Paul Ince says Manchester United's new director of football John Murtough's biggest challenge will be signing "heroes" without breaking the bank.
The former Red Devils midfielder reckons United have failed in the transfer market in recent seasons and no longer have heroic players like Roy Keane and Ryan Giggs.
Instead, they have spent big money on the likes of Holland international Donny van de Beek, who has started just two Premier League fixtures this season and appears to have been a poor investment.
Ince believes Bruno Fernandes is Man United's only current "hero" and says Murtough must now try and sign more players of his ilk and less like Van de Beek.
The biggest task facing Murtough is trying to prevent clubs from inflating transfer fees once they know Manchester United are interested.
It's no secret the Red Devils have money to spend, but this has seen them priced out of deals in the past, and it's a challenge the new director of football must undertake.
"When you're the director of football at a club like Manchester United, straight away you've got to accept that fans want to see players coming in that are fit enough to wear the shirt," Ince told Ladbrokes.
"Too many times in the past we've seen players come in and fail. I think when you spend big amounts on players, they've got to hit the ground running like Bruno Fernandes has.
"Man United have always had teams that are full of heroes; from Eric Cantona to Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane to Bryan Robson, but you look at the current team and you'd have to say Fernandes is the only one at that level at the moment.
"The fans love Marcus Rashford; he's a Manchester boy and I love him as well, but when you look at proper hero footballers, Fernandes is the only one at the moment.
"They've got to get back to that level, where they've got the right kind of players, those leaders, across the pitch. It's a tough ask, though. And it's not a cheap task at a club like Manchester United, which is the challenge John Murtough is going to face.
"As soon as United are interested in a player, another £10million is added to his value."
Ince added: "For Man United, they've got to do their homework and really spend time studying a player for a couple of years. I understand it's tough because you always worry that someone else is going to come in.
"But if you keep studying players around the world and you're doing your homework, you'll bring in the right personalities. Man United can't afford to just keep spending £50million on players that aren't going to hit the ground running."
