2 hours ago
11
Rio Ferdinand has heaped the praise on Manchester United trio Matthijs De Ligt, Bryan Mbeumo and Senne Lammens following the Red Devils' upturn in form.
United had endured another tough start to the season with Ruben Amorim under pressure to turn things around until their recent run of results, which has seen the club now five unbeaten in the league and up to seventh in the Premier League table.
When asked who United's 'most important player right now' is, Ferdinand said on Rio Ferdinand Presents: 'I don't think it's one man. It can't be down to one man. [Matthijs] De Ligt has been our best defender this season, he is even adding goals for us, like the last-minute goal the other day.
'But in terms of his his press, he's assertive and has willingness to go into foreign areas of the pitch to defend at right times. His clearing out of his box is brilliant.
'[Bryan] Mbeumo has been a joke as well. He's really stepped in and been a mainstay and is someone who can give us two or three seconds on the ball, score important goals for us, create chances.
'I saw Thomas Frank's comments about him yesterday, being a complete winger. I think, by the end of the season, he will be one of the most complete wingers in the league. He can do everything, he just needs to keep consistently doing that in a red shirt.'
Rio Ferdinand has picked out the three Manchester United players that have been vital to the club's upturn in form
The former United defender heaped praise of Matthijs De Ligt and Bryan Mbeumo after United made it five unbeaten at the weekend
De Ligt himself had a slow start to life at Old Trafford and found himself in and out of the side before settling this season and becoming a regular.
He had been joined in the side by Mbeumo this season following the forward's £65million move from Brentford.
The 26-year-old has wasted no time hitting the ground running, netting six times in 12 games, including against Tottenham at the weekend.
One man, meanwhile, had a bit of a lower profile than De Ligt and Mbeumo when he joined the Red Devils, but has gone onto become as important to the squad in the last few weeks.
That man is Senne Lammens, the 23-year-old goalkeeper who joined for £21.7million from Royal Antwerp in a bid to become the club's No 1.
He spent the first three games on the bench, before replacing Altay Bayindir in between the posts and not looking back since.
'And the goalkeeper,' Ferdinand continued. 'You can't talk about anyone being our most important player without the goalkeeper.
'It is no coincidence with our upturn in form that we have a goalkeeper it seems all our players trust.'
Senne Lammens also received a shoutout, having made the No 1 shirt his own at Old Trafford
Amorim will, however, be without Mbuemo over the Christmas period when he heads to the Africa Cup of Nations. And the Portuguese hasn't ruled out January reinforcements as a result.
'Of course, we are going to have a problem there, but we already knew that,' he said after his side's 2-2 draw with Tottenham at the weekend. 'So the management of that situation is going to be hard.'
'But let's see when the window is open, if we can improve the team and try to repair something that happened. Until then, we have to take the chance.'
