Rio Ferdinand predicts two Man Utd stars will push to leave Man Utd | Soccer

Erik ten Hag is looking to strengthen his defense this summer but has already suffered a setback at Jurrien Timber and opted to remain at Ajax.

United remain in the market for a new centre-back and Ferdinand believes two centre-backs from Ten Hag’s squad could attempt to leave Old Trafford before the time window is up.

“I’m excited to see what Ten Hag is doing in this space,” Ferdinand said on Vibe with Five.

“We’re talking about the young lad Timber at Ajax, a small centre-back. I’m curious to see what happens with Varane, Lindelof and Maguire, Eric Bailly too, I think one or two of those will go.

Ferdinand also described Varane as a “rabbit in the spotlight” during United’s woeful Premier League campaign.

“He walked away from a team, the honors there tell you it was a functioning team at the highest level, all the players were consistently playing their maximum, and ended up in an absolutely reverse situation where the team had zero functionality, no trust, no guidance and no structure as to where they are going,” Ferdinand said of Varane.

‘He went into a strange scenario, where he goes, ‘I haven’t seen that since youth team football’.

“To go from this world-class operation, culture and standard to what is at Manchester United on a daily basis is a huge, huge change.

“He’s probably sitting there like a rabbit in the headlights and he’s like, ‘Wow, what is that?’

“He wasn’t the player we expected when he came here, he would tell you that, he couldn’t tell you anything else.

“I think he’s going to say, ‘I need to get promoted next year, I need help, I need teammates.

“He’s probably aware of that, because as a player, when you’re at your best and you’re winning, sometimes the ego speaks out loud, ‘I’m a big part of why we are what we are.’ When really you all need each other just as much like each other, you need teammates to be the best.

“Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane, Ronaldinho, these players don’t do what they do without teammates. When they accept these awards and accolades they always immediately thank the teammates because they know you need them, without them you are not the superstar and character that you are.’

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