Manchester United Urged to Buy: 'You Can't Just Rely on Rooney to do it'

Manchester United legend Paul Ince has urged Sir Alex Ferguson to enter next month's January transfer window in order to alleviate the club's mounting injury crisis.

The defending Premier League champions' season is already under serious threat with Manchester United wrestling with a lengthening list of absentees that includes Darren Fletcher, Nemanja Vidic, Javier Hernandez, Michael Owen, Dimitar Berbatov, Tom Cleverley, Anderson and the Da Silva twins amongst others.

Ince suggests Manchester United's dominance in English football is being questioned by their bitter Premier League rivals Manchester City and their supremacy is being undermined by Ferguson's perennial injury woes.

Although Manchester United have a perceived midfielder weakness, Ince believes Ferguson must bring in a striker to help shoulder the burden currently being carried by Wayne Rooney.

"There is a lot of pressure on Rooney and we saw what that did to him in the World Cup," The manchester United hero told BBC Sport.

"If you are going to compete with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea you need someone who is going to score you 20 goals a season and you can't just rely on Wayne Rooney to do it year in and year out.

"Nani has chipped in and Ashley Young was flying early on, but they have quietened down form-wise, so you wonder where the goals are going to come from.

"[Dimitar] Berbatov's not playing enough, Michael Owen is out injured again and Danny Welbeck is still a young lad but he will chip in with goals."

Manchester United have been linked with a number of strikers this season, most notably Dutchmen Klaas Jan-Huntelaar and Ricky Van Wolfswinkel. The IBTimes recently confirmed neither have been approached by Manchester United yet even if they remain on Ferguson's radar.