RIO FERDINAND has called for Donny van de Beek to be given a chance in the Premier League.
The Dutch midfielder arrived at Manchester United for £40million in the summer from Ajax.
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Despite that hefty price tag, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has rarely used him in the top-flight so far, restricting him mainly to outings in Europe.
Van de Beek was handed an opportunity to shine tonight as the Red Devils took on Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League.
And he took his chance with both hands by producing a brilliant display against the Turkish title holders as United ran out 4-1 winners.
Following his display at Old Trafford, three former United Champions League winners all agreed they wanted to see him given a shot by Solskjaer in the Prem.
Speaking on BT Sport, Ferdinand said: “I was very impressed. You spend £40m on a player and you want to see him make more than just cameos here and there.
“I think he is the one player in this squad who is happy playing one-touch, two-touch, keeping it simple… sacrificing parts of his game to help other people flourish.
“In any great team you need players like that and he’s one player who will make other players tick, and make them play better.”
Fellow United legend Paul Scholes added: “Some of the one-touch, two-touch play in the first-half was excellent.”
And Owen Hargreaves added: “I thought Van de Beek was close to perfect.
“He is so unselfish, he can just fit in and play the right balls everywhere.”
United only need a point from their final two group matches to secure qualification to the knockout stages.
They face Paris Saint-Germain at home next week before travelling to Germany to take on RB Leipzig a week later.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils head to Southampton on Sunday in the Premier League.
