Englishman will leave the north west this summer.
Premier League champions Manchester United have drawn up a three-man short list to replace Rio Ferdinand at Old Trafford at the end of the season, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
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The veteran former England international is currently playing one a season by season basis, with the 35-year-old’s current one-year rolling deal set to run out at the end of the campaign.
However, with all indications suggesting that the Premier League giants will not be offering Ferdinand a new contract to extend his stay at the Theatre of Dreams beyond this summer, United head coach David Moyes has been busy scoring the market on the Continent in the January transfer market looking for possible replacements for the Englishman.
And it is believed that the Scot has now finally settled on a three-man short list of possible new recruits, FC Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala, St Etienne’s Kurt Zouma and Bayern Munich’s Dante, although each player has a potential issue regarding their purchase.
Moyes has doubts over the ability of France international Mangala, who is also wanted by City, while United are concerned that his compatriot, Zouma, has already agreed to join rivals Chelsea in January, while Dante at age 30 may be too old to purchase.