Wayne Rooney has advised Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to avoid the temptation of signing a handful of high profile players this summer, saying his former teammate should target younger, cheaper players as part of his Old Trafford overhaul.
The Manchester United manager is set for a busy summer following the clubs poor end to the season which saw them finish sixth in the Premier League and subsequently miss out on Champions League football.
While a club of United’s stature and global pull will always be linked with some of the games big-name players, and the likes of Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos have already have been linked this summer, club record goalscorer Wayne Rooney has said that they should sign players with ‘potential’ and ‘longevity’.
“I don’t think bringing one or two players in for over £100million is going to really help with the squad and the players who are there,” Rooney told BBC Radio 5Live.
“I think he needs to try and look at maybe five or six players who have got potential to be top players but you’re not spending £120, £130million on these players.
“I think you spend £30million, £40million and then try to improve them, which will also give you longevity out of the players and allow you to build a squad around the five or six new players that come in, plus a few of the players who are still there.
“You could bring Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Messi in, or Gareth Bale for instance, and it’s going to cost you £300m, £350million (for) which you’d get what?
“Maybe two years out of Ronaldo, a couple of years out of Ramos and then you’ve written that money off.
“I just think the club needs to rebuild with younger players. But obviously they need to be good enough and allow the manager to improve them.
“And I think Man United fans will understand they’re probably not going to compete for the Premier League next year, so let them have that time, let Ole have that time, to build a team for the next two or three years that are going to compete not only at Premier League level but Champions League level.”
United have today been strongly linked with a move for Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while already announcing a deal in principle for Swansea City speedster Daniel James.
See also: Five of the best Premier players released by their clubs this summer
