Jamie Carragher believes new Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has a huge job on his hands if he's to even secure a Champions League spot in his first season at the club.
United are coming off the back of a disappointing season, finishing sixth in the table with their lowest ever Premier League points tally. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick failed to deliver what was expected last season, leaving Ten Hag to pick up the piece following his move from Ajax.
The club have enjoyed an impressive start under the Dutchman, with three new signings helping to boost optimism within the fanbase.
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But with other teams around them also improving, Carragher is unsure whether United will be strong enough to finish in the top four this season.
"I think there's a long road for United in terms of challenging for the title. Ten Hag's first thing is to get back in the Champions League where it belongs - Man United are one of the biggest clubs in the world," he said.
"Once they do that, then they will look to get back in the title race. But it's not going to be easy to get back into the top four this season and not just for United.
"You would expect [Manchester] City and Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham are getting stronger and Arsenal too.
"This manager has a really good CV and they've had a good start in pre-season - they'll hope they can get De Jong, he's a huge player and could make a big difference for them."
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