Wayne Rooney has called on Manchester United to change course in the transfer market and move for Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly, with the former Red Devils striker also insisting Michael Carrick still requires three more signings before the summer window closes on September 1.

United and Chelsea were both reportedly given the opportunity to sign the England midfielder, who found minutes hard to come by last season before forcing his way back into Mikel Arteta’s first-team plans and then making a major contribution to Arsenal’s Premier League title triumph and their run to the Champions League final.

In spite of those strong displays, Arsenal were still said to be willing to let the 19-year-old leave, particularly after completing the £75million signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle.

Even so, neither Manchester United nor Chelsea were prepared to accept Arsenal’s offer, which was reportedly a very modest £45m for a player who had already been on the radar of Old Trafford’s recruitment staff in January.

It is well known that Carrick wants to bring in a new left-back this summer to challenge Luke Shaw, and Lewis-Skelly is capable of operating there while also offering quality in his natural central midfield role.

With the prospect of signing Newcastle’s Lewis Hall now appearing extremely unlikely, Rooney has urged his former club to reconsider their position on Lewis-Skelly, particularly after the teenager’s eye-catching performance against Manchester City in the Community Shield.

“I don’t think you can rely on Luke Shaw to be consistent for the whole season and that leads me to Myles Lewis-Skelly,” Rooney said on the Stick to United podcast.

“We’re hearing that he could be available for not that much money, so I think that’s an absolute no-brainer.

“If you can get a player in who can play left-back and centre-midfield, that’s an absolute no-brainer. He’s young and he’s got a massive future ahead of him.

“I would like to see another centre back, another central midfielder and another centre forward so there’s still a lot of work to be done. But it’s really important that the players they bring in, the club do it right.

“Arsenal have spent a lot over the last couple of years so selling Lewis-Skelly makes some sense as it would be pure profit. I don’t think it would be a great look but I can see why they might sell him.

“If you’re United and he becomes available it’s a no-brainer, they definitely need to bring in a left-back, that’s a priority for United.

“I would like to think there’s more players coming in before the window closes, every fan including me wants to see that. But it’s about getting the right players.

“Looking at the money that has been spent over the last 10 years, it’s been an absolute disaster and the club are probably still recovering from that.”