Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has told the club he “would sign” a Premier League midfielder who “reminds” him of another Red Devils icon, Michael Carrick.
United have struggled to compete in the Premier League for the past couple of seasons. Last term, they came eighth – their worst Premier League finish ever – and look as if they’ll do worse this season, currently 13th.
Ruben Amorim’s system has not been adapted to fantastically, and reinforcements are likely this summer, as he attempts to find players who can operate in it. He already has one, in Manuel Ugarte, who played under him at Sporting CP.
That he has played in the system previously, and the midfield doesn’t alter all too much no matter how the system changes, Ugarte should have no problems, and Ferdinand feels a new midfielder should be joining to play with him.
“I want a centre-midfielder to play alongside Ugarte,” he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.
“Adam Wharton. I would go and get him. The reason I would take him is he can get on the ball and transfer it up the pitch, he’s got a great range of passing.
“I think he would be a great addition to the United squad. He reminds me of Michael Carrick a bit.”
Wharton ranks very highly in terms of progressive passers across the top-five leagues in Europe. He is also adept at sweeping up the ball in midfield, either via interceptions or tackles.
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United legend Carrick was very good at winning the ball back for United, and was known for doing a lot of the dirty and simple work in the midfield, while allowing his team-mates, and some of the more flair players around him, to play a more complex style of football.
While United don’t have the amount of superstars they had in Carrick’s day, they could certainly still benefit from a player who knows how to do the simple stuff well, and Wharton can clearly do that.
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