Rio Ferdinand has hit out at Paul Merson after the former Arsenal player labelled Manchester Unitedās acquisition of Marcel Sabitzer as a panic buy.Ā
Manchester United was dealt a major injury blow when their key creative talent, Christian Eriksen was injured in their FA Cup clash with Reading. The Danish midfielder found himself on the wrong end of a crunching tackle from Andy Carroll which shouldāve been red but ultimately, went unpunished.
This left Erik ten Hag a man down in an already dilapidated midfield and forced the club into the transfer market at the last minute. With very limited options, they managed to pull off a deal for Bayern Munich midfielder Sabitzer on a 6-month loan deal.
Although this isnāt a marquee signing it is a smart pickup under the circumstances.
Here is how Eriksen and Sabitzer line up against each other in the stats department. šš“ pic.twitter.com/g5HK37Z4Lx
ā Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 1, 2023
But not everybody was impressed, speaking on Sky Sports Merson criticised the purchase and claimed that it was a āpanic buy.ā
Now following the former Arsenal playerās comments, Ferdinand has hit out at Merson on his podcast, Vibe with FIVE.
āIām absolutely delighted,ā Ferdinand said.
āIf I was to say that I could go and get as short-term replacement at the drop of a hat for Eriksen, Sabitzer is a player who you would have gone āooh, If I can get him, Iāll take himā.
āI watched a hell of a lot of this player when he was at Leipzig in the Champions League, he was sensational. He was integral to everything they did there.
āYeah, heās gone to Bayern Munich and he hasnāt become a regular there, but I think he will be a really good signing. A really experienced player, heās played in big games, he knows his way around a football pitch.
āThat just stinks, for me, that Paul Merson hasnāt seen him play, wouldnāt know if heās left or right-footed. You canāt say that heās a bad signing because you donāt get signed by Bayern Munich if youāre a chump.
āMan United couldnāt have done any better, so well done to their recruitment team.ā