Louis Saha frustrated by Man United's signings

Manchester United may have just shelled out £50 million (S$85.8 million) on Aaron Wan-Bissaka to make him the most most expensive defender in the club's history, but it is not enough to put a smile on ex-Red Devils striker Louis Saha's face.

The 40-year-old Frenchman, who was in Johor for a charity match organised by Johor Darul Ta'zim last night, told Singaporean journalists at a pre-match media session at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel that he was "frustrated" with United's early transfer dealings.

United completed the signing of 21-year-old Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace last Saturday. Their only other signing was another 21-year-old in Welsh winger Daniel James from Championship side Swansea City, who joined for a reported fee of £18 million.

When asked for his assessment of United's transfer dealings so far, Saha said: "It does frustrate me.

"You can see that United are not the team people are going to choose straight away because they are not in the Champions League and they are not having the best squad right now.

"These transitions make big players hesitate. It is going to be a big mission for United and the directors. They have a challenge on their hands."

Saha, who won the English Premier League and Champions League titles during a four-year spell at Old Trafford between 2004-2008, also chided compatriot Paul Pogba for going public with his desire to leave the club.

While on a promotional tour in Asia with sponsor Adidas two weeks ago, Pogba, 26, said that he wanted a "new challenge".

Said Saha: "I am a bit annoyed by that, but what can you do?

"I struggle to understand why players express themselves (in this way). As much as they want to move, I understand that, but I don't think it is something that should be done. I am especially gutted because he is a massive player for the club.

"I hope that he can still remain (with United), but it is difficult to see that because when you express something like this, it becomes a difficult situation to manage. It is not going to be easy for Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer)."

POGBA'S STRUGGLES

Saha, who was capped 20 times by Les Bleus, played down Pogba's struggles at Old Trafford since his £89 million transfer from Juventus to United in August 2016.

Last season, Pogba scored 16 goals for United, the best tally of his career. But some fans and pundits have still criticised him for playing better for France than he does for the Red Devils.

Pogba was a key player for Les Bleus when they won the World Cup last year.

"There is a transition period for United, but that is not the case for France," said Saha, who also played for Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Fulham and Lazio.

"There was no lack of stability with the manager for France.

"The situation is not the same for United.

"United are still trying to find their feet back since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson.

"These are some things that can give an indication of why he has struggled. Because he is a big and talented player, sometimes people expect him to do too much.

"He had a tremendous season, but people will still expect more."

Saha and United manager Solskjaer were both on the scoresheet in the 1999 Treble winners' reunion match between retired players of United and Bayern Munich on May 26.

Saha revealed that he had a conversation with Solskjaer after the match on the Norwegian's plans for the club.

He said: "The main thing we talked about was the foundation of the new side.

"Ole wants his players to run more than the opposition.

"The players will be fitter and prepared to run more and work harder. This is the foundation.

"So many things have changed and we need to be coming back to a certain level, and fitness was one of the things (we spoke about)."