Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United are moving in the right direction but insists that fans must be patient as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer goes about rebuilding his first-team squad.
Harry Maguire this week joined Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in signing for United ahead of the 2019-20 Premier League season, and there could still be further business done before Thursday night’s transfer deadline.
And BT Sport pundit Ferdinand, who spent 12 years as a player at Old Trafford, says the moves they have made make a lot of sense as Solskjaer begins to see his vision coming together.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Ferdinand told Goal. “They’ve got young, hungry players, people who are looking to prove themselves, not coming for the wrong reasons.
“They’ve come for all the right reasons, which are to help the football club improve, to improve themselves as players, and that’s a great step in the right direction obviously.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily about where the players are from, I think it’s a case of, are they the right people? Have they got the right work ethic? Have they got the right philosophies? Have they got the right beliefs? And are they hard-working?
“I think if you get those things in a dressing room and that overrides backgrounds and where they’re from.”
BT SportFerdinand adds that United supporters are savvy enough not to expect too much too soon from their evolving senior squad.
“I don’t think this is something we can call an overnight turnaround, it’s going to take time and I think Man Utd fans are not silly,” he continued.
“They’re good football people who understand the game and if they can see that the club is going in the right direction and their philosophies are right for the club, I think they’ll back the manager in charge and they’ll back the team.
“In recent years there have been moments when they’ve probably thought, ‘Where are we going here?’ There’s not been a clear picture.”
United begin their 2019-20 assault when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.
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