Wayne Rooney has questioned Manchester United's "odd" approach of making Jadon Sancho their number one transfer target rather than Harry Kane.
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has insisted Sancho will not be sold before the transfer window closes on Monday.
United have been unwilling to meet the Bundesliga club's €120million (£108m) asking price for the England winger, so the 20-year-old is set to remain in Germany.
It emerged this weekend that United are closing in on signing former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani.
Rooney believes they should have gone all in for Tottenham and England frontman Kane, who will face United in a Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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"Jadon Sancho is a top player, but I find it odd that he has been Manchester United's transfer priority," Rooney, who is United's record goalscorer, said in his column for The Sunday Times.
"Why consider paying close to £100million for someone similar to talent you've got already? United have Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial and where would Sancho's arrival leave Mason Greenwood, who plays in the same position and is of similar age?
"I'd rather put that £100million towards trying to get Harry Kane. Yes, getting Kane out of Tottenham would be difficult, maybe impossible, but United are a club who should always make an effort to sign the very best players and Kane is exactly what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs, as is Erling Haaland, who United missed out on last year - a genuine number nine.
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"A Kane or Haaland or someone like Robert Lewandowski would give Rashford and Martial someone to play off and freedom to roam into different areas, pick the ball up and try to beat men - without the burden of always having to score."
