5 players Manchester United need to sign this summer

#5 James Rodriguez

Wayne Rooney has long been considered United’s talisman – even as his powers began to wane in around 2013, he was still the man that the Red Devils could depend on to pull something magical out when the chips were down to win or turn a game. As he heads out of the door at Old Trafford though, a new talisman is needed – especially as Zlatan Ibrahimovic already seems to be gone and Paul Pogba is still growing as a player.

That’s where Real Madrid’s Colombian wizard James Rodriguez could come in. While he carries a heavy price tag - £70m, supposedly – that’s almost small change in today’s world for a player who was the most outstanding in the 2014 World Cup, a player who can both create and score goals – some of them as spectacular as even Rooney or Ibrahimovic’s best, such as his stunner against Uruguay in said World Cup.

While he hasn’t figured much for Real Madrid recently in particular – he only appeared 32 times in 2016/17 and wasn’t involved in their Champions League final win – it doesn’t make him any less of a player, and if United want to find a new talisman, then a marquee signing like James could well be the correct move to make. The fact that he can play in any number of positions – as a forward, attacking midfielder, winger and playmaker – would help, too.