Manchester United are still in the process of building their squad and have less depth than many of their English Premier League rivals, manager Erik ten Hag said on July 19, as he again blamed injuries for last season's disappointing eighth-placed finish.
Earlier in July, the 54-year-old extended his contract until 2026 despite speculation he would be fired after a poor season, in which they still managed to put on some gloss with FA Cup success at the end of the campaign.
But the Dutchman called a total of 61 matches for his club in all competitions last season "simply bizarre".
"That's really too much. We are not the only team that struggled with injuries, other clubs had the same," he told Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad.
"Last season we had constantly injuries for players in the same positions, and they were all at the back. At one point we had almost no defenders available.
"We were and still are in that process (of building). If you compare our squad with other top clubs in the Premier League, we are certainly a bit less in terms of depth. That is why we found it so difficult to deal with those injuries."
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