Erik ten Hag has been urged to give Scott McTominay more time to show his worth at Manchester United.
Old Trafford hero Jaap Stam reckons it's too early to write off the Scotland international's career at the Premier League side.
The 25-year-old has fallen down the pecking order somewhat so far this season, with Casemiro and Christian Eriksen commanding the midfield positions in most games.
It is still viewed as a position of weakness within United's ranks, which has led to transfer speculation that Declan Rice should be signed to bolster the squad.
However, Stam reckons McTominay just needs a run of games to show that there's no need to sign any more midfield reinforcements.
He told BoyleSports: "Manchester United need to decide whether Declan Rice is better than Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek or whether they can improve what they already have at the club and then they won't need to spend that money on Rice.
"Casemiro is at a certain age and it's difficult for him to play every game so Manchester United need to rotate at times. I think Rice is a very good player and he needs to make the next step in his career to a big team.
"He's been solid but I think it's still too early to write off Scott McTominay. I think Ten Hag should play McTominay a bit deeper so he can take over from Casemiro, but he does need to learn a lot more."
