Manchester United need to bring in a striker who guarantees them “25-plus” goals a season, says Rene Meulensteen, with the former Red Devils coach believing that Harry Kane would allow Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to “close the gap” on the Premier League elite.
A third-place finish in 2019-20 has seen the Old Trafford outfit book themselves a place in next season’s Champions League.
They were, however, 15 points adrift of runners-up Manchester City and 33 behind champions Liverpool.
Reining in two arch-rivals will not be easy, with it likely that more big-money additions will be required in order for United to become serious challengers for the English top-flight crown once again.
Solskjaer is working on that, amid links to Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho, but Meulensteen feels there are a number of areas that need to be strengthened before a 14th Premier League title can be claimed.
The former Red Devils coach told talkSPORT, with a raid on Tottenham for prolific frontman Kane being urged: “They first need to solve and get clarity about the goalkeeping position because now there’s a debate about [David] de Gea and the rumours with [Kasper] Schmeichel, but also [Dean] Henderson is there.
“So that needs to be solved to make sure that’s clear.
“People are on De Gea’s back, but he’s still a very good goalkeeper; he’s had a few blips this season, he needs to sort that out.
“They also need someone next to Harry Maguire to strengthen that [defence].
“They’re bringing Jadon Sancho in, but more than anything, I would have gone for a more prolific out-and-out striker, somebody like Harry Kane.
“There is so much creativity coming from midfield with [Bruno] Fernandes, [Paul] Pogba, [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial… they can all contribute to goalscoring.
“But [they need] somebody in the middle who’s going to score 25-plus goals. That will close the gap for United.”
He added on the pursuit of England international winger Sancho: “They’ve got a lot of various options up front with Martial, Rashford and Greenwood, who’s a fantastic finisher.
“Jadon is the one that would feature best on the right, coming in and using his pace and trickery. It would be a great addition.
“But at the same time, United need more to really become a force to compete for a Premier League title.
“He will have a fantastic future, he made that decision to move from Manchester City, he went to Dortmund, he’s done very, very well there.
“Now, it’s his time to make his mark in the Premier League and I’m sure he will at a club like Manchester United, so he has an unbelievable future.”