Keith Gillespie has defended Manchester United's recent transfer activity following accusations that the club had lost its identity.

During the summer transfer window, United spent over £150m to bring in the likes of Angel di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Daley Blind, while academy graduates Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley were moved out.

Those deals had resulted in former coaches Mike Phelan and Eric Harrison voicing their concerns about the direction that United were heading in.

However, Gillespie, who came through the ranks at Old Trafford during the 1990s, has hit back at the doubters by insisting that a lack of quality in the squad inherited by Louis van Gaal meant that big money needed to be paid out.

"In all honesty the players LVG has moved on would have been my choice to. Welbeck, Nani and Cleverley never saw as United players. Drastic action was needed. Pursuing the path United was on was death by a 1000 cuts. Quality of competing clubs was way better. We're back," the Northern Irishman wrote on Twitter.

"The United philosophy should be to compete and succeed at the highest level. It wasn't working I believe it will now. Change had to come. Reality United have to have the best players available to compete. Any youth system might assist in that quest but cannot be relied upon.

"The question for Mike Phelan is if he had an option of Welbeck or Falcao in his team who would he choose?"

Having failed to win any of their first three Premier League matches this season, United are back in action after the international break against Queens Park Rangers.