Liverpool legend John Barnes has questioned whether Manchester United will be able to bring in the "four world-class players" they need to close the gap to England's top two.

The Red Devils have been tipped to be one of a handful of teams still capable of spending significant money in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with the likes of Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, Saul Niguez, Moussa Dembele and Kalidou Koulibaly among the players linked.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side currently sit 37 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, but Barnes believes that they will struggle to attract the calibre of players needed to close that gap anytime soon.

"With United, it is not about the number of players that they need to purchase, it is more about the quality of the players that they can bring in," Barnes told BonusCode Bets.

"For example, 10 years ago, Liverpool signed a load of players, but none of them made the Liverpool side any stronger, and they weren't good purchases for the long-term future of the club.

"Clubs will now resist the urge to just make signings just because they want to make signings, as in the long run, they won't improve the team. At the current stage that United are in, they aren't in the position to make the quality of signings they want, because those players won't want to go there.

"I can say that United need to sign four world-class players, but they won't get that, not with the club in its current position."

United are understood to have made the signing of a new centre-back one of their top priorities this summer, along with a right-winger, centre-forward and central midfielder.