Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes appeared to be on the same wavelength over Manchester United’s decision to sign one player for Erik ten Hag this summer.
Erik ten Hag has seen the arrival of new signings at Old Trafford this summer, including the acquisition of Joshua Zirkzee from Serie A side Bologna.
Manchester United also beat Real Madrid in the race to sign highly rated French defender Leny Yoro from Ligue 1 side Lille.
However, United boss Ten Hag has already been dealt a major blow after Leny Yoro suffered an injury during the Premier League club’s pre-season tour.
The Red Devils are expected to complete the signings of Bayern Munich duo Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, both of whom played under Ten Hag at Ajax.
United have also offloaded several players in the summer window, including the sales of Mason Greenwood to Marseille and Willy Kambwala to Villarreal.
Ferdinand drops verdict on Man Utd transfer
Manchester United had reportedly tabled an offer to sign Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui before Bayern Munich rejected the bid earlier this month.
However, the Premier League club now appear on the verge of bringing former Ajax duo De Ligt and Mazraoui to Old Trafford after their latest approach.
According to BBC Sport, United have agreed to an initial £38.6m fee for Bayern defender De Ligt and a further £4.3m in add-ons.
The Red Devils are believed to be ready to pay £12.9m for Bayern full-back Mazraoui, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka now expected to leave Old Trafford.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand has raised his concerns about De Ligt’s lack of playing time at Bayern last season ahead of his move to United.
However, Ferdinand admitted that the 25-year-old Dutch centre-back now has the chance to send a clear-cut message about the ‘real De Ligt’ at Old Trafford.
“Mazraoui will play right-back because Wan-Bissaka will be sold,” he said.
“I think that’s a good deal all ‘round. I still think [Diogo] Dalot plays ahead of him.
“But with De Ligt… I watched him at Ajax; he was brilliant that year when they got to the semi-final with Ten Hag before being beaten by Spurs. He was commanding, everything you wanted in a defender, composed.
“Then he goes to Juventus, you look at that and think, great move. A defender going to learn from the likes of [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Giorgio] Chiellini and all them guys. But it just fills me with disappointment with the way his career has gone since then.
“I think he had 16 starts last season. Lot of injuries, doesn’t start many games in the last two or three years, and Manchester United are spending 45-50million pounds on him. That’s another two teams who he was a sub for, a back-up defender.
“I think it’s a big ask for him. Big pressure. Big opportunity, but there is a lot of uncertainty over him after his time with Juventus and Bayern Munich.
“I don’t think he’s the answer. But it’s a great opportunity for him to go in there and be like, ‘You know what, guys? I’m going to rectify my last few seasons and show you the real me.’”
What did Scholes say about De Ligt?
Paul Scholes made his stance clear on De Ligt after the United legend admitted that he had a “massive concern” over the Dutchman struggling to play for Bayern.
“Manchester United are talking about bringing players in who can’t get in their team,” he said on The Overlap.
“From Bayern Munich, he has not played for them. That has to be a big concern for me, especially when Eric Dier is playing in front of him. I’m not joking, that is a massive concern for me.
“When you’re bringing players in for £40-£50million just because he played for him three or four years ago. Juventus got rid of him; he wasn’t good enough for Juventus.
“He’s obviously not been good enough at Bayern Munich, so he’s coming to us as like a second-rate defender now.”
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