Speaking on Premier League Productions (as quoted by The Manchester Evening News), Paul Scholes has claimed Manchester United's defeat to Burnley may not all be bad news.

What did he say?

The Red Devils had the opportunity to close the gap to fourth-placed Chelsea to just three points, after the London side's 2-2 draw with rivals Arsenal on Tuesday night.

However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side blew their chance to do so by falling to a hugely disappointing 2-0 defeat to Burnley at Old Trafford. Despite the loss, Scholes has insisted it could actually work out in United's favour, particularly over these coming days.

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He said: "Too often this season Manchester United have had two good results and then had two or three bad results. That performance tonight might do him (Solskjaer) a favour in the transfer market. It might spur the club on to spend that few extra million on the players they’re looking at like Bruno Fernandes.

"It might get done tomorrow because of this. He needs more bodies in the building. He’s got some big injuries so he needs help. The club need to help him now. I fear for the next few weeks because the injured players aren’t coming back for a while. He’s stuck with these players for now unless they sign anyone."

Silver lining

Whilst defeats are never great, the one against Burnley on Wednesday evening could come with an important silver lining for United. Their need for reinforcements has become even more desperate, and no doubt the club's hierarchy must have been watching on in shock. A victory over Sean Dyche's men could well have papered over the cracks and prompted people to think that everything isn't as bad as it seems.

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But as Scholes suggests, the loss to the Clarets may have done Solskjaer a favour in terms of reminding the likes of Ed Woodward that there is important work to be done in the transfer market.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans pick out one major positive against Burnley.