Teddy Sheringham: Manchester United should have bought Declan Rice instead of ‘okay’ players

Manchester United have signed “okay” players in recent years but should have gone all out for Declan Rice and Harry Kane, according to former Old Trafford hero Teddy Sheringham.

Sheringham, who scored the equaliser in United’s remarkable Champions League triumph against Bayern Munich in 1999, is saddened by his former club’s inability to compete at the top end of the Premier League and blames poor recruitment for their demise.

Speaking to BetMGM, the ex-England striker said: “I wouldn’t say there are many top players at Manchester United. They’ve missed out on players like Declan Rice and Harry Kane when both were up for transfer. United weren’t even in the equation for either of them.

“They are both top, top England internationals who lead by example, and don’t just go into football clubs to play well – they go in and lead and say to everybody else, ‘are you coming with me? I can play here’.

“A bit like the way Eric Cantona went in at United; he was made for it. Declan and Harry would have been absolutely fantastic for the football club.

“So, they didn’t buy those top players, they went under the card for a few million less, and that’s what you end up with. You end up with players that are okay in the situation, but not great. You need great players to play for Manchester United, and even more so now, to turn the club around. You need leaders.”

‘Manchester United will regret missing out on Rice’

Having sacked Ruben Amorim, United head to Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday with Michael Carrick in interim charge. A 2-0 victory over Manchester City was a promising start for Carrick but they will have to move up another level if they want to claim a positive result against an Arsenal side for whom Rice is an inspirational figure in midfield.

Sheringham added: “Rice is the one I think they’ll really regret. He leads by example on the football pitch and he doesn’t care who he’s playing against; he just says, ‘give me the ball’, a bit like Gazza all those years ago.

“He’s thinking ‘I don’t care who we’re playing against, give me the ball, I’ll out-trick him, I’ll outrun him, I’ll out-fight him, you name it, and I’ve got quality on top of all that to prove it.’

“He’s made a massive difference at Arsenal. I said it two-and-a-half-years ago, they should have been in for him and should have got it done. There’s no chance of getting him now, so it’s all too late, but this is what Sir Alex Ferguson did all those years ago – he got players early, before anybody else noticed them.

“He went out and bought Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Cristiano Ronaldo. They hear about these players around the world and they go and get them before everybody else has even heard about them.

“They know they’re going to be top players, so they go out and get them. Unfortunately they’re not doing that anymore.”

Manchester United skipper Fernandes is not captaincy material – Sheringham

United will be led at the Emirates by Bruno Fernandes, who remains a divisive figure. There is no doubting the Portugal international’s ability but, according to Sheringham, he is not captaincy material.

“In terms of Bruno [Fernandes] you’re looking at two different things,” Sheringham said. “You’re looking at him as captain material and whether he has an identity which is what the club stands for. I don’t think he’s that because he doesn’t lead by example in his manner on the pitch.

“We’ve seen him throw his arms up in the air and all that which I don’t think is a good look and not something a captain should be doing.

“Don’t get me wrong, the way he’s performed on the pitch over the last couple of years, he’s definitely a type of leader but I’m not sure he’s a captain.

“There’s been a lot of speculation about his future. First of all, you don’t want to lose your top players and without a doubt, Bruno has been one of Manchester United’s top performers over the last two-and-a-half years in a team full of players who have been underperforming.

“I don’t listen too much to speculation but, of course, he’d be a huge loss if he did move on at the end of the season.”