Rio Ferdinand sums up verdict on Man United signings as he picks his best XI

Rio Ferdinand offered his brutal assessment of Manchester United’s new signings by only picking one of them for his best Red Devils eleven.

Erik ten Hag was handed a war chest of almost £200million by new minority owner and head of football operations Sir Jim Ratcliffe in the summer. The Dutchman in July signed striker Joshua Zirkzee for £36.5million and defender Leny Yoro for £52m, before bringing in his former Ajax duo of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui for a combined £60m.

And despite splurging another £42.2m on defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte on deadline day, his new players have not been able to turn United’s fortunes around. Ten Hag’s men are languishing way down in 14th in the Premier League, with club legend Ferdinand now admitting just how poor the summer additions have been.

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Ferdinand, speaking to former United team-mate Phil Jones in his podcast ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents’, was asked what starting line-up he would pick if he was the manager. The pundit only selected 18-year-old Yoro out of the aforementioned signings, indirectly voicing his disapproval of how United spent their resources.

The legendary centre-back said: “Right now in the formation that they’re playing, if everyone’s fit: Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund.”

Ferdinand added: “I don’t think it’s difficult. It isn’t like we’ve got 18 players going, ‘I should be playing’, justifiably. By the way, if you don’t play well, get out! Sit there, and watch. No grey areas.”

It appears that even Ten Hag himself may agree with Ferdinand’s assessment, having left Ugarte, Zirkzee and De Ligt out of the starting line-up for Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Aston Villa. Hojlund was preferred to Zirkzee, who has not scored since his debut winning goal against Fulham.

Ugarte, meanwhile, has started just one Premier League fixture since his arrival from PSG. The proof with regards to United’s questionable acquisitions is very much in the pudding as Ten Hag has won just three of his 11 matches in charge since signing a year long contract extension.

After much deliberation on whether to hand the Dutchman a new deal in the summer, Sir Jim Ratcliffe now has a big decision to make regarding whether to persist with the manager or sack him ahead of Tuesday’s crunch talks with Old Trafford bosses.

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