Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves feels a lack of spending has Chelsea "years" ahead of his old club.

Before David Moyes spent £64.1 million on Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata, the Reds' net spend was lower than Stoke City and Aston Villa's over the previous five years and Hargreaves reckons United are playing catch-up.

"I think they realise they don't [match up]," the BT Sport football expert said.

"The fact of the matter is Manchester City and Chelsea are a couple of years ahead in terms of recruitment and planning looking at the players that they have.

"You think about Yaya Toure and David Silva, Vincent Kompany, who wasn't really on the radar. Then to bring a goalkeeper like Joe Hart through, you've got Kompany, Silva, Toure - that's the spine of your team.

"I know City spent a lot of money on it but they identified players that they needed and they addressed it.

"If you look at Chelsea, Nemanja Matic was part of their club, went to Benfica and came back for £21 million. He is the best defensive midfield player in the league without a shadow of a doubt.

"He's great at what he does but he is different from Fabregas and that's why they complement each other so well.

"That's where United are behind. Michael Carrick is great for them because he's a great passer of the ball but I still think you need a physical, athletic presence in that team that can have an impact.

"You look at the United side, there's not a lot of speed really in there."