Manchester United will only be able to close the gap on Manchester City if they are able to sign players that can match the standards of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne at Old Trafford, according to journalist Dean Jones.
Erik Ten Hag was handed more than £200 million to bolster his squad in the summer but may require stars such as Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich or Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe to pose a threat to their local rivals.
What is the latest Man United news?
Haaland bagged a hat-trick and laid on two more goals as City thrashed United 6-3 in the first Manchester derby of the season at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Two of the Norwegian goal machine's strikes were set up by De Bruyne, who has taken his assist tally for the term to eight in eight Premier League games.
Antony scored his second goal as a United player while Anthony Martial notched twice from the bench to save a small amount of pride, but the damage was done.
It was a result that saw Pep Guardiola’s side move eight points ahead of their rivals in the Premier League, having already scored 18 more goals too.
Mbappe was signed by PSG for £166 million from Monaco back in 2017 while Bayern spent just £6 million on Kimmich.
What has Jones said on United?
Jones believes that the Red Devils will only likely be able to challenge once again when City face their demise in the Premier League.
The journalist adds that only signing the likes of Kimmich and Mbappe could close the gap, with the former previously being described as a ‘serious player’ by Guardiola.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “Well, they can't do anything. All they can do is wait for City’s demise. The difference is just too vast, they’re miles off it. In order to match KDB and Haaland, you would have to sign Mbappe and Joshua Kimmich, or something like that. You're looking at players coming in that you just cannot attract at the moment. So unfortunately for United, they can try their best in the transfer window, but they're still not going to match the level of player that Man City can attract.”
Who did United add this summer?
After splashing a lot of money on new signings, the Old Trafford faithful may have expected the gap between themselves and City to have narrowed more than it has.
Antony arrived from Ajax to add firepower to the front line while Christian Eriksen was brought in for his creativity.
The midfield area was also bolstered by Casemiro’s signing. Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia both arrived in an attempt to shore up the defence as well.
Goalkeeper Martin Dubravka signed on loan from Newcastle for the season to provide David De Gea with competition.