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Rio Ferdinand has questioned whether Manchester United can be considered serious Premier League title contenders with Harry Maguire starting regularly at centre-back.
Maguire, a reported £80million signing from Leicester City in 2018, has struggled for consistency in his third season at Old Trafford.
He has started 27 games for United this term – a tally bettered only by Bruno Fernandes (32) among outfield players – but was benched for Saturday’s stalemate with Watford.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick put that down to fitness reasons, but Ferdinand does not believe the United captain’s strengths are suited to the German’s style of play.
Speaking on his ‘Vibe with Five’ YouTube show, Ferdinand said: “Is Maguire going to enable you to win the league? That’s a question.
“The thing about someone like Ralf Rangnick and all the top teams now is when they play, they play on the front foot and want to win the ball high.
“Liverpool do it tremendously well, Manchester City do it really well, Bayern [Munich] do it. Three of the best teams on the planet and everyone is going that way of playing.
“Rangnick’s style is like that. Can you do that with Maguire? That’s my problem, my issue. His pace doesn’t allow for that, he’s always going to be looking over his shoulder.”
United have a 57 per cent win return in the 21 Premier League games Maguire has started this season, which drops to 17 per cent in the six games he has not started.
However, the Red Devils concede fewer goals on average in the competition without Maguire in the side – one per game compared to 1.3.
Maguire may return for Sunday’s derby showdown with Manchester City, but Ferdinand believes his deficiencies will continue to pose a problem for United.
“If I’m a quick centre-forward or a quick attacker, I would be hanging around where Maguire is,” said Ferdinand, who spent 12 years at Old Trafford during his playing career.
“For all the good traits he has in his game, that is a big weakness and that is a fundamental of all the top teams, to play one-versus-one on the halfway.
“You have to be able to do that. Top teams, top players can do that. Jaap Stam – leave him on the halfway line, not a problem. Virgil van Dijk, leave him on halfway, no problem.
“For Maguire, long-term, unless he can find an extra yard of pace it’s going to be difficult for him.”
