Rio Ferdinand has defended Luke Shaw following Manchester United's victory over Ipswich, describing Luke Shaw as one of the four or five best performers over the past year, and urging Manchester United to find a "deputy" for Luke Shaw before the transfer deadline, rather than a direct replacement.

Ferdinand has encouraged Manchester United to find a "deputy" for Luke Shaw before the summer transfer deadline, rather than a direct successor. Shaw and other players under Carrick came under heavy criticism following their defeat to promoted side Hull City in last weekend's opening Premier League match.

The 31-year-old left-back also had a difficult start against Ipswich on Sunday, getting beaten down the flank by Fatawu in the 29th minute, who then squared for Leif Davis to open the scoring.

However, Bruno Fernandes scored a hat-trick, leading a dominant comeback that eventually helped the Red Devils secure a 5-2 victory at Old Trafford, their first win of the season.

Carrick replaced Shaw with Noussair Mazraoui with 17 minutes remaining in normal time, one of five substitutions made by Manchester United's manager during an intense second half.

After the match, Rio Ferdinand strongly defended Shaw on his podcast, calling the English left-back one of Manchester United's most "consistent" players over the past 12 months. In Ferdinand's view, Manchester United should find a left-back who can be gradually integrated into the team, rather than someone who would immediately displace the club's longest-serving player.

Ferdinand said: "In some of my chat groups, some Manchester United fans are saying, 'Shaw, get rid of him!'... Luke Shaw has been one of our most consistent players over the past year, and you're sitting there saying, 'He shouldn't be here,' or 'He should be elsewhere'... No!"

"Find a left-back willing to develop gradually with us, and make him a deputy like Luke Shaw. Do you think you can just find someone on the market? It might take £60 million, and we don't have that kind of money! We've already spent so much on the midfield, we don't have the budget."

Ferdinand believes that one "below-par" performance is not enough for fans to start calling for Shaw's departure. He added: "Look, Luke Shaw has played better, but is it a position we want to strengthen immediately? No. We need a deputy in this position now, and we need to think long-term."

"Don't be so emotional. Too many people are being emotional, holding grudges, wanting others to feel he's not good enough. Just look at his performances over the past year. In terms of consistency, he's genuinely one of our four or five best players. One below-par performance today won't change my view of him."

"The only thing I want to say is that at left-back, there's no ready-made deputy who you feel could step straight in. We don't have someone like that right now."

Throughout the summer, Manchester United have been linked with several left-backs, including Newcastle's Lewis Hall. However, Newcastle were reportedly unwilling to sell Hall, and the Red Devils ran out of time to strengthen that position.

"The club doesn't seem to think Harry Amass is the answer, because he currently appears nowhere near that level," Ferdinand continued, "That's how it is, whether we believe Harry Amass is good enough or not."

"The club clearly doesn't see it that way, so I won't interpret it as: replacing Luke Shaw. I'd interpret it more as: finding someone who could gradually become a replacement in the future, because I still think Luke Shaw is very capable. It's just that there are too many matches this season for him to play every single one."

After the opening day defeat to Hull City, Ferdinand was pleased to see Fernandes and his teammates bounce back with an "entertaining" performance against another promoted side, Ipswich. Ferdinand said of Manchester United's display against Ipswich: "After an uncomfortable first half, it was great to see a performance like that. We wasted too many chances, and they could have been ahead in the first half."

"I'd say the first half was a bit tense, but football is meant to entertain, and you have to accept that. We criticize too much, we're too critical. Sometimes a match is just for entertainment. Did you buy a ticket to sit in the stadium and watch the match, or are you sitting on the sofa enjoying it? Manchester United today gave us a lot of enjoyment, so you know what? I'm satisfied after the first half."

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