Ruud Gullit has urged Manchester United to sign a 'real striker' before the transfer window closes as he believes Wayne Rooney is 'struggling' to play as a lone forward.
The 29-year-old was deployed in a variety of roles by Louis van Gaal last season, including central midfield, but has been installed as the side's attacking spearhead since the start of the current campaign.
The United captain has endured a sluggish start to the season and failed to score in three games. Rooney is also yet to have a shot on target in the Premier League and Gullit believes that Van Gaal needs to bolster his front line due to the Englishman's plight.
"You can see the team does not have a proper striker. Wayne Rooney? He is not a real striker. Rooney wants to be involved in the play, but he cannot be the only man up front," he said.
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United have lined up in a 4-3-3 formation in recent weeks and Gullit is adamant that Rooney drops too deep to be effective without a strike partner alongside him, which has proven to be detrimental to the Red Devils' play.
"Against Brugge, in a way he was struggling, but only because of the position he was put in. As long as Rooney is in that position the team are playing without a real striker."
Rooney was United's top scorer in the Premier League with a total of 12 goals last season and Van Gaal believes that the forward can improve on that tally and score more than 20 times this season.