- 22 hours ago
Rio Ferdinand hits out at Man Utd transfer 'gamble'
Robin Bairner
- 28 Aug 2024 08:10 BST
- 4 min read
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has criticised the club’s decision to sell Scott McTominay to Napoli, with PSG’s Manuel Ugarte set to be recruited to replace the Scotland star.
FootballTransfers exclusively broke the news that PSG and Man Utd had reached an agreement over the sale of Ugarte on Tuesday, with the 23-year-old set to move to Old Trafford for something in the region of €60 million.
READ MORE: What Man Utd can expect from Manuel Ugarte
McTominay will leave Old Trafford in the meantime, with the midfielder set to take his first steps away from the Red Devils having come through the academy. Napoli are ready to pay around €30m for the Scot.
Ferdinand is disappointed to see such a player depart, having seen the value of players with ‘Man Utd DNA’ at first-hand during his time with United.
READ MORE: Winners and losers of Manuel Ugarte joining Man Utd
Compared
Scott McTominay
DM, M (C)
Man Utd
Scott McTominay
DM, M (C)
Man Utd
VS
Manuel Ugarte
M, DM (C)
PSG
Manuel Ugarte
M, DM (C)
PSG
|
|
ETV |
|
| €11M - €18.4M | ETV Range | €30.7M - €51.2M |
| 28 years old (08 Dec, 1996) | Age | 23 years old (11 Apr, 2001) |
|
Scotland
|
Nationality |
Uruguay
|
Selling McTominay ‘a gamble’
On his Rio Presents show, Ferdinand said: “I look at Scott McTominay and like not every player can be a star standout player or a franchise player.
“I always say this, to win the league you need the likes of a John O'Shea, a Wes Brown, Darren Fletcher, Chicharito, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer from when we were at United.
“Or you need the likes of Julian Alvarez when he was at City who can come in, like last season Jeremy Doku was coming in and impacting games even though not necessarily always starting all the games.
It really doesn't sit well with me, to replace him you are going to have to spend, 30, 40, £50m
- Rio Ferdinand on Scott McTominay transfer“Those players are huge, you need those players and they understand the DNA especially the ones who come through the academy, Man United have always stood by that.
“It really doesn't sit well with me, to replace him you are going to have to spend, 30, 40, £50m and it's not going to be cheap to replace him.
“It's a gamble, you don't what you're going to get with that next player, whereas with him you know what you're getting, it's on the tin, he turns up when he's playing, might not always be an eight or nine out of ten but he is a good seven and every now and then he will be an eight and get you a goal.”
