MX23RW : Saturday, September 21 04:30:45| >> :120:22055:22055:

Paul Ince fears Man Utd are still short despite Cristiano Ronaldo signing

Paul Ince fears Man Utd are still short despite Cristiano Ronaldo signing
© Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo, 36, is back at Old Trafford 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid.

Paul Ince believes Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United is a "great bit of business" for the club but fears it is not enough to make them title contenders this season.

Ronaldo, 36, is back at Old Trafford 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid, looking to add to the three Premier League titles, one Champions League crown and one FA Cup that he won during a six-year spell when he scored 118 goals for the club between 2003 and 2009.

"I think United needed a lift," Ince told the PA news agency. "You thought if Manchester City got Harry Kane it was going to be all over. Then (Romelu) Lukaku goes to Chelsea and you think, 'Wow'. United needed a centre-forward for sure.

"Then suddenly, bam, Ronnie's back in town and comes to Old Trafford. It's great for United fans, it's great for the team. You put him alongside (Raphael) Varane and they are serial winners."

There have been suggestions United only acted because Ronaldo appeared to be heading to rivals City, but Ince – who was speaking after being inducted into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame – was adamant he fills a major need in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad.

"You need someone who is going to get you 25 to 30 goals a season," he added. "You know Lukaku is going to get 25 goals a season at Chelsea.

"(Marcus) Rashford wants to play up front but he's better coming off the left. (Anthony) Martial is definitely not a centre-forward. Mason Greenwood is still a kid and he mainly plays off the right.

Manchester United v Liverpool – Emirates FA Cup – Fourth Round – Old Trafford
Ince believes that even with the likes of Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford, United needed a more prolific striker (Martin Rickett/PA)

"Edinson Cavani is not going to play every game so you need a striker to get you 25 goals and Ronaldo will do that.

"From that point of view it's a great bit of business and commercially it's an even better bit of business with the merchandising and everything.

"It's clever business from the Glazers. Was it more a commercial thing than a football thing? Who knows. But if Ronaldo comes back and wins the title he'll leave with an incredible legacy."

But Ince, who won two league titles with United in the early 1990s, does not expect United to be challenging straightaway this season.

Ince was inducted into the National Football Museum's Hall of Fame on Tuesday (National Football Museum handout)

"They can't keep playing the way they're playing," said Ince, who described recent performances against Southampton and Wolves as poor. "Even with Ronnie I still think United are a bit behind City and Chelsea, but they are a lot closer than they would have been.

"The midfield is an area that's not really been touched...(Jadon) Sancho is going to be a top player, but surely the priority should have been to get a top-class midfielder. I don't think we've got that.

"If you look at the spine of the team, you've got (Harry) Maguire and Varane at the back and the likes of Ronaldo and Rashford up top, it looks strong, but in that middle area it looks a little bit open."

ID:461827:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6688:

Click here for more stories about Cristiano Ronaldo

Click here for more stories about Manchester United

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Edinson Cavani in action for PSG on January 5, 2020
Read Next:
Will Manchester United manage to bolster their squad on transfer deadline day?
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City4400113812
2Arsenal431061510
3Newcastle UnitedNewcastle431063310
4Liverpool43017169
5Aston Villa43017619
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton42206248
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest42204228
8Chelsea42118537
9Brentford42026606
10Manchester UnitedMan Utd42025506
11Bournemouth41215505
12Fulham41214405
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs41126424
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham411256-14
15Leicester CityLeicester402257-22
16Crystal Palace402247-32
17Ipswich TownIpswich402227-52
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves4013411-71
19Southampton400418-70
20Everton4004413-90


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!