Rio Ferdinand has opened up on a £75 million transfer that Manchester United sanctioned “too quickly,” which turned into a “mistake” at Old Trafford.
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at the club, Manchester United have made an almost uncountable number of mistakes, from managers to players and even board members at the club.
Several players who could have had great futures at the club were let go too early or played in a way that didn’t suit them, and have since gone on to shine in a better system.
Scott McTominay was primarily considered a defensive midfielder during his time at Old Trafford, typically playing alongside Fred under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. It was only in his latter years under Erik ten Hag that he began to play as an attacking player and showed his true quality.
He was then sold to Napoli last summer season, and he has since become one of the best midfielders in the world, being named the MVP of Serie A after Napoli’s title win last weekend.
However, it is a different Napoli player that United legend Rio Ferdinand has given a “shoutout” to on his YouTube channel.
United made a “mistake” by selling Lukaku
Alongside McTominay, Romelu Lukaku has also won the Serie A, scoring 14 goals and registering 10 assists in the league this season, including an unbelievable goal in the last game of the season, where he dribbled past a defender as if he weren’t there.
After his brilliant performance, Ferdinand spoke on the Belgian, focusing on his time at United under Jose Mourinho and Solskjaer.
“I need to give a shoutout to a man called Romelu Lukaku,” said the legendary defender. “He’s another player who’s left Manchester United [and improved]. He’s won Serie A again and scored on the night they won it.
“I look at Lukaku and the problem, especially in England, has been everyone looks at what he can’t do or what he’s not so good at. Another mistake I think Man United made was we didn’t play to his strengths and we got rid of him too quick probably.
“When you don’t play to his strengths he’s not going to be able to produce his best work, but he’s shown what quality he has, his goal record over the years really stacks up.”
Ferdinand suffering from nostalgia with Lukaku claim
While Lukaku was definitely impressive for some of his team at Old Trafford, towards the end he didn’t suit the system and couldn’t play his best football, with Anthony Martial being favoured over him as the centre forward.
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Solksjaer liked a striker who could rotate with the wingers and the attacking midfielder, creating a fluid system, but that didn’t play to Lukaku’s strengths, so he was moved on.
However, because the centre forward is now playing well, many United fans and ex-players are wishing he were back at the club, or that he had been given more time, but that wouldn’t have supported the manager.
These types of mistakes shouldn’t happen again in the future, with Jason Wilcox signing players who fit a United philosophy, rather than just for a specific manager. This should mean that if Amorim leaves United, the transition to the next manager should be much less chaotic, even with the formation change.
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