Former England international Alan Shearer has said that Manchester United have taken a huge transfer gamble this summer after deciding against pursuing a replacement for Romelu Lukaku. The Belgium international was linked with both Juventus and Inter Milan prior to the English transfer deadline and he ultimately made the move to the latter.

Since then, the Red Devils have gone further to sanction the loan departure of Alexis Sanchez to Inter Milan and Shearer believes the club could have a tough season ahead with just Rashford and Martial as the senior striking options at their disposal, he wrote in The Sun: "Gareth Southgate's assessment that Marcus Rashford is not a No.9 is spot on.

"Even this season, when United's main striker Romelu Lukaku left, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plays Anthony Martial down the middle. I get the feeling Marcus feels more confident coming in off the left where he does not have to play a lot with his back to goal. It is a bigger issue for United because they have taken a huge gamble by not replacing Lukaku. Going into the season with just Marcus, Martial and Mason Greenwood is very risky and that is a huge burden for those three to carry over a long campaign."

United made the perfect start to the season with a thumping 4-0 win over Chelsea but they have since stumbled with just two points from the next three league games. In that period, they have been guilty of missing a couple of penalty kicks through Rashford and Paul Pogba, and the outcome could have been difficult otherwise.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side tackle Leicester City at Old Trafford this weekend. The Foxes have carried the form over from the backend of the previous campaign and they are certainly appearing as potential contenders for the European places if not for the top four. The east Midlands outfit are currently third on the table with a three-point advantage over United.