Manchester United: Red Devils squad 'even more unbalanced' after letting 3 strikers leave says Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes claims the Manchester United squad is unbalanced following the departures of several players in the summer. Louis van Gaal allowed three of his strikers leave in one transfer window and has failed to replace them.

The Dutchman decided against signing Radamel Falcao on loan. The AS Monaco striker is on a season-long loan at Chelsea. Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez were allowed to leave on a permanent transfer as they joined Fenerbahce and Bayer Leverkusen respectively.

United signed Anthony Martial as the 19-year-old arrived at Old Trafford on deadline day from Monaco. The French international scored in the Red Devils' 3-1 victory over Liverpool and the United legend is delighted with the teenager's capture.

Scholes' former club has Wayne Rooney and teenager Martial as the options up front, with James Wilson set to go out on loan to the Championship. Marouane Fellaini is also deployed as a striker. However, Scholes is concerned with lack of goals up front and criticised Van Gaal for letting three strikers leave in the summer.

"The one thing with the United squad now is that they're short of goals. Short of real top quality centre forwards who guarantee you goals. Van Gaal spoke last year about his squad being unbalanced and I think it's even more unbalanced now without top strikers," Scholes told BT Sport.

"They've let three or four strikers go. I think if we'd have kept a Van Persie or a Hernandez it looks quite strong. They can score goals. [Anthony] Martial could be a real threat coming off the bench. I just think that's a mistake."

United lost in the first Champions League fixture of the 2015/16 season against PSV Eindhoven. The match also saw Luke Shaw suffer an injury and he was stretchered off the field after suffering a double fracture following a tackle from Hector Moreno.

Scholes believes Van Gaal's side should not have lost the clash against the Dutch side on 15 September. The former United midfielder was concerned with lack of quality from the 20-time English champions in the final third.

"...I was encouraged. They shouldn't have lost the game. I thought they played really well, and just lacked it in the final third. It's not a great night, but I thought they looked dangerous and they have something to build on," the United legend said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"Juan Mata found it difficult to have an influence on the game in the number 10 role. I think Wayne Rooney comes straight back into that position."