Louis Saha, the former Manchester United striker, has delivered a blunt verdict on his old club's direction, arguing that the squad has failed to progress and may even have taken a step backwards in recent years.

Speaking to FootballPredictions.com, the two-time Premier League winner was asked whether the recruitment model overseen by Jason Wilcox and INEOS was delivering results. His answer was unequivocal.

"No, definitely not," Saha said. "It's very clear, and you don't need to know much about football. Even my partner can say that, and she doesn't watch much football, but every time she hears me, she can look at the games and have a very simple take on it."

Casemiro's absence leaves a void

The 48-year-old pointed to the departure of seasoned midfielders as a core problem, singling out Casemiro as a player whose experience and physical presence gave Manchester United a foundation they now lack.

"It's obvious the team has not improved, if it hasn't got worse, because Casemiro was a guarantee," Saha explained. "He was someone who had this experience, that aggressiveness at the right moment. I think we do lack physical power."

Too much pressure on young foreign strikers

Saha reserved his sharpest criticism for the club's approach to recruiting forwards, arguing that placing young, inexperienced players from abroad at the top of the attack at a club of Manchester United's stature is a strategy doomed to fail.

"With no disrespect to other teams, it's a special club, with the Champions League," he said. "I don't think a striker should be young at the top of this team. For me, it doesn't make sense. It's a lot of pressure, especially when you come from another country. You have too many of those who don't have the experience to be the solution, and I think that's a big mistake. It's just a big mistake."

Memories of a more prolific era

Saha, who shared a dressing room with Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and Cristiano Ronaldo under Sir Alex Ferguson, struggled to reconcile the firepower of that generation with what he sees at Old Trafford today.

"I don't like to refer to the past again, but before, it was maybe four or five strikers who used to score 20 goals a season, and now you have only one or two," he said. "I don't understand."

Manchester United's managerial situation has also shifted, with Michael Carrick departing the role and USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino set to take charge. Saha, however, made clear he believes the problems at the club run far deeper than the dugout.