Speaking on BT Sport (as quoted by The Daily Mail), Owen Hargreaves has made a worrying admission about Manchester United's current plight.

What did he say?

The Red Devils have endured a disappointing first-half of the campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, lying six points off the top four and struggling to get any business done in this month's January transfer window.

And Hargreaves has insisted that unless the Manchester side can bring in some much-needed reinforcements, their current state may be as good as it can get for them.

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He said: "He (Solskjaer) desperately needs help. If you think, (Ander) Herrera left, (Marouane) Fellaini left, in midfield, they are really light. Then (Romelu) Lukaku leaves, (Alexis) Sanchez leaves, they don't have any help up top.

"The recruitment wasn't there to back Ole up and then injuries to key players. To be fifth with this squad, I think right now is as good as it can possibly get. There are only four points separating fifth and 14th. I don't think it's going to go more up, it's more likely to go down and that's the big worry."

Harsh truth

As Hargreaves says, United may well have hit the ceiling of what they can realistically achieve with this group of players. The Red Devils have lost a number of senior stars over the course of the past twelve months, and have brought in just three players in Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire. That is not nearly enough to have enough quantity in depth, let alone quality.

Quickfire Quiz: How much do you know about Man Utd's history in the January transfer window?

The injury to top goal-scorer Marcus Rashford in particular - which reports have suggested is likely to keep him out for up to three months - has further robbed United of an important player. The Manchester side are in desperate need of some additions to their first-team, and unless they do that, then simply battling for a place to get into the Champions League may be the best they can hope for, for now.

Meanwhile, Man Utd fans have slammed one of their former players for his comments.