Rio picks two Man Utd stars to give Rangnick a headache
Rio Ferdinand believes Mason Greenwood and Luke Shaw staked their claim for a place in Ralf Rangnick’s Premier League side after the draw with Young Boys on Wednesday.
With top spot already secured, Rangnick handed opportunities to fringe members of his squad and some young players as United ended the group stage of their Champions League campaign with a 1-1 draw.
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Rangnick reserved special praise for Greenwood after the game and Ferdinand joined the United boss in hailing a “beautiful footballer”.
“I love him. There’s not enough words for me to describe what I feel about this boy as a player. Seriously because he’s a beautiful footballer,” Ferdinand said.
“When he came into the team everyone spoke about his finishing because that’s what you see straight away, but when you actually break his game down he’s so efficient in what he does.
“Receiving the ball, his body angles, his movement to receive the balls and what I like about him is very rarely do you see him get tackled.
“A lot of young players on that pitch got tackled today. There were a lot of turnovers, but he’s very elusive with the ball. He takes the ball away from defenders.
“There are so many things you can love about his game. Yes, there are things to work on. He’s a young kid who is inevitable but the ceiling for this kid is so high.”
Luke Shaw has missed four game with concussion, with Alex Telles playing in his absence, but after Shaw’s part in Greenwood’s goal, Ferdinand believes the England international will soon return to the Premier League starting XI.
“I would put Luke Shaw in that too,” Ferdinand added. “I think him [Greenwood] and Shaw are the players that stand out, the ones that have a chance of playing in the Premier League.”
Fellow BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves was also impressed by Greenwood’s performance.
“He’s pretty special,” Hargreaves said.
“There’s a lot of players out there that have cost a lot of money that have been brought from other teams. Mason is through the academy and he’s probably the most talented one.
“Ralf gets to see him in a live setting and see him score a goal like that. He’s one of the best finishers at the club, can play multiple positions, he’s good on the ball.
“People always talk about his finishing, but ability to use the ball [and] receive the ball doesn’t get enough credit.
“I think he’s going to be one of those who will be in the starting XI soon.”
