Rio Ferdinand: Manchester United should sign Danny Welbeck

• Soccer

Manchester United fans were disappointed after their team's defeat to Brighton. One of those who excelled is Danny Welbeck. Speaking to the Vibe with Five podcast, Rio Ferdinand praised Welbeck's performances “Danny Welbeck would have started [on Sunday] for Man United.

Welbeck walked out of that tunnel, shoulders back, chest out, and you could see he was thinking he would terrorise that team. That's how he played today. He looked like primetime Danny Welbeck at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid”.

- Rio said. Rio Ferdinand answered the question of whether Danny Welbeck would be a good option for United. “On [Sunday’s] performance, no doubt. If you wanted a back-up striker you wouldn't go wrong with Danny Welbeck You tell him he'll play 15-20 games across the season, fill in for Cristiano [Ronaldo], give us the legs and give us the movement.

He can get in behind and creates the space for the likes of Bruno [Fernandes]”. Rio Ferdinand revealed what line-up he played with in the next match. What surprised many was Lisandro Martinez in the position of the defensive midfielder.

What is still true is that Lisandro can play that position considering that he has already played it. “I’d start Ronaldo upfront,” Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast. “I’d start [Marcus] Rashford on the left, [Jadon] Sancho on the right, or vice-versa.

“I’d play [Christian] Eriksen, Bruno [Fernandes] and I'm gonna play Martinez as the holding midfielder – take Fred out. “I’m going to play [Diogo] Dalot, [Raphael] Varane, [Harry] Maguire and [Luke] Shaw at left-back.

[David] De Gea in goal”.

Rio Ferdinand on United ex players

Rio spoke to the FIVE YouTube channel last year. Ferdinand believes that Manchester United made a mistake by letting some players go easily. “I thought we got rid of good people in [Javier] Hernandez, [Danny] Welbeck, and Rafael,” Ferdinand told the FIVE YouTube channel in April 2021.

“They were good United people with character. They wanted to play for Manchester United and knew what it meant. They wanted to win and they were part of that previous era that knew how to win. “They could have carried that on and given it to other people.

It was their turn and their chance to pass it on but I thought Manchester United wasn’t set up in the way that they probably are today. They wouldn’t allow that to happen today. "Welbeck epitomised everything about Man United, he was hard-working and he understood what it meant to be a United player."