Dimitar Berbatov urges Manchester United to sign Mario Mandzukic, Gareth Bale

Dimitar Berbatov has encouraged Manchester United's hierarchy to prioritise signing Mario Mandzukic and Gareth Bale in the next transfer window.

United's transfer strategy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer focuses on signing young, British players who can develop over a long-term period.

However, after only signing Daniel James as an attacking reinforcement over the summer, many United supporters have criticised the club for not properly bolstering its attack following the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez.

Reflecting on which players United should look to sign, Berbatov told Betfair: "They have the talent in the young players but at the same time you need someone like Mandzukic. I think he is a really good football player and he hasn't played before in England but I hope if he comes he can straight away get into the rhythm of the Premier League.

"Zlatan Ibrahimovic was 34-years-old when he signed for United and he didn't have any problems. Mandzukic is a similar age and hope he could have the same impact if he signs. I think his age is a good thing, Martial, Rashford and Greenwood are all young players so they need that time and assurance that they don't need to worry and they can learn from the experience of Mandzukic.

"Gareth Bale has apparently said that he wants to leave Real Madrid, it reminds me of a soap opera that has been on for so long, what episode are we on now?

"In the end he is probably going to leave at some point, and I would love to see him back in England at Manchester United or Spurs if they could afford him."

United made an effort to sign Mandzukic over the summer, with the striker tipped to become part of a deal involving Paulo Dybala, but no such move ever materialised.

Bale, whose name has been linked with United for years, reportedly wants to leave Real Madrid at the next possible opportunity after growing exasperated at Zinedine Zidane's selection.