Former Manchester United man Owen Hargreaves has outlined recruitment as one of the major reasons for the club’s struggles this season, with comparisons between the United and Brighton squads.

United fell to a 3-1 home defeat against Brighton on Sunday afternoon. The result leaves them in 13th place in the Premier League table.

Following the game, the former midfielder sent a message to Ruben Amorim over his style of play, and what is needed over the next few weeks.

READ MORE: 'What worries me' - Bruno Fernandes makes concerning Man United admission after Brighton loss

READ MORE: Ake, Bobb, Stones - Man City injury latest and return dates

“They never looked like scoring, they scored from a penalty and that was it,” he told Premier League Productions.”Brighton had one disallowed scored three, probably had numerous chances outside of that, but you see the graphic there, the last six results.

“Everyone is giving United trouble. Southampton were last place with six points from 60 and could have got something, so when you think you’re going to play Newcastle, you’re going to play Bournemouth and you’re going to play Brighton, you’re going to get punished.

“I think that’s the worry for Amorim, he’s come in and said ‘look I’m going to play this way’, you have to say it doesn’t suit the players that they have right now. It’s not just about playing the way you want to play which is fine, you’ve got to find a way to get results. That’s it.”

“I think they struggle to keep the ball with this formation sometimes, to progress it between the lines because there’s only two central midfield players, I think it’s hard to keep it. So you’re relying on individual moments, like from Amad, to get you out of trouble.

“But, defensively they don’t look great.”

Despite his reservations over the current playing style, Hargreaves also pointed the finger at the recent transfer activity at the club. He pointed to the signings under former manager Erik ten Hag and questioned the quality within the current squad.

“The recruitment has been a huge issue over the last two or three years, you look at Brighton, they has six players in that starting eleven who would start for Man United, that should never happen, ever,” he said. “With the upmost respect, they shouldn’t have players who should get into the United team, they shouldn’t even get into the 18, and they’ve got six who would start for Man United. So it goes back to recruitment.

“How much did Ten Haag spend? £600m and there’s not many of those players who would start for another top four side.”