Rio Ferdinand is backing new Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag to fix the recruitment issues that he believes have dogged the Reds for the last 10 years.
Ten Hag has finally been announced as United’s new manager and he has a huge job on his hands. United’s fall from grace and the reasons for it have been well documented. But Ferdinand insists that poor recruitment has been arguably the biggest issue.
The figures also say it all and back up what Ferdinand is thinking. According to CIES Football Observatory United have spent £1.3billion on players over the last 10 years.
Rio Ferdinand backs Ten Hag
They have recouped just £397m in sales, which means a net spend of £908m. That would not look too bad if it had resulted in success on the pitch. However poor signings have contributed to United’s slide down the table.
Now it is Ten Hag’s chance to try and get it right. United will no doubt be very active in the transfer market again this summer. But on this occasion Ferdinand believes they have a man with the potential to succeed where the others have failed.
Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic are all out of contract and will move on. There are also doubts over a host of other players.
It is a huge rebuilding job for Ten Hag but he has shown what he can do with Ajax. Speaking on his YouTube channel Vibe with Five, Ferdinand is optimistic about what Ten Hag will bring.
“He’s had players that are rough diamonds, players that are off the conveyor belt of the youth system, bringing players from the academy that he’s integrated into the first team and helped become superstars,” Ferdinand said.
“And he’s had players that have been discarded by opposition teams and teams from around Europe and seen that talent. What that says to me is that he’s been working with a recruitment team who have been getting it right more often than not.
“And that’s a big, big element that needs sorting out at Manchester United. Because recruitment, I think, has probably been one of the biggest downfalls of the last 10 years.”
Top-four hopes look slim
United excited the fans and Ferdinand last summer. Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane all arrived but United could still miss out on the top four. And the former Reds star says there can be no repeat.
“We can’t afford to have windows like that again,” Ferdinand added. “The recruitment has to be right.”
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