Nicky Butt takes aim at ALL FIVE Man Utd summer signings in ...

Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt doesn’t believe any of United’s five major signings improve the team Erik ten Hag already had in a damning indictment of the club’s ambition in the transfer market.

Man Utd made five major first-team signings in the summer window when splashing out north of £200m. The quintet to arrive were Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs De Ligt, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee.

Talented teenager Sekou Kone also jumped ship to Old Trafford, as will striker sensation Chibo Obi-Martin once his arrival is officially confirmed. However, those two young stars will initially slot into the youth ranks.

As such, the onus is on the five established new faces to help Man Utd bounce back from a dismal Premier League campaign.

The Red Devils finished in eighth spot last term – their lowest ever finish in the Premier League era.

Mazraoui has slotted straight in at right-back. De Ligt made his first start in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool, while fellow centre-back Yoro is yet to debut after suffering a fractured metatarsal in pre-season.

Ugarte was only signed on deadline day, meaning his debut will come after the international break. Zirkzee scored a late-winner in gameweek one against Fulham, though missed multiple golden opportunities against Liverpool on Sunday.

When speaking to talkSPORT, former Man Utd midfielder Nicky Butt took an exceedingly dim view of the calibre of players United have signed.

In Butt’s eyes, none of the five new faces brought to the club by sporting director Dan Ashworth are ‘superstars’ and some weren’t even regular starters at their former clubs.

De Ligt, for example, was used sparingly by Bayern Munich last season, with Eric Dier often favoured by former boss Thomas Tuchel in the second half of the season.

Ugarte was also deemed a sub-par signing by PSG mid-way through his first season in France. PSG quickly wrapped up a summer move for Benfica’s Joao Neves who they viewed as an upgrade, thus facilitating Ugarte’s sale to Man Utd.

“I don’t see a plan in the project, in the signings, I don’t understand what kind of players they’re going for,” declared a bemused Butt.

“They’ve got a whole new set up at Man United in the recruitment and how they go and buy players.

“But the players that we’re signing, they’re not superstars of their clubs. They’re just decent players.

“Man United used to go and sign the best players and now we’re getting players that are maybe not even playing for their respective clubs the season before, we seem to be on the market for buying those players and it’s strange.”

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Butt went on to suggest that despite the raft of new arrivals, Erik ten Hag’s team has not actually been improved.

“Short answer is no [it’s not been improved],” he added. “I don’t think they’re anywhere near what they need to be to compete at the top.

“The signings for me don’t scream out challenging for the Premier League. I think what Man United are trying to do at the minute is build the squad just to get back into Europe and [the Liverpool loss] highlighted that fact particularly in midfield.”

But while Butt clearly isn’t convinced by Man Utd’s summer business, fellow pundit Daniel Sturridge has thrown his backing behind one new signing in particular.

When picking the bones out of United’s bruising defeat to Liverpool, Sturridge told Sky Sports: “I’m hanging my hat on Ugarte.

“I believe he’s a really good signing and you’ve seen the stats, how he plays in Europe, he’s one of the best defensive midfielders.

“It’s what they need right now. The reality of it is if you’re talking about breaking down play, transitions, all these teams doing all these things… they are very open.

“His (Ugarte’s) job and what he’s great at is helping defenders.”

Ugarte is likely to take Casemiro’s place alongside Kobbie Mainoo in central midfield once up to speed.

The combative Uruguayan does compare favourably to Casemiro in four of six key defensive metrics.

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