Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is the new Manchester United manager Getty

Liverpool legend Graeme Souness has urged Manchester United to help Jose Mourinho complete two to three top signings in the summer transfer window and advised to retain star player David de Gea. The Portuguese tactician has been appointed as the new manager of the Red Devils to replace Louis van Gaal.

The United goalkeeper was heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid last summer and his switch to the Spanish capital club collapsed on the final day of the 2015 summer transfer window. De Gea continued with the 20-time English champions and was the star player for them in the recently concluded season, which saw him win United's Player of the Year for the third year in a row.

"United need better players. The big challenge facing them is keeping David de Gea, who for the past two years has been their best performer. For them to be back challenging, Mourinho must make two or three top signings," Souness told The Sunday Times.

"Maybe a right-back. It's a shame Luke Shaw broke his leg against PSV when he was looking a top left-back. He will also be looking for a couple of midfielders, an anchorman and one who can get goals from a wider area, and a striker. The influential Jorge Mendes, his agent, will be a huge help in identifying and signing them."

United finished fifth in the 2015/16 campaign, which means they will not feature in the next season's Champions League and were forced to settle for the Europa League. Souness believes that Mourinho is the right man to help the Old Trafford club return to Europe's elite club competition.

"Getting United back into that tournament will be his priority," the Anfield legend explained.

"Jose Mourinho will be a better manager for the punch on the nose he had at Chelsea. It will have been an enormous learning curve for him. Despite his achievements, he'll have learnt things about modern footballers, that he thought he understood, and also about himself. As hard as it was, he'll be wiser for it," he explained.