Rio Ferdinand has urged his former club Manchester United to go after Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton having failed in their pursuit of Carlos Baleba.
Brighton’s £100m+ price tag ended United’s interest in the 21-year-old Cameroonian but it seems the Old Trafford side are not done in the transfer market with two weeks left to go.
33-year-old Casemiro starting against Arsenal at the weekend highlighted United’s need for midfield reinforcements and Ferdinand believes that strengthening that area should come in the form of Wharton.
“We’ve been talking about Baleba, he’s been the hot topic for the last month or so, but before that, Adam Wharton was one of the guys I was saying,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
“He’s the nearest to a Michael Carrick type, who’s a controller, who can play, who plays forward from that deeper line position at times. He can be an eight if you need him to be and can run on at times if need be, but he’s more of a conductor and can control things.
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“I watched him in a couple of games last season against big teams like Man City and Liverpool, and he looks unfazed. He looks ready for a big occasion.
“He enjoys pressure, can play under pressure, and the game kind of slows down when the ball is around him. I love him. I think he’s a fantastic footballer.”
If United were to follow Ferdinand’s advice, they could have a battle on their hands to sign the England international with Real Madrid reportedly keen to bring him to Spain. If United were to fail in their pursuit of Wharton, Ferdinand pointed towards another young talent already at the club.
“But what I would say at Manchester United, we have Kobbie Mainoo,” Ferdinand continued.
“I think Mainoo can control the game, play deep. I think Mainoo can play that role given the opportunity because you can play through somebody like him and you can get out of tight situations and open the game up for your attacking players.
“You might just have to be a patient young man at the moment for the team to find its way for the manager to then put the trust in him to go and play.
“But if it was me personally, if I was playing two in the midfield, Kobbie Mainoo would definitely play because he’s a super talent who can handle the ball as well as anybody that Man United have got right now and I would give him that responsibility.”
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