Rio Ferdinand sends transfer warning to Erik ten Hag after agreeing Manchester United deal

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has warned incoming new manager Erik ten Hag that he must sort out the club’s approach to recruitment and adjust the characteristics he looks for in new signings.

The Ajax boss has reportedly verbally agreed a three-year deal to take over at Old Trafford – with the option for a fourth year – though will not be officially announced until after the Dutch Cup final, with United keen to avoid disrupting Ajax’s season.

Ferdinand is excited to see what Ten Hag can do, though feels recruitment will be absolutely crucial to his success and has encouraged the Dutchman to look for players capable of handling the pressure at United – something he may not have been used to at Ajax.

Reacting to reports that Ten Hag has agreed to join United, Ferdinand said on his FIVE YouTube channel: ‘He needs time to build. I’m really interested to see who he goes to in terms of recruitment. What’s it looking like behind the scenes?

‘I know the guys that are there at the moment are really working diligently to get something in place, a structure that enables the manager – whoever it is – to come in and have a real good go at getting the right talent.

‘And it’s about as well that conversation with Ten Hag and the people that are running the club: “How is the recruitment done? What players are coming in? This is my style of player.”

‘The key conversation is, who’s that being driven by: the manager who’s coming in or the recruitment staff who are saying: “This is the Man United player coming in, this is the Man United DNA, this is what we want”?

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