Paul Ince has warned Manchester United that they will fail to kick on next season unless they invest in the squad this summer.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s are on course to finish second in the Premier League this term.
It would be only the second time the Red Devils have finished in the top two since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
United are also through to the Europa League semi-finals and will host Roma in the first leg on Thursday.
However, Ince believes a failure to spend in the transfer market would cause “a lot of issues” for the club next term.
"They are not as far off as we thought two years ago. They are progressing gradually,” he told Sky Sports.
“But on that performance (Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Leeds) they are a long way (off), they have been so inconsistent this season it is hard to judge.
“They need money, they need a striker. It looks like [Edinson] Cavani is going to Boca Juniors. They are going to have a lot of issues next season.
“David de Gea is on £300,000 a week plus as a No.2. [Paul] Pogba might be going. [Donny] Van de Beek cost £40 million and can’t even get a game.
"They are going to need to invest. But to win titles you need consistent performances week in and week out. And we have not seen that this season from United even if they have got the results.”
Ince spoke out against Solskjaer’s appointment as interim manager back in 2018, and he believes United should have turned to a coach with more experience.
“Listen, I think Ole is always calm and doesn’t get too emotional about situations. At the time, when they gave Ole the job, I thought he was really inexperienced for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
"I thought there were better managers out there with more experience, like Steve Bruce or Mark Hughes, who could have come in and done a better job.
"But saying that, he’s obviously changed the mindset of the players after [Jose] Mourinho and the results have been very, very good.
“The performances have still been really inconsistent, even last week against Burnley, it wasn’t a great performance.
“We look at their away record, they keep going behind and then coming back. They’ve got great character and mental toughness to come back.
"As a manager, you don’t want to keep going behind in games and having to come back but it shows you’ve got the character and mental side to do that.
"Listen, next year, Chelsea will be strong, Arsenal will be, Spurs will be, there will be a lot of teams that are strong. At the moment, well done, but there’s still a long way to go."
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