'If Grealish leaves Villa, I don't think it'll be to Man Utd' - Ferdinand doubts 'difficult' deal

Chris Burton

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'If Grealish leaves Villa, I don't think it'll be to Man Utd' - Ferdinand doubts 'difficult' deal image

Rio Ferdinand admits the presence of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford at Manchester United makes it "difficult" to see Jack Grealish making a move to Old Trafford from Aston Villa.

Bruno Fernandes is another talismanic playmaker on the Red Devils' books, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not short on options in the creativity department.

There have been suggestions that efforts will be made to further bolster those ranks, with Grealish a long-standing target for an ambitious Premier League heavyweight , but there is no obvious role for the 25-year-old England international in Manchester.

What has been said?

Asked by the UMM YouTube channel whether United should be in the market for Grealish, former Red Devils defender Ferdinand said: "All day long. All day long, man. 

"I don't think Bruno Fernandes is the problem, you've got Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba that are both playing on the left and that's where Jack plays.

"His best position is on the left, and his next best position is No.10. They're the positions where our most influential players are right now. So I think it's difficult to see him at Manchester United right now. 

"If he leaves Villa, I just don't think it'll be to Manchester United, unless they ship one or two of those boys away. I see it as a difficult deal to be done for Man United."

The bigger picture

Euro 2020 Top 100 Jack Grealish

For now, Grealish is looking to make his mark on a major international tournament with England.

He played no part in a Euro 2020 opener against Croatia, but could figure against Scotland on Friday and is one of those that Ferdinand is excited about seeing in action.

A man with 81 caps for the Three Lions to his name added: "I've already seen [Harry] Kane, Rashford, [Raheem] Sterling in a tournament.

"If I could see [Jude] Bellingham perform on this stage, if I could see [Phil] Foden perform on this stage, if I could see Grealish perform on this stage, if I could see [Jadon] Sancho. Mason Mount is another one. Those are the players that are exciting me.  

"Give them a platform, give them the freedom to go and perform like they did for their clubs, and let them set this tournament on fire.

"Some of the best memories within our recent history of England have been Wayne Rooney, 18 years old in the Euros, Michael Owen at a World Cup in France at 18 years old. 

"Unleashing these talents to go and create havoc and surprise many people around Europe has been amazing."

Further reading

Club-by-club Premier League 2021-22 fixtures

Chris Burton