Ex-Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham believes his former club should have “broken the bank” to recruit Tottenham’s Harry Kane and West Ham’s Declan Rice this summer.

The Red Devils have already brought in Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen in recent weeks but Sheringham feels that the club needed to recruit some marquee names in order to reset attitudes inside the dressing room:

“If they’d have gone out and broken the bank for Declan Rice or Harry Kane – I know West Ham and Spurs fans are going to castigate me again for saying this sort of thing – but that is what you have got to do to make a statement. Ten Hag has got one hell of a job on his hands to change the vibe of the dressing room around but signings like that would change the whole ethos of where Man United are going. The signings that they’ve made are okay at best…and that is how fans will see it as well.”

In terms of Kane, Spurs would likely have rejected any offers for their player, even over £100m. The England captain is also not angling for a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, unlike last year.

Rice’s situation is slightly different. The West Ham midfielder has been linked with the likes of United, Manchester City and Chelsea, but teams have been scared off by his £150m valuation.

If the Manchester club had shelled out on Rice and Kane as Sheringham suggests, there would still be no guarantee of having a successful season. While some may feel that the transfer business has been underwhelming so far, ten Hag seems to be looking for players who fit his system and that may prove to be a better policy in the long run than throwing money at high-profile names.