vs Aston Villa

Yes, ten Hag can point towards the domestic trophies he has won, but the fact of the matter is that the Premier League form just isn’t improving.

The players are fighting for the badge, but as expected, many predicted ten Hag to be the first one to be sacked and it might just now happen.