Harry Maguire called on Manchester United to strengthen and add depth to their squad in the summer, before Lisandro Martinez lashed out at the club's recruitment. Martinez's bombshell interview took aim at United's director of football Jason Wilcox following the team's Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Michael Carrick's side suffered a 2-0 loss in Spain as their uninspiring start to the season continued. United have won just two of their nine games across all competitions, failing to capitalise on the momentum which saw them finish third in the Premier League last term.
Maguire's summer plea
In the summer, the Reds prepared to compete on multiple fronts by revamping their midfield. Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba bolstered their engine room options, while new backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow also arrived at Old Trafford. Speaking before Baleba was signed, Maguire urged United to improve the quality and size of the squad in a bid to win football's biggest prizes.
“When you play for this club, you want competition for places and it's so important that we have a huge squad,” Maguire told Sky Sports in August. “I'm at an age now where they can bring in as many as they want, bring in all the best players.
“I want to win all the trophies and be greedy about it, but it's up to the club. I'm sure they're working hard out there to try and bring in the right players. The more, the merrier.
“The stronger squad that we have, the more opportunity we have of winning these trophies and that's what it's all about when you play for this club. We've got a good depth of squad, they're working hard on helping us and bringing more in.”
Martinez's direct criticism
Despite Maguire's plea, United have made a stuttering start to the campaign and came up short in Madrid on Tuesday. While echoing similar sentiments to Maguire, Martinez issued a more direct shot at the club's recruitment chief Wilcox over perceived shortcomings during the summer transfer window, despite spending £155million on new players.
“I have to control myself a lot. But sometimes it's a reflection of how our club is at the moment, you know?” Martinez told Amazon Prime. "We did a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from above, you know, to bring more players to compete, because many, many teams bring many players in as well, and today also, Atletico have an amazing team, and they deserved to win today.”
When asked if he expected United to invest more in the summer, Martinez shared his feelings on Wilcox's work as director of football: “Yes, 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical director.
“I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more. It's also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”
Carrick's response
In the aftermath, United boss Carrick was asked about Martinez's interview but refused to comment as he had not seen the footage. However, the manager sought to diffuse the situation by highlighting the pain of a fresh defeat before turning the focus to his team's next game against Leeds at the weekend.
“I think it's a little bit on the emotions of the game as well, coming here and being disappointed not to get something from the game,” Carrick said of Martinez's comments. “Straight after a game for me is not the time to talk about that interview because I haven't seen it, so I can't really comment on that.
“But I think it's important for us to move forward quickly, really. I think there's a big game on Sunday, and it's really important that we move forward and we stay focused on that.”
