Rio Ferdinand says star sold for peanuts by Erik ten Hag in 2023 would be ‘best’ in his position at Man Utd now

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Manchester United’s transfer record after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement is such that a novel can be written on a list of “what if” moves.

From getting Paul Pogba back, only for him to leave on a free transfer again, to paying a king’s ransom for Antony who now finds himself happy at Real Betis, there’s been too many duds to count.

It is why Man Utd find themselves in their current predicament where Ruben Amorim has to pinch pennies and prioritise positions when there’s a full rebuilding job to be done.

Rio Ferdinand believes one transfer, however, is an outgoing one and stands above many others as one of the big mistakes made by Man Utd in the window.

Rio Ferdinand makes bold Anthony Elanga claim

Antony has become somewhat of a poster boy for United’s failure in the transfer market and it’s not just because of his huge transfer fee.

The Brazilian didn’t live up to expectations, to put it politely, but the cascading effect from his sale appears to have set United back by a few years.

For starters, Anthony Elanga was sold to Nottingham Forest for peanuts, a fee believed to be in the region of £15 million at the time.

Elanga is now leading a surprise title charge for Forest and is the first name on the teamsheet, with his three goals and eight assists in the league just the tip of the iceberg.

Ferdinand is extremely impressed by the former Man Utd youngster and claimed on his YouTube channel that he’d be the best winger at Old Trafford right now.

He said: “Anthony Elanga would probably be our best winger if he was here right now. The “problem child”, Cristiano Ronaldo, would be our best striker.”

Ferdinand was alluding to the recruitment gaffes by United, saying that Ruben Amorim playing without a striker against Crystal Palace hardly matters because the current crop is not setting the world alight.

Anthony Elanga’s case is not a zero-sum game

The main error pundits make while doing such comparisons is to compare one player at his best at a different team and equate it with his own version when he was at United.

The reality is, Elanga wouldn’t have reached anywhere close to these heights had he stayed at United, which is a damning indictment of the club.

However, at the same time, it is also an acceptance that United didn’t make a mistake in selling him at the time, with no tears shed because Antony had a genuinely encouraging debut season.

Would Elanga be United’s best winger right now? The Forest version would. Would the Forest version of Elanga be the player he’s become had he stayed at United? Definitely not.