Maguire had already urged United to strengthen before Martinez's blast at recruitment chief

Harry Maguire was already pushing Manchester United to bolster their squad before Lisandro Martinez went public with his frustration at the club’s recruitment, targeting director of football Jason Wilcox after Tuesday’s 2-0 Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid in Spain.

Maguire’s comments, made in August before Carlos Baleba completed his move to Old Trafford, struck a notably similar tone to the Argentine defender’s subsequent broadside. “When you play for this club, you want competition for places and it’s so important that we have a huge squad,” Maguire told Sky Sports. “I want to win all the trophies and be greedy about it. The stronger squad that we have, the more opportunity we have of winning these trophies.”

Despite United spending £155 million on new arrivals — Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, Baleba and backup goalkeeper Karl Darlow among them — the club have won just two of their nine games across all competitions this season. Michael Carrick’s side have failed to build on the momentum that delivered a third-place Premier League finish last term.

Martinez’s post-match remarks were considerably sharper than Maguire’s measured appeal. “I have to control myself a lot,” the centre-back said. “We did a fantastic season last season, and now we expect more from the top, from above, to bring more players to compete, because many, many teams bring many players in as well.”

Asked directly whether he expected greater investment, Martinez did not hold back on Wilcox’s role: “Yes, 100 per cent. I expect more from our technical director. I have to be honest. And also, as a player, we have to do more. It’s also important to build a strong squad to be ready for this kind of night.”

The timing of both sets of comments underlines a growing unease within the United dressing room. Maguire’s words were a diplomatic nudge; Martinez’s were a public indictment. Together they paint a picture of a squad that felt under-resourced heading into a season that has so far delivered little encouragement.