Manchester United should be getting “60-65 goals a season” out of Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, says Paul Scholes.
Jose Mourinho has an abundance of attacking talent from which to select, with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba also at his disposal.
The Portuguese has, however, been unable to generate consistent showings from international stars capable of delivering more to the collective cause than they are at present.
Scholes believes that the Red Devils have every right to demand a greater return from their enviable array of frontmen, with it up to them to play their way into form and deliver on the expectation around them.
The former United midfielder told BT Sport ahead of a Champions League clash with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus: “The players are there, the talent is there.
“We talk about the front three all the time, think about the pace and the strength.
“Okay, Lukaku’s probably struggling for a bit of confidence, Marcus is probably struggling for a bit of confidence. But you look at those three and you must be thinking 60-65 goals a season. They need to start producing that now.
“We speak about Martial and Rashford being players of potential for the future but they’ve played over 100 games. The future is no good anymore, it needs to be now.”
While demanding an improvement in the final third from United, Scholes concedes that Mourinho also has defensive issues to address.
The Red Devils have relied on David de Gea to get them out of trouble on a number of occasions down the years, but the Spanish goalkeeper can only do so much.
Pressed on how Mourinho can bring about a reversal in fortune for his side, Scholes said: “What he has to do is go back to attacking football, playing his best attacking players.
“I think he did that on Saturday [against Chelsea], he took a risk because he knows defensively they aren’t good enough.
“The personnel hasn’t changed from last season – they still conceded chances last season and the keeper was magnificent, he made three or four world class save every game and we aren’t seeing that this season. He’s still a world-class keeper but he can’t do that all the time.”
United, who sit 10th in the Premier League table at present, have conceded 16 times in nine games.
That is the worst defensive record of any of those in the top-half, with only Burnley, Cardiff, Fulham and Huddersfield having been breached on more occasions at this stage of the season.