Rio Ferdinand is full of praise for United’s English wonderkid signing…
Manchester United’s stalwart defender Rio Ferdinand, has been hugely impressed with Wilfried Zaha this pre-season, reports Sky Sports.
Zaha was signed by the Red Devils from Crystal Palace for a fee that could rise to £15m in January, but spent the last half of the season on loan with his parent club. He is now with United though, and enjoying a productive first pre-season.
“Wilfried is a fantastic talent. That is why you pay £15m for a kid,” said Ferdinand. “He is raw, with great individual skills and the early indications are that he is a hard worker.
“He wants to be a top footballer and he wants to improve. With those attributes, that desire and the influences he will have at this club, hopefully we will have a top player on our hands,” continued the ex-England centre-half.
“Wilfried can take people on from a standing start. He is quick and direct but what has surprised me more is that he gets his shots off.”
“I have not watched him loads but obviously he is a winger who has a hunger to get inside and drive into the opponents’ box. That is a good thing to have.”
Zaha scored a late equaliser in United’s 2-2 friendly draw with Cerezo on Friday, and will be hungry to continue to impress senior members of the team like Ferdinand, as well as his new manager David Moyes.
The 20-year-old winger has all the attributes needed to play as an attacking winger in the modern game. He is lightning fast, has fantastic ball control, and can produce telling passes in the final third of the pitch. He will be competing with the likes of Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young for a starting place, but Zaha will be happy to just make any kind of appearances this season.
“My own target for my first season in Manchester is to be able to get minutes,” he said, reported in The Daily Mail.
“I don’t want to go out on loan or anything. I just want to play when I get the chance.”
United start the season away at Swansea, and Zaha will be hoping he gets an early chance to shine for his new boss.
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