Former Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand has claimed that the club ‘mishandled’ transfer flop Wilfried Zaha and has admitted to being partly responsible, according to a report in the Metro.
Zaha was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last signing after the legendary Scotsman signed the winger from Crystal Palace for £10m in 2013, as per the Metro report.
However, Zaha would go on to make just four appearances for the Red Devils and was then loaned out to Cardiff before being eventually sold back to Palace again in 2015.
Now, as seen in the tweet below, Ferdinand has hit out at United’s dealings with the then-new signing Zaha and has suggested that he being a senior player at Old Trafford at the time, could have done more to help the incoming Palace winger.
Just been reading all the comments from “The Locker Room” chat ??
Thanks to every1 getting involved! @wilfriedzaha was mishandled by #MUFC I believe… altho the club had started a big transition & as a Snr player I should of done more to help him! ??https://t.co/cSXH53KUmD pic.twitter.com/SYVmW7IrSW— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) June 7, 2020
Zaha’s performances since his return to Crystal Palace have been significant and superb and have seen the winger be linked with transfers to Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and even United themselves.
It’s certain that United will rue not keeping Zaha at the club for longer given the winger’s blistering pace and goalscoring ability which he has demonstrated for Palace since his return to the club.
However, Ferdinand’s recent comments further suggest how badly the club mismanaged things when the Palace forward first arrived at Old Trafford back in 2013.