Scholes: Ten Hag ‘couldn’t wait’ to bring in £195k p/w star – despite him not being an upgrade on his counterpart

Manchester United fans won’t be surprised to hear that Paul Scholes has voiced more concerns over the club’s summer signings.

Previously, the midfield legend had tried to dissect why INEOS were so adamantly chasing Matthijs de Ligt despite him not being a concrete starter at Bayern Munich.

He’s now doubled down on his De Ligt stance, explaining that now he’s seen him play, the Dutch international doesn’t present himself as an upgrade to counterpart Harry Maguire.

So far this season, the No.4 has featured in all five Premier League matches – initially as a substitute in the opening two games before starting the subsequent three. He has partnered Lisandro Martinez in each of his starts.

Meanwhile, Maguire was deployed from the off against Fulham and Brighton and Hove Albion before making two back-to-back cameos off the bench. In the 0-0 stalemate at Selhurst Park last Saturday, he spent the entirety of the 90 minutes watching on from the sidelines.

Read more: Why INEOS opted against signing forward Guardiola hailed as ‘one of the best’ he’d ever seen – and pursued Zirkzee instead

Scholes relays De Ligt concerns

Weighing in on the beginning of De Ligt’s United tenure, Scholes told The Overlap panel: “He [Ten Hag] couldn’t wait to get De Ligt in instead of Maguire. He was just waiting for the opportunity. In all honesty, I’m not sure it’s that much of an upgrade.

“Who has De Ligt played against? He played against Southampton, didn’t he? I think Maguire would’ve been fine against Southampton. He might be slightly better, but it’s not a massive improvement where you think ‘wow’, is it?”