Manchester United are prepared to back new manager David Moyes to the hilt in the summer transfer market.

Chief executive Ed Woodward insists the resources are there to recruit top-drawer talent and said they are "absolutely" able to compete for players in the £60-70million bracket.

"We haven't got money burning a hole in our pocket but we have got a strategy on player purchases and if David wants to go after a stellar player he can do that," he said.

United have been linked with Tottenham star Gareth Bale – who Moyes' predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson tried to sign in 2007 before he joined Spurs – and there has also been speculation regarding a sensational bid to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo, who left United for Real Madrid in 2009 for a world-record £80m.

The Red Devils' pursuit of playmaker Thiago Alcantara, 22, has ended in defeat, with the Barcelona man linking up again with his old boss Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich for a fee of £21.6m.

United have also been strongly linked with Thiago's club-mate Cesc Fabregas and may now look to step up their interest in the former Arsenal captain, who would fit the bill as a big-name recruit.

"The way we worked with Alex was he would identify the transfer targets and take them to (joint chairman) Joel (Glazer) and (former chief executive) David (Gill), who would have discussions which ended with them backing him in the transfer market every single time and we see that continuing with David Moyes," Woodward added.

"We could have broken the transfer record in the past if we'd wanted to. Alex may not have got all the players he wanted but that was never down to not releasing funds. There's never been a cut-off price."

United's record signing remains the 2008 acquisition of striker Dimitar Berbatov from Spurs for £30.75m.

Wayne Rooney was another player United brought in for big money, but they appear relaxed about the prospect of his contract running down as speculation continues over his future.

Moyes has repeated his mantra about wanting Rooney to stay, albeit pointing out he will not let any player become bigger than the club.

Woodward says United are not currently giving Rooney's contract any special attention, despite the obvious risk of the 27-year-old's market value plummeting – or being wiped out altogether – over the remaining two years of his contract.

He said: "There are no contract renewals that are being discussed.

"I am not sitting down with any player on an extension and there is no trigger date in the diary.

"Would we be afraid to run a contract down? Of course not."

On Friday, Moyes showed the first signs of becoming exasperated by the Rooney saga, stating: "Unless I was speaking double Dutch last week, we said Wayne Rooney is not for sale."

Yet, with Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho managing to keep the forward's name at the forefront of people's minds and no confirmation from the player that he actually wishes to extend his nine years at United, Moyes is aware it will not go away, even though the player himself is sidelined for three weeks with a hamstring injury.

"Wayne has got a major role to play. We need to get him as many goals as we can," Moyes said.

"Overall my thought on Wayne is, if for any reason we had an injury to Robin van Persie, we'll need him.

"But I've also got to make sure we don't just concentrate on him. Manchester United is not about Wayne Rooney."