Rio Ferdinand identifies two areas where Sofyan Amrabat will improve Manchester United

Rio Ferdinand believes Sofyan Amrabat's positional intelligence and discipline will be crucial if Manchester United are to shore up their midfield.

Amrabat was United's seventh and final signing of a busy summer transfer window, initially joining on a season-long loan from Fiorentina. The Serie A side will receive €10million for the season, while there is also an option to make the move permanent for €20m plus €5m add-ons.

Manager Erik ten Hag had been keen for further midfield reinforcements all summer, bookmarking his transfer business with arrivals in that area. Mason Mount was first through the door, joining in a £55m deal from Chelsea.

But the England international has failed to hit the ground running and United have run into problems in that area of the pitch. In all three of their Premier League games so far, Casemiro has been left isolated and the midfield has been cut through regularly - something Ferdinand hopes Amrabat will stop.

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"I managed to see him live at the World Cup two or three times and I think he was very good, even against France,” Ferdinand told Vibe with Five. “Defensively he’ll give us great cover for someone like Casemiro if he gets suspended or needs resting.

“At times we’ll need to play two sixes, and he'll be someone who can come in and that's what he's there to do. He's a skilled six, deep player, that's his role. We've had players like Fred, McTominay - no disrespect, they wanted to do well - but I've always said when you look at their player ID, there was never defensive nous in their kit.

“This guy has that, that's his game. He's an enforcer, he stops other teams playing, he's very cute positionally and he's very