Ferdinand performs alarming U-turn after predicting next Man Utd "world beater"

Rio Ferdinand has insisted that Amad is not ready to be part of Erik ten Hag's squad next season - just 18 months after he tipped the youngster to become a "world beater" and likened him to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The excitement surround Amad was palpable when Manchester United shelled out £37.2million to bring the attacker to Old Trafford from Atalanta back in January 2021. However, the winger has clocked up just nine senior appearances for since then and was farmed out on loan to Rangers in the January transfer window.

Amad struggled to make much of an impression at Ibrox either, where he netted three times in 14 appearances; leading Ferdinand to claim that the 20-year-old isn't good enough to play a part under Ten Hag this year when it was put to him that the Ivory Coast international could be a solution to United's woes on the right wing.

Ferdinand's latest verdict is a stark contrast to the previous comments he made on Amad just over a year ago. He previously told his FIVE YouTube channel back in January 2021: "We just bought a kid in from Atalanta and hopefully he does something [to boost United's season].

"I think that's the thoughts of Manchester United people that they've unearthed…. I'm not going to give him that pressure of Cristiano Ronaldo but nobody knew about Ronaldo when we bought him really other than people in Portugal.

"This kid seems quite similar in that sense. if you see his clips and the way people talk about him then I think the world is his oyster if he applies himself right."

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In his most recent video on FIVE, Ferdinand said: "Unfortunately, [Amad] just isn't ready. He just isn't ready. He went to Rangers, couldn't really get into the team and affect their team, which tells you he's not near getting into the Man United team. Do you know what I mean?"

And the former United man even went on to question whether Amad was the right type of player to star for United on the right flank, highlighting his lack of pace.

He added: "Plus, again, is he the right player? He hasn't got that explosive pace that they're maybe looking for, he's more of a player with a bit more guile, who likes to come to the ball and create like that, rather than running onto things and behind and stuff like that.

"I just think it's a bit too early for someone like him to come in and take that mantle on. Yes, I don't think he's near enough to the first-team squad. If he'd have gone to Rangers and smashed it at Rangers then he'd have had a chance. But because he did nothing, he's going to be a little bit off it and he's someone we will look to loan out, I'd say."