Roy Keane names the TWO positions he ‘worries’ about for Man United as he voices concerns over their ‘spine’ – and it’s not a good look for £119m-worth of signings from last season

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has concerns about his former side ahead of the new season.

Keane played for the club during their golden era in the Premier League and was part of seven title-winning triumphs.

But United have not been English champions since 2013 and finished eighth last season.

United have made four major signings since the end of last season, bringing in Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee and defenders Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.

But Keane believes Erik ten Hag’s side are still short in two key positions.

Talking about Stay with footballbrought to you by Sky BetKeane said: “For me it’s always a concern to compete and I still worry about the spine of that Manchester United team.

“Despite all the good play they have and the good players, I’m still worried about the goalkeeper and the striker.”

Keane added: “On paper they have a decent team but the reality is when they have played games, and last year with their league record they were so open, if you’re talking about competing I’m worried about the spine of the team.”

Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana started all 38 of United’s league games last season after signing from Inter Milan for £47m.

Keane criticised Onana several times last season, branding him a “disappointment” in December before accusing him of “fooling around” during United’s FA Cup semi-final against Coventry in April.

United also invested in a new striker last summer when they paid Atalanta £72m for Rasmus Hojlund.

The Danish striker scored 16 goals in 43 games for United last season but was still criticised by Keane for his ineffective finishing.

After Hojlund missed several chances in the 2-0 FA Cup win over Wigan in January, Keane said he would be “furious” if it were one of his team-mates.

United won the FA Cup last season, which seemingly saved Ten Hag from the sack after their dismal league campaign.

Keane is confident United’s league form will improve in 2024-25 but does not expect to challenge for the title.

“I fully expect United to do much better than they did last year,” he added on this week’s episode of Stick to Football.

“They can’t finish eighth again, right? They can’t be that bad. But we’re talking about fourth place.”

Podcast host and former United star Gary Neville later said his main concern ahead of the new season was injuries.

Neville said: “Injuries are a big problem for Manchester United. Left-back is a problem because if (Luke) Shaw is not there, the relegation is huge. I think they will get into the top four if they avoid injuries.”

United will be without Shaw, Yoro, Hojlund and Tyrell Malacia when they kick off their new Premier League campaign on Friday night.

This will be United’s second game of the season after drawing 1-1 with Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley, before losing 7-6 on penalties.

Despite that defeat, Neville believes Ten Hag will be pleased with what he saw from his side against City, especially in midfield.

“Last year there was a massive difference,” Neville explained. “They played with Casemiro sitting on his own, with no one next to him, and they basically had (Mason) Mount and (Bruno) Fernandes right in front of him, and then they had the two wingers up front.

“That’s not what they’re doing now. They’re putting[Kobbie]Mainoo alongside Casemiro and then they’re playing narrow with Mount and Fernandes. I’m not saying it’s a system, I can’t see a balance, but they’ve got four interesting players that they could try to play with, with some sort of split forward. I think he’ll like what he would have seen against City, in the sense that they can play together, and they can be a bit narrow and compact as well.”