Rio Ferdinand has urged Erik ten Hag to drop both Scott McTominay and Fred for Manchester United's next Premier League fixture against Brentford on Saturday.
United suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton in Ten Hag's first game in charge last Sunday, with Fred, 29, and McTominay, 25, in the heart of their midfield. Many critics don't believe the enthusiastic pair are good enough to play for a club of United's stature.
The Red Devils are on the hunt for at least one new central midfielder after losing Paul Pogba to Juventus and Nemanja Matic to Roma. Even before their respective departures, it was clear United needed to invest in their midfield after a woeful 2021/22 campaign.
United finished sixth in the Premier League last term, recording their lowest points tally (58) in 32 years. They've also not won a trophy since their Europa League success in May 2017. Tellingly, both Fred and McTominay were not involved in that triumph.
As such, Ferdinand believes Ten Hag should drop the pair for their upcoming game and play Lisandro Martinez in midfield. The Argentine is a centre-back by trade, yet there are concerns about his height. He is the smallest centre-back in the Premier League at 5'9.
Martinez, who joined United from Ajax in July, received a rude awakening on his Premier League debut thanks to Danny Welbeck. He struggled to deal with the former Red Devils forward's clever movement and was lucky not to concede a penalty in the second half.
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Despite this, Ferdinand was impressed by Martinez. He believes he can be more effective as a defensive midfielder, with Raphael Varane partnering Harry Maguire at the back. Former Real Madrid defender Varane was left on the bench for the Brighton defeat.
"In my midfield, I’m going to play Martinez as the holding midfielder and take Fred out," Ferdinand told Vibe with Five. "I’m going to play Varane and Maguire [at centre-back].
On McTominay and Fred, he added: "I wouldn’t pick McTominay or Fred. Listen, whatever happens, Man United will improve from the first day against Brighton. Things can only get better."
On Martinez, Ferdinand continued: "He reminds me of Gabi Heinze a little bit, but he’s better on the ball. But Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Darwin Nunez, Chris Wood, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Danny Welbeck... these guys, if I’m them, I go and stand on him [Martinez] when the ball is wide.
"Because of the height difference you just do it and then it’s up to him: can he deal with it?... Gary Neville wasn’t the tallest, but if the ball was coming across and he knows he’s got a big fella coming in behind him to smash him over the top, before the ball is even there: bang! [hit them] Put them off, they can’t head it cleanly."
United are close to solving their central midfield problem. Juventus have accepted their offer for Adrien Rabiot, 27, although personal terms are still to be agreed. It's highly unlikely a transfer will be finalised before Saturday's Premier League fixture.
