Ineos could hardly be blamed for admiring Eberechi Eze or Michael Olise after watching Crystal Palace demolish Manchester United on Monday night.
United have been unconvincing at best and dreadful at worst for large spells of the season.
Monday night was a perfect encapsulation of that as Erik ten Hag oversaw an absolute battering in South London.
A Michael Olise brace alongside goals from Jean-Philippe Mateta and Tyrick Mitchell saw United fall flat at Selhurst Park.
United were played off the park and never really looked like causing any problems, registering just two shots on target.
Ten Hag may point to injuries in the camp but United cannot go to Crystal Palace and come back with a 4-0 defeat.
Ineos will have been watching Monday’s horror show closely – and may have been impressed with two Palace players in the process.
Jamie Carragher on Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise
Palace duo Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise ran rings around United.
Olise stole the show with two goals but he also recorded two key passes and two interceptions in a fine performance.
Eze didn’t get himself on the scoresheet but seven successful dribbles just shows that United players couldn’t get close to him.
Much of the focus is on signing big names in huge deals but it was two players plucked from the EFL who put United to the sword on Monday night.
The pair ran riot against a Champions League winner in Casemiro and pundit Jamie Carragher has now admitted that he thinks both Eze and Olise walk into the United side right now.
Speaking on Sky Sports (06/05, 10pm), Carragher branded the pair ‘brilliant’ and ‘absolutely fantastic’, believing that they are good enough to be in the United starting XI.
“They were brilliant, absolutely fantastic,” said Carragher. “In Eze and Olise, they’ve got two players who’d walk into that Manchester United team,” he added.
Olise more likely than Eze at Manchester United
We can imagine that Ineos love Eze.
Previous reports have suggested that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos want to focus on signing homegrown players at United, so Eze will have popped onto their radar.
Eze is either a left-sided winger or a number 10 though and United already have options in those areas of the pitch.
Olise makes much more sense, offering a natural option on the right flank – which has been a problem area for United in recent times.
Big money has been spent on Antony and Jadon Sancho in recent years but neither have really lived up to expectations.
United are considered to be favourites to sign Olise and Monday’s display certainly displayed exactly why Ineos want him.
Some may worry that Monday’s showing has actually put Olise off United, but we would anticipate Ineos making him a prime target this summer.