Murphy and Neville agree Tielemans-Mainoo axis is 'impossible' after United draw with Spurs

Manchester United’s midfield overhaul is already under scrutiny after a 12th-place Premier League standing and just one win from six games, with pundits Danny Murphy and Gary Neville both questioning whether Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo can function as a partnership following Saturday’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur.

United spent over £150m reshaping their midfield across the summer, bringing in Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea for a combined £85m, alongside Carlos Baleba from Brighton. The overhaul followed the departure of Casemiro at the end of his contract. Yet against Spurs, Santos and Baleba did not start — the latter coming on only as a second-half substitute for his debut — while Tielemans lasted under an hour alongside Mainoo before being replaced.

Speaking on Match of the Day, former Liverpool midfielder Murphy was direct in his assessment. “There was a lethargy about Manchester United. This midfield can’t control games,” he said. “It’s partly tactical, partly personnel. It’s not just about the two central boys. These are both technically gifted boys who want to be on the ball going forwards. It got worse as the second half went on.”

Murphy argued the pairing lacks the physical attributes to cope with expansive Premier League pitches against three-man midfields. “Tielemans, Mainoo, they’re not able to do the yards on the big pitches against a three-man midfield,” he said. “If they play like that against good teams, they’re going to get cut right open because that’s impossible.”

Gary Neville echoed those concerns, stopping short of calling for wholesale changes but suggesting the combination has already shown its limitations. “I’m not calling time on it because that’s probably too drastic, but I’ve seen enough to think that’s not a midfield that’s dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League,” the former United captain said. “I think they are both good players individually. But sometimes you just have players that don’t quite knit together or don’t quite suit each other.”

Murphy suggested a tactical adjustment could offer a short-term fix, recommending Carrick consider dropping a forward into midfield to create a more solid three and make United harder to play against — a quality he noted was evident towards the end of last season under the previous setup.