Former England star Joe Cole has recently questioned Manchester United's transfer operation last summer and expressed his views on the future of current manager Jurgen Ten Hagar in a recent interview. Cole believes that United looked overly cautious in the transfer window and missed a great opportunity to sign England striker Ivan Toney. Toni was playing for Brentford
He performed well during his playing days, but was eventually banned for betting violations and joined Al Ahli of the Saudi Pro League on transfer deadline day.
Cole points out that United look overly clever when assessing transfer targets, but sometimes that cleverness backfires. He believes that Toni is an excellent player, has the personality to establish a foothold in the top team, which is exactly what United needs. If United can sign Toni, it may be able to alleviate the current woes of the front line.
Meanwhile, United have not had a good start to the season, winning just two of their first seven Premier League matches to sit 14th in the table, closer to the relegation zone than to the top four. Despite the struggles, Cole expects United to stick with Ten Hagar in charge. He believes that if the United board wanted to bring in a manager to replace Ten Hagar and already had someone in mind, they would have done it already.
Cole said that Ten Hagar has been given another chance and he needs to get the team's results up after the international break. Earlier this week, England boss Gareth Southgate also mentioned his intention of not wanting to coach anywhere for at least a year after leaving the national team, further demonstrating the trust and support the United hierarchy has for Ten Hagar. However, Cole also reminded Ten Hagar that he is under immense pressure from the fans and must lead the team out of the woods as soon as possible or else his position will become precarious.
