Rio Ferdinand has defended Luke Shaw following Manchester United's victory over Ipswich, calling Shaw one of the club's four or five best players over the past year, and urged Manchester United to find a "backup" for Luke Shaw before the transfer deadline rather than a direct replacement.

Ferdinand encouraged Manchester United to find a "backup" for Luke Shaw before the summer transfer deadline rather than a direct successor. After losing their opening Premier League match to newly promoted Hull City the previous week, Luke Shaw and the rest of Michael Carrick's squad faced intense criticism.

Against Ipswich on Sunday, the 31-year-old left-back had a difficult start, being completely outpaced by Fatawu in the 29th minute, who then provided an assist for Leif Davis's goal.

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

Carrick substituted Luke Shaw with Noussair Mazraoui with 17 minutes remaining in regular time, one of five changes made by the Manchester United manager during a frantic second half.

After the match, Rio Ferdinand firmly defended Shaw on his podcast, stating that the English left-back has been one of Manchester United's most "consistent" players over the past 12 months. According to Ferdinand, Manchester United should look for a left-back to gradually integrate into the team, rather than someone to replace the club's senior player.

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

"Go find a left-back that we're willing to slowly integrate and develop as a backup to Luke Shaw. Do you think you can find anyone on the market? It will probably cost 60 million pounds, and we don't have that money! We've spent so much on midfielders that we have no budget left."

Ferdinand believes that one subpar performance is not enough reason for fans to demand Shaw's departure. He added: "Look, Luke Shaw has certainly had better matches, but is this a position we want to immediately strengthen right now? No. We need a backup for this position at the moment, and we have to think long-term."

"Don't get too worked up. Too many people are emotional, holding grudges, wanting others to feel he's not good enough. Just look at his performance over the last year. In terms of consistency, he's absolutely one of our four or five best players. Today's subpar performance won't change my opinion of him."

"The only thing I'd say is, at left-back, there's no ready-made backup who you think can take over immediately. We don't have anyone like that right now."

Throughout the summer, Manchester United has been linked with several left-backs, including Newcastle's Lewis Hall. However, Newcastle reportedly ruled out selling Hall, and the Red Devils are running out of time to strengthen this position.

"It doesn't seem like the club thinks Harry Amass is that man, because right now he appears to be nowhere near that level," Ferdinand continued. "That's just the reality, whether we think Harry Amass is good enough or not."

"The club clearly doesn't see it that way, so I wouldn't interpret it as: replace Luke Shaw. I'd rather interpret it as: find someone who can gradually become a replacement in the future, because I still think Luke Shaw is perfectly good enough. It's just that there are too many matches this season for him to play them all."

Following the opening day loss to Hull City, Ferdinand was pleased to see Fernandes and his teammates bounce back with an "entertaining" performance against another newly promoted side, Ipswich. Speaking about Manchester United's performance against Ipswich, Ferdinand said: "After an uncomfortable first half, it was good to see a match like that. We missed too many chances, and they could have been ahead at halftime."

"I'd say the first half was a bit tense, but football is supposed to be entertaining, and you have to accept that. We're too nitpicky, too critical. Sometimes the game is just meant for entertainment. Do you buy a ticket to sit in the stands and watch the match, or do you sit on your couch and watch and enjoy it? Manchester United gave us a great show today, so you know what? I was satisfied even after the first half."

Traduit par IA.

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