Wayne Rooney and ex-Man Utd teammate in disagreement as Ruben Amorim told to buy £40m star

Manchester United have been told to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, despite Wayne Rooney saying the forward would be a perfect fit for Arsenal

Wayne Rooney and one of his former Manchester United teammates are in disagreement over whether the club should sign Jean-Philippe Mateta.

United are reportedly eyeing up the Crystal Palace striker as a potential new No. 9 this summer after his haul of 12 Premier League goals so far this term. With current forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee not consistently hitting the back of the net, the 27-year-old's form has apparently not gone unnoticed at Old Trafford, despite his £40million price tag.

United legend Rooney has expressed the view that Mateta might be better suited to Arsenal's style of play. However, an old colleague insists that it would be a shrewd acquisition for Ruben Amorim's side.

Former Red Devils goalkeeper Ben Foster gave his opinion on the potential signing while speaking on the Fozcast podcast. Foster, who played for United between 2005 to 2010, also emphasised that the club must adopt a more pragmatic approach with the team stuck in 14th in the league standings.

The ex-England and Wrexham shot-stopper said: "They need somebody like Mateta. I think it's so important nowadays to have a big Plan B, because Man United's Plan A isn't working. They'd have to change the way they play.

"This is where the snobbery comes into it for me because Man United will be still hanging their hat on the fact that they're Man United, saying 'We've got history and we do things properly'. You've got to do whatever you have to do to win games, it's as simple as that.

"Look at Palace's record - they win games because they're effective. They know how to use the players that they've got to win games, whereas I think Man United still go, 'No, we can outplay people'. You can't outplay people because you haven't got the players."

He added: "Every opponent you come up against has got a style and a way of playing football that gets them results and Man United haven't got that." However, despite Foster's reservations, United scouts believe Mateta would thrive as a lone striker in Ruben Amorim's 3-4-2-1 formation.

Meanwhile, United legend Rooney thinks Mateta would be a better fit for Arsenal, given the number of crosses they deliver into the box. "Jean-Philippe Mateta is a big, strong lad who scores a lot of goals," Rooney told BBC Sport.

"Watching Arsenal in the Premier League, they've put a lot of balls into the box without anyone to finish them off. I'm sure he'd help with that."

On the other hand, former Watford striker Troy Deeney doubts Mateta is good enough for United. When asked if he'd be a smart signing, Deeney told talkSPORT: "No, because he's not the answer for Palace. So why is he going to be the answer for Manchester United?

"I think Jean is a very good player, by the way. But he's a very good player at Crystal Palace. I was a very good player at Watford. Going to the levels of these big clubs is completely different. The only thing that plays into his favour is they kind of play a similar formation with Palace at the moment, where he's the lead one through the middle.

"But I would argue that Palace's No. 10s are better than what Manchester United have got currently. So I think he's going through a good vein of form because Palace are in a good moment. No one was saying they should have signed him in pre-season."

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