Paul Scholes has never been shy with an opinion, but this time the Manchester United great went several steps further. On a recent episode of “The Good, The Bad & The Football” podcast, he painted a picture of what he called an impending “footballing bloodbath” at Old Trafford – and he put Nasser Mazraoui right in the middle of it.
These comments land at a curious moment for United. Under interim manager Michael Carrick, the club has clambered its way back into respectability, sitting third in the Premier League and closing in on a return to the Champions League. The mood around Old Trafford has finally brightened.
Scholes wants the scalpel out anyway.
Mazraoui in Scholes’ sights
The former midfielder was blunt when the conversation turned to Mazraoui. The Moroccan international has offered versatility since his arrival, filling in across the back line and on the right side of defence, but Scholes sees that as a problem rather than a strength.
“I don’t know exactly where his position is; he has been used as a right-sided centre-back at times. I don’t think he fits the team’s current system, and perhaps it is time for him to leave to make way for more specialised options,” Scholes said.
In Scholes’ eyes, the lack of a clearly defined role jars with what United should be building: a defence with raw power, speed and clarity of purpose. Flexibility, he argued, is no substitute for a specialist in a side that wants to compete at the very top.
That vision does not stop with Mazraoui. It runs right through the back four.
Defence under the knife
Scholes’ blueprint for United’s back line is ruthless. Alongside Mazraoui, he placed Harry Maguire, Lennie Yoro, Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw on a notional transfer list. The rationale varies, but the conclusion is the same: move them on.
Maguire, who has recently renewed his contract, still does not convince Scholes as the long-term answer at centre-back. Yoro and Dorgu, both seen as part of the club’s defensive depth, also fall outside his ideal profile. Shaw, a mainstay when fit, is targeted for one simple, brutal reason: recurring injuries.
In Scholes’ mind, a title-chasing United cannot be built on players who are either regularly unavailable or not perfectly suited to the system Carrick is shaping.
Midfield and attack: big names, little mercy
The cull Scholes envisages does not end at the back. He extended his criticism to the spine of the team, arguing that several high-profile names in midfield and attack do not meet the standard required to chase the Premier League or Champions League.
- Casemiro, whose departure has already been confirmed.
- Mason Mount, still struggling to fully impose himself since his arrival.
- Manuel Ugarte, another central option Scholes does not see as essential.
- Joshua Zirkzee, the attacking talent who, in Scholes’ view, has yet to prove he can lead a title-winning forward line.
Eight names in total, across defence, midfield and attack. For a club sitting third, it is a radical prescription.
Scholes’ stance reflects a hardline belief: United should not be built around compromise players. If they are to reclaim their old status, he argues, the squad must be stripped back to a core of specialists and leaders, then rebuilt aggressively.
A new cornerstone in goal
Amid the carnage, one position escapes the axe completely.
Scholes reserved his warmest praise for young goalkeeper Sene Lamin, crediting him as a decisive factor in United’s recent stability. After a turbulent spell under André Onana, Lamin’s emergence, Scholes suggested, has changed the team’s entire defensive psychology.
Where once there was uncertainty, there is now a sense of calm behind the back line. For Scholes, that reliability in goal is non-negotiable if United are to sustain their resurgence.
He applied similar conviction to the centre of defence. Matthijs de Ligt, he argued, must stay and be treated as a pillar of the future. In Scholes’ assessment, the Dutchman offers a more convincing long-term solution than Maguire, both in style and suitability to the evolving system under Carrick.
So while the club’s former midfield general calls for a sweeping clear-out, he also sketches the beginnings of a new spine: Lamin in goal, de Ligt at the heart of the defence, and a yet-to-be-built cast around them.
United, under Carrick, are climbing again. Scholes’ question is simple, and unforgiving: are they brave enough to tear it all down around that progress to build a side truly capable of ruling England and Europe again?
