“We Cannot Let Him Go Elsewhere” – Ferdinand Urges Man Utd To Drop Tonali Pursuit And Buy The Next Pedri

BACK This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Man Utd legend Rio Ferdinand wants his former club to go all out to sign AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit this summer. The 20-year-old has been likened to Pedri on more than one occasion by Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman, and Ferdinand firmly believes he should be a key target for the Red Devils: “Kees Smit is the truth, man, I’m telling you, he’s one you go, ‘I’m buying him’. It doesn’t have to be for now. I hope he does come in and takes the world by storm, but if we’ve got to wait six months to a year for him, I do not care. We cannot let him go elsewhere. “I’ve seen him play a couple of times now, and that’s all I need to see. I’ve seen the clips… man. I’ve spoken to some guys in Holland, friends. The kid has got it.” Get a 2007-09 Rio Ferdinand Man Utd home kit from Classic Football Shirts here Smit plays the same position as Tonali The Dutchman is a deep-lying playmaker who likes to spray passes from a holding role in the midfield. He possesses many similar traits to another Man Utd target – Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali. Some United supporters would suggest pursuing both players, but there won’t be room in the budget to sign the pair. Newcastle want in excess of £100m for Tonali, while journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that AZ want more than €60m (£52m) for Smit. Man Utd will face stiff competition Several other Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Arsenal, have been credited with an interest in Smit, while Real Madrid are believed to be big fans of the youngster as well. AZ would consider selling if a team matches their asking price, so if United make an early move for the midfielder, they could well steal a march on the competition. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.