Rio Ferdinand wowed by £20m wonderkid Manchester United are keen to sign

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Rio Ferdinand has been impressed by Copenhagen wonderkid Roony Bardghji with Manchester United keeping tabs on the £20 million-rated Champions League rising star.

As Copenhagen welcomed the other Manchester side to the Parken Stadium, there was to be no repeat of those pre-Christmas heroics for one of the competition’s breakout talents.

Roony Bardghji scored a dramatic 87^th minute winner against Manchester United in November – a finish his near-namesake Wayne would have been proud of – but was surprisingly left on the bench when City arrived in the Danish capital on Tuesday.

And the sight of Bardghji twiddling his thumbs on the bench as Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions moved one giant step closer to the last-16 will have come as a disappointment to Rio Ferdinand, the Red Devils icon keen to see more from a teenager who has scored more goals (11) than any other Copenhagen player this season.

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“He’s got a name already. He seems accustomed to (the pressure). He doesn’t seem fazed at all,” Ferdinand tells TNT Sport.

“Whenever I’ve seen him, he comes on, he looks like he should be there. He wants to be there. He’s got the ability. I think he’s going to be a name we’re going to hear more about.

“It’s big pressure. 18-years-old, to come in be the top goalscorer… (That) says a lot about not just the ability but the mental capacity this young man has.”

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According to The Sun, Man United have been watching Bardghji closely since he helped bring about an early end to the club’s European campaign in November, with the Sweden Under-21 international one of a number of talented right-wingers on the Red Devils’ radar alongside Michael Olise, Antonio Nusa, Pedro Neto and Johan Bakayoko.

HITC Football understands that Copenhagen hope to start the bidding at £20 million. There is interest from Aston Villa and Newcastle too, while Bardghji last week opened the door to a move that would see him join compatriot Lucas Bergvall at Tottenham Hotspur.