Man Utd’s rebuild is nearly complete but Paul Scholes has identified the ‘strange’ thing about it

**Ineos took over a rebuilding job at Man Utd, and Paul Scholes has identified the ‘strange’ thing about how they’ve done it. **

Since taking over at Old Trafford in the winter of 2024, Ineos have taken a surgical approach to rebuilding the squad.

Their hands were cuffed somewhat due to the financial mess they inherited from the Glazers, but the rebuild has largely been good.

However, there is one thing strange about it that Paul Scholes has noticed, and it’s hard to disagree.

Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images

The ‘strange’ thing about Man Utd’s rebuild

Ineos’ first summer window at Man Utd can be written off slightly because the structure in place making those decisions was in flux as well.

Dan Ashworth’s whole saga was a cluster of confusion, while the likes of Christopher Vivell and Jason Wilcox were still finding their roles.

Therefore, the 2024 summer window was pretty directionless, as multiple defenders arrived, but Joshua Zirkzee was also bought.

In contrast, the 2025 summer window was fully dedicated to overhauling the attack, and it paid off with a third-place finish.

The 2026 window was jarring in ambition, comparatively, but the motive to rebuild the midfield this year was clear.

Scholes said that they’ve done the midfield all wrong, prioritising last the area which needs fixing first.

He said [on his podcast]: “It looks like he did the midfield this year, and it feels like the defence will probably come next year. Whether that’s the right way of doing it, I don’t know, but at this moment in time, defensively, they are struggling. They’re always going to concede goals in that team.

“If you were setting up a team, you had the chequebook, and you were like, right, I’ve gotta sort this team out. Is it not better to start from the back first?

“Yeah, which is why we thought that was strange, because that is normally what happens.
And then you build from the back four, like Arsenal. That’s the way Arsenal started three or four years ago.”

The defensive rebuild is likely to come next season, but United could find themselves in a situation where that rebuild comes from a position of desperation.

The midfield rebuild should have been from a position of strength after UCL football, but Ineos completely fluffed it with their lack of ambition.

As a result, the defence looks even more suspect, and the pressure is on the other two areas to deliver.

A solid foundation is what’s needed to build the rest of the team upon, but United have had it all backwards, leaving Michael Carrick in a difficult place.