Rio Ferdinand believes that Manchester United should target one Premier League talent that Ruben Amorim can deploy alongside Manuel Ugarte for next season.
Ruben Amorim is expected to make the next major overhaul of the Manchester United first-team squad that he inherited from Erik ten Hag in the summer.
Manuel Ugarte arrived at Old Trafford last summer from Paris Saint-Germain and struggled to make a real impact under former United manager Erik ten Hag.
Ten Hag sparingly used the 23-year-old Uruguayan defensive midfielder before the former Ajax boss was sacked as United manager last October.
However, Ugarte played under current United manager Amorim at Sporting CP and has become a linchpin midfield player for the 40-year-old Portuguese coach.
Amorim has been left short of midfield options at times in the 2024-25 Premier League season after his arrival from Portuguese outfit Sporting CP last November.
The United manager has seen his Red Devils squad hit with injuries in the current campaign, including England star Kobbie Mainoo seeing his season disrupted.
Rio Ferdinand wants Man Utd to sign Adam Wharton from Crystal Palace to play alongside Manuel Ugarte in midfield
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand admitted that he is a big fan of Adam Wharton and wants Manchester United to target the Crystal Palace star.
Adam Wharton is under contract with Crystal Palace until 2029 and the England midfielder is reportedly valued at a whopping £70m by the Eagles.
Ferdinand insisted that he sees shades of former United and England teammate Michael Carrick in Wharton and wants him to play alongside Manuel Ugarte.
Speaking on Rio Ferdinand Presents, the United legend said: “I would [sign] another central midfielder this summer to play alongside Manuel Ugarte.
“That player needs to be able to take the ball and transfer it up the pitch. You know who I would do for? Adam Wharton.
“I would go and get him. The reason I would take him is he can get on the ball and transfer it up the pitch, he’s got a great range of passing.
“I think he would be a great addition to the United squad. He reminds me of Michael Carrick a bit.”
Ruben Amorim sends a clear-cut message about the upcoming summer transfer window for Man Utd
Ferdinand has already named four United signings he wants to see under Ruben Amorim, but the Red Devils boss knows the scale of the challenge ahead of him.
Speaking on the upcoming summer transfer window, Amorim recently told Sky Sports: “I think it’s crucial. I think we are trying to do everything as soon as possible
“If you look at the schedule of teams, we will not have the Club World Cup, so that means that we are going to have a pre-season.
“If you look at the next years, we are going to have a World Cup, then a European Championship. So, this window is going to be massive to work on our base.
“I think it’s clear for everybody here that is going to be crucial and we have to take advantage of that. We will not have a next pre-season. It will not be like that.
“So, we need to do everything [as] soon as possible to be prepared for having everybody for the pre-season to start after a season like this.
“We need to show something. That is not a debate. So, I don’t want that conversation of we need a lot of time.
“We need time, maybe to win the league, but we need to improve a lot after this season.”
United are back in action on Thursday evening when the Red Devils travel to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais to face Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals.
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