Teddy Sheringham says Manchester United showed a ‘damning lack of ambition’ by not signing England stars Harry Kane and Declan Rice last summer.
Both Kane and Rice were on the move before the start of 2023-24 campaign, with the striker ending his 14-year spell at Tottenham to join Bayern Munich and the midfielder moving from West Ham to Arsenal.
Kane has enjoyed a sensational first season at Bayern on a personal level, scoring 44 goals in 44 appearances and helping Thomas Tuchel’s side reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Rice has been just as integral to Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, starting all but one of their Premier League games as the Gunners challenge Manchester City for the title.
Sheringham insists Manchester United, sitting just eighth in the Premier League, are desperately missing players like Kane and Rice, and says it was a ‘wake-up’ call that his former club were not close to signing the pair last summer.
‘I said at the start of the season, it was a damning lack of ambition for a club of Manchester United’s size not to be in the hunt for Harry Kane and Declan Rice,’ Sheringham told Genting Technology.
‘In the old days, Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] would have snapped both of those players up. These are two top, top players at Premier League and international level.
‘Fergie would have been in for both of them. You’re not just getting the player with Kane and Rice, you’re getting the professionalism, the winning mentality, you’re getting leadership.
‘These guys drag players along with them and set your standards. There isn’t a single player doing that at Manchester United at the moment.
‘Everyone is looking at each other and saying, “I’m doing my job, what about you?” and that’s not you need if you want to win titles.
‘Leaders don’t do that. Even if they’re not having a great game, they have the presence and the talent to lift everyone else around them.
‘They get you through games and you pick up results in matches where you weren’t necessarily the best team because of the leadership qualities your experienced players demonstrate.
‘When those two players weren’t even on the radar for Manchester United, it’s was a wake-up call. Wow! How times have changed at the football club.’
United’s dismal league form and premature Champions League exit has led to intense scrutiny over the future of manager Erik ten Hag.
Sheringham, who won three league titles and the Champions League during his stint at Old Trafford, believes the Dutchman will be ‘very fortunate’ to keep his job beyond the summer.
‘You can’t have those sorts of results and keep going in the job,’ the former striker added. ‘I know that they’re in an FA Cup Final, I would love to see Manchester United beat Manchester City, but it would take a terrible performance from City and a brilliant one from Man United for that to happen.
‘For a club the size of Manchester United to be such a massive underdog in a final is unheard of. It just highlights the size of the gulf between the two clubs at the moment.’
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