Broadcaster Piers Morgan has said he expects Manchester United to have a "terrible" season as Erik ten Hag attempts to deliver results at his new club.
Ten Hag took over after a sixth-place finish last season, and has overseen the arrival of three new players. Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez have joined from the Eredivisie, with the latter joining at great cost from Ajax, while Christian Eriksen has arrived on a free after a short-term deal at Brentford came to an end.
The future of Cristiano Ronaldo remains a distraction, though, with last season's top scorer linked with an exit and used sparingly in pre-season. Morgan revealed earlier in the summer that he had attempted to convince the forward to leave Old Trafford, but no move has materialised.
"The biggest bunch of overpaid, under-performing wastrels in Premier League history will have another terrible season," Morgan wrote as part of his pre-season predictions for The Sun. "So much expensive talent but so little dedication, commitment or pride in wearing those world-famous shirts.
"New manager Erik ten Hag talks a good game but his transfer business so far has been seriously underwhelming and he will quickly discover his showboating Twitter-obsessed prima donnas just don’t have the right mentality to compete. I doubt they will even make the top six."
United only sealed a top-six finish on the final day of last season, thanks to West Ham United's defeat at Brighton. The Red Devils finished on 58 points, 13 behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth.
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Manchester United have produced some impressive results in pre-season, including a comfortable friendly victory against Liverpool. However, there are questions over their goals amid the uncertainty surrounding Ronaldo.
The Portuguese international informed the club of his desire to leave earlier in the summer, but the likes of Bayern Munich and Chelsea have distanced themselves from a move for the man who top-scored for United last term. Ronaldo walked out of Old Trafford before full-time over the weekend as Ten Hag's side drew with Rayo Vallecano.
"I certainly don't condone this," the manager said, after Ronaldo and others were seen making an early exit. "This is unacceptable. For everyone. We are a team and you have to stay until the end."
United made a fast start to the 2021-22 season, taking 13 points from their first five games, but won just one of the next seven to see manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lose his job. Ten Hag will hope his side can kick off with a win when they welcome Brighton to Old Trafford in their league opener on Saturday.
