Ferdinand names the three keys to United’s resurgence, including “joke” summer signing and the risk that paid off

Manchester United have now gone five games unbeaten, and Rio Ferdinand has identified the three players who have been key to the club’s upturn in form. Improvement in key position United needed a new goalkeeper during the summer and were faced with a choice between the experienced World Cup winner Emi Martinez or promising young talent Senne Lammens. The Red Devils took the plunge on 23-year-old Lammens, and after waiting a while for his debut the Belgian has been a breath of fresh air between the sticks. Reflecting on United’s recent form on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: “You can’t talk about anyone being our most important player without mentioning the goalkeeper. It’s no coincidence we’ve had an upturn in form. We’ve got a goalkeeper that it seems all the players trust.” Following the error-prone Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, Lammens has done the basics well and also shown himself to be a top shot-stopper. Confidence in the goalkeeper has not been common in recent times, and it seems that the players as well as the fans are starting to feel it. Leading from the back Just in front of Lammens Matthijs de Ligt has been in fantastic form, and for Ferdinand he has been another difference-maker. The United legend said: “I think Matthijs de Ligt has been our best defender this season, he’s been outstanding for us. “He’s even adding goals – with the last-minute one the other day [against Tottenham Hotspur]. “His pressing, his assertiveness and his willingness to go into foreign areas up the pitch to defend at the right times has been good. Clearing out of the box, he has been brilliant.” Summer signing a “joke” Ferdinand’s third pick is an unsurprising one – United’s six-goal summer signing, Bryan Mbeumo. “Mbeumo has been a joke,” he said. “He’s really stepped in there and become a mainstay. He’s someone who can give you two or three seconds on the ball to relieve pressure. He can score important goals and create chances.” The Cameroonian was on target again against Spurs, giving United the lead over the team who tried to sign him over the summer with his former manager newly at the helm. Ferdinand said: “I saw Thomas Frank’s comments about him the other day and Mbeumo nearly being a complete winger. “I think by the end of this season, he’ll be one of the most complete wingers in the Premier League because he can do everything. He just needs to consistently do it in a United shirt.” Featured image Alex Pantling via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.