Rooney names four positions Man Utd must strengthen and warns Rashford over body language

Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to make four more signings before the transfer deadline and issued a direct warning to Marcus Rashford over his body language, saying the forward must improve if he is to have a future at Old Trafford.

Speaking on the first episode of Stick to United, Rooney identified left-back, centre-back, central midfielder and centre-forward as the areas United must address before the September 1 window close. The club has already brought in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow this summer.

At left-back, Rooney singled out Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly as a priority target, describing the move as an “absolute no-brainer” given the player’s reported availability and versatility.

“I thought Luke Shaw had a really good season last season, but he didn’t have the best game against AC Milan,” Rooney said. “So I don’t think you can rely on Luke Shaw to be consistent for the whole season. That leads me to Lewis-Skelly, and we’re hearing that he’s available for not much money. He can play left-back, he can play centre midfield. He’s young, he’s got a massive future ahead of him. I think it’s an absolute no-brainer if you can bring him in.”

Rooney was equally direct about the broader rebuild required, adding: “I’d like to see another centre-back, I’d like to see another central midfield player and another centre forward. So I think there’s still a lot of work there to be done, but I think it’s really important that the players they do bring in, they get it right and they get the right players in.”

His comments on Rashford were pointed. The England forward has faced scrutiny over his performances and attitude in recent months, and Rooney — United’s all-time leading scorer — made clear that on-pitch output alone will not be enough if the body language does not match the effort required at the club.

United begin their Premier League campaign this weekend, with Ruben Amorim’s side still actively working to reshape the squad ahead of the summer deadline.