RIO FERDINAND has had his say on Manchester United’s transfer strategy this summer.
Speaking on The Beautiful Game podcast on Monday, the former Red Devils defender highlighted a number of midfield and defensive targets that United should be looking at.
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Leicester’s James Maddison have both been heavily linked with moves to Old Trafford but it is another Foxes midfielder, as well as two Atletico Madrid players that Ferdinand chose to point out.
“I’d maybe get [Thomas] Partey from Atletico Madrid or [Wilfred] Ndidi from Leicester,” he said.
“I like Saul Niguez. He’s a very, very good player in midfield.”
Partey has been linked with Arsenal and has a release clause of £43million – though Atletico are hoping to renew his contract – while Saul signed a nine-year contract with Atletico in 2017 with a £136million release clause but could be made available for much less.
Another area where Ferdinand feels United could improve is in defence.
He added: “And then a centre-back, they still need a centre-back.
“Whether you go for a young one like a Ben Godfrey or someone like [Kalidou] Koulibaly. I don’t know, it’s difficult.”
Sky Sport Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio yesterday tipped Koulibaly for a move to the Premier League, explaining that his agents have strong links with a lot of English clubs.
Man United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said last week that the summer window is unlikely to be “business as usual” for the club given the coronavirus pandemic’s impact, although sources say they still expect United to be active in the market.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have been linked with a £100million-plus move for Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho in recent weeks but Dortmund remain confident of tying Sancho down to a new contract.
