Teddy Sheringham believes should have let leave last summer and has urged the Red Devils to ‘break the bank’ to sign his perfect replacement.
Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford over the summer after Man United failed to qualify for this season’s .
The Portugal legend completed a sensational return to Manchester United in the summer of 2021 and largely impressed last season, scoring 24 goals in all competitions.
But new United boss Erik ten Hag appears to have some reservations about Ronaldo, only starting him in two of United’s nine Premier League games so far this season.
While Sheringham believes the situation is less toxic than it was earlier in the season, he still reckons Manchester United should have offloaded Ronaldo during the last transfer window.
Ronaldo’s exit would have left a gaping hole in United’s dressing room but Sheringham says Tottenham striker Harry Kane would be the ideal person to replace the five-time Ballon d’Or winner at Old Trafford.
Kane, who pushed to leave Spurs in the same summer that Ronaldo returned to England, has scored 274 goals in 465 appearances for Tottenham and is closing in on Wayne Rooney’s all-time England record.
‘If they’re going to go out and break the bank for someone, go out and get Harry Kane,’ Sheringham told .
‘He’s the type of centre-forward they lack, a proper professional, he leads the line and you’ll always get 100% out of him.
‘He’s a proper player, so go break the bank for him. I know that’s going to upset the Tottenham fans but we’re talking about Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world.
‘They should be doing this sort of thing instead of spending money on players who only might do the job for you.’
Asked whether he believes Kane could be tempted to leave Tottenham, Sheringham added: ‘Harry looks very happy to me.
‘He obviously had a wobble at the start of last season when he thought he might be leaving the club, and you could see he was unnerved by all that.
‘He’s in good shape at the moment, has the World Cup coming up, he’s scoring goals, so he’s in fine fettle so I don’t see why he would be thinking about leaving.’
Ronaldo has scored just one Premier League goal this season and was subbed off during Manchester United’s goalless draw with Newcastle United last weekend.
On Ronaldo’s situation at Old Trafford, Sheringham said: ‘I think Ronaldo has kind of got his head around the fact that he’s staying and the vibes don’t seem to be as bad anymore.
‘When you have an absolute superstar in your camp it can affect a lot of other players, so I would have just said to him in the summer that he’s allowed to leave and built my team around a proper centre-forward instead, as well as the younger players he’s got.’
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