Rio Ferdinand thinks the decision from Man Utd not to push the boat out for Tottenham legend Harry Kane is “the biggest mistake they’ve made in the last ten years”.
The Red Devils have not properly challenged for a Premier League title since 2013, when they won the English top flight under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson left after that title victory, with numerous managers attempting to follow his success at Old Trafford, but failing to bring back the good times.
Ruben Amorim, whose side finished 15th last season, is the latest to attempt to get Man Utd challenging again – but Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS could take a few transfer windows to rectify mistakes made in past markets.
Big money spent on players like Antony, Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund and others, mean that the Red Devils have certain financial issues to navigate, including PSR.
Man Utd ended up spending around £200m on new attackers this summer, in the form of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko – but Ferdinand reckons their forward line would be “in a different place” now if they had signed England striker Kane in 2023.
READ: Why the five post-Fergie Man Utd managers before Amorim were sacked
Kane eventually moved to Bayern Munich in 2023 for €100m plus €10m in add-ons, which broke the Bundesliga transfer record, while Declan Rice completed a £105m move to Arsenal from West Ham in the same window.
And Ferdinand reckons Man Utd would be in a much better place now if the board had pushed to complete game-changing deals for Kane and Rice.
In reference to Man Utd’s failure to sign Kane during his time at Tottenham, Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel: “That’s the biggest mistake they’ve made in the last ten years.
“If they paid the number Spurs wanted, they would have got him. It’s weird to think that it didn’t happen because of a couple of million here and there, it was a terrible decision.
“I honestly think and I’m convinced that if Man United would have got Harry Kane and Declan Rice in that window, they’re in a different place now.
“It goes back to the environment, those two drive an environment I think because they’re two top pros.”
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Former Man Utd striker Michael Owen added: “Harry Kane should have happened I think. They could have got him I think. They could have got him, couldn’t they?”
Despite a mixed start to the new season under Amorim, Ferdinand is confident that the tide will turn when Man Utd start converting some of their big chances.
Ferdinand said: “We’re miles ahead of anyone, so we’re functioning in a certain way, but we’re not being killers. We need time to understand what’s going on, and I hope the manager is conveying to the players that they have to keep believing.
“They might not be getting results, or performing perfectly for 90 minutes, but … he should be telling them, ‘If we finish those chances, the dynamics and results of games change, so stay with me.’ I hope he’s having those conversations.”
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