Graeme Souness thinks Erik ten Hag is 'in trouble' at Manchester United because the signings of Lisandro Martinez, Andre Onana and Antony have failed to 'set the world alight'.
Ten Hag is currently in the spotlight with the Red Devils enduring a nightmare campaign so far, with just four matches to go.
United were destroyed by Crystal Palace on Monday night, losing 4-0 at Selhurst Park.
They currently sit eighth in the table with rivals Chelsea, Newcastle, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal all ahead of them.
Graeme Souness has ripped into Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag after a nightmare season at Old Trafford
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Reports have claimed Ten Hag is unlikely to be sacked before the FA Cup final on May 25.
However, talk of Thomas Tuchel, Ruben Amorim or Roberto De Zerbi potentially coming in as a replacement for the 54-year-old has continued to rumble on.
And Souness, speaking to William Hill, has now ripped into Ten Hag - saying he's 'in trouble' because three of his signings haven't been good enough.
“I think Manchester United are in trouble,” said Souness.
“Erik ten Hag is in trouble more than most managers would be.
"They spent £45million on André Onana, £80m on Antony and £50m on Lisandro Martinez, all of which were Ten Hag’s signings.
"None of them have set the world alight at United and it wasn’t someone from upstairs buying them, it was the manager.
“Recruitment is the single biggest thing you have to get right at a football club, but over the last decade they have got a lot of the footballing decisions wrong.”
Souness also believes players matter.
There are question marks over the quality of United squad members and whether they've improved, or regressed, since Ten Hag's appointment in the summer of 2022.
And Souness believes having the best players are vital when it comes to achieving success.
“If you have the best manager in the world with an average group of players then you won’t win anything,” he said.
“If you have an average manager with great players then you have a chance at being successful.
"I’ve been in dressing rooms where everything had been set in stone for the squad by the players that came before us, so the manager barely had to speak to us.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say team talks at Liverpool were sometimes as simple as, ‘today you’re playing a team in the bottom three, we’re top of the league. If you don’t match them for effort they might beat us, but if you do match them for effort, then we’ll win’.
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"But for that to work, you’ve got to have top players.”
Souness thinks Pep Guardiola has been lucky to manage the best players throughout his managerial career.
And the Liverpool legend has insisted the Spaniard is 'no genius' as a result.
“Pep Guardiola has managed three clubs and in all of those he has had the best group of players in whatever league he’s been in," he added.
"He took over from Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona where he had Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and many others.
Graeme Souness insists Pep Guardiola is 'no genius' after winning silverware aplenty at Man City
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"He went to Bayern Munich after they had just won the Quadruple.
"Then he came to Manchester City where he took over a side that both Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini had won the Premier League with.
“He took over an exceptional group of players in every case.
"City are the richest team in England and they only needed the slightest bit of tweaking when he took over.
"He obviously manages players very well, but there is no genius there. It is just about having the best players.”
