Jose Mourinho has bought wisely at Manchester United, but his players aren’t performing, says Ray Wilkins.
The Red Devils spending has come under the microscope after Mourinho complained that despite splashing close to £300million on players since taking over at Old Trafford, more needed to be spent.
His comments, made in the wake of a 2-2 draw with Burnley, have been widely labelled as a poor excuse for Manchester United’s failings.
Wilkins, who spent five years at United during his career, believes Mouinho needs to see his players performing better having made some quality additions to the side.
‘It’s about time some of the players started stepping up a touch,’ Wilkins told Sky Sports. ‘It’s a very special place to play football and some of them aren’t reaching the heights he expects them to be at.
‘How wisely has that money been spent? I would say very wisely. Romelu Lukaku is a goal machine in the Premier League, Paul Pogba is one of the best midfielders on the planet when he is at his peak. Nemanja Matic is one of the best holding midfielders and David De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world.
‘They’ve got the quality within that group. It’s about time some of those players started performing.’
Arrivals at Man Utd under Mourinho
Romelu Lukaku – £76m
Nemanja Matic – £40m
Victor Lindelof – £31m
Paul Pogba – £89m
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – £37m
Eric Bailly – £34m
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Free
The draw with Burnley has left Manchester United 12 points adrift of table-toppers Man City, who have played a game less.
MORE : Jesse Lingard explains what Manchester United required to beat Burnley on Boxing Day
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