Rio Ferdinand has shut down Owen Hagreaves' claim that Manchester United should start their rebuild by signing Jude Bellingham.
The Borussia Dortmund starlet has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, having turned down the Red Devils in 2020 when he left boyhood club Birmingham. With United looking to improve on their recent recruitment record ahead of the summer transfer window, Hargeaves picked out Bellingham as a starting point, but Ferdinand was focused on the wider issues at the club.
"They don't have a coach for next season. We don't know who the sporting director is," Hargreaves began on BT Sport ahead of the Red Devils' Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid. "There's a lot of players out of contract, [Paul] Pogba, [Edinson] Cavani. The [Anthony] Martial situation. There are five or six player situations at the club that need resolving.
"When we played, we knew who was going to be signed and who was already in there. I'm optimistic because United have the chance to go and get anyone, and most people will want to come here. Get a coach in. Get a sporting director. Go and get Jude Bellingham! He's the guy I'd start with, he's young and hungry."
Ferdinand retorted though, saying: "I don't necessarily think it's about who you sign though. I was screaming at the start of the season 'Oh we've got [Cristiano] Ronaldo, we've got [Raphael] Varane now'. Big players. If the culture at the football club isn't right, it doesn't matter who you bring in.
"You need a manager that can guide the ship, and United don't have that at the moment. We've seen it enough this season, people walking away from this stadium or anywhere they've played saying 'I didn't get enough at of X, Y or Z player that game.'"
Paul Scholes, who played alongside both Hargreaves and Ferdinand for United under Sir Alex Ferguson, agreed with the latter's line of thinking, suggesting that the priority should be improving their head coach rather than the squad.
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"I think they're an elite coach away from challenging for trophies again. They've got a good squad with some top players, but for the last three or four years, they've not had an elite coach," Scholes explained.
"You need a manager that strikes fear into players, Sir Alex Ferguson had that, have any of the managers since him had that? I don't think so. It's a special talent to have as a coach.
"Those Man City players under Pep [Guardiola], those Liverpool players under [Jurgen] Klopp, they'll get away with nothing. These players here (United) for the last two or three years have got away with murder.
"I'm not saying they'll catch Man City or Liverpool, but I don't think they're far away from Chelsea, squad-wise, but once they get that right coach and have two or three years to build, they'll be challenging again."
On who the Red Devils' next boss should be, Scholes picked two candidates in charge of United's top-flight rivals. "I would have gone for [Antonio] Conte or [Thomas] Tuchel," he added. "It looks like one might be available at the end of the season.
"Those are two top class coaches that strike fear into players and win, which is the most important thing. United, with either one of those managers, would be much better off."
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