Rio Ferdinand warns Manchester City of Martial's threat ahead of derby

Anthony Martial has made a lively start to his career at Old Trafford by scoring 5 goals so far this season

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand believes there’s only one player in the team capable of hurting rivals Manchester City on Sunday, as per the reports on Mirror. Ferdinand has praised youngster Anthony Martial’s immediate impact on the team and has warned top teams in the Premier League to be wary of his threat up front.

The 19-year-old arrived at Old Trafford in the late hours of deadline day during the summer transfer window for a hefty price tag of £36 million. Many questioned United’s motivation to pay such a huge price for “an unproven” player, but Martial answered their questions by making an instant impact in the Theatre of Dreams against Liverpool earlier this season.

The former AS Monaco forward introduced himself to the Old Trafford faithful by scoring a Henryesque solo goal against their bitter rivals, which eventually turned out to be the winning goal. Since then, the young Frenchman has made a perfect start to his Red Devils career by netting 5 goals in all competition so far this season.

Ahead of the highly anticipated Manchester derby, United are set to host their cross-town rivals City at Old Trafford and former player Ferdinand is full of praise for the young Frenchman and is surprised by how he has settled in so quick.

Ferdinand, now a TV pundit, has admitted he is left mesmerized by Martial’s pace, something which can frighten opponents more than Wayne Rooney’s brain and tenacity. However, he has insisted that Martial requires backup and support from his teammates.

“When the opposition team sheet comes in from the referee’s room there were times back in the day when you thought ‘Oh no’ or ‘this is going to be a tough game’.” he said.

“If Chelsea had Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Didier Drogba all playing you knew you had to be on it. But with this Manchester United team I don’t know if there are any ­players – apart from Martial – whose name you look at on the teamsheet and say ‘he can hurt us if we give him too much time’.”

“Pace in the modern day game is a Godsend. Even I didn’t want to play against pace and when I was in my prime I was quick. I’d always want to know where my opponent was so I could put my hands on him and move him about.”

“I didn’t want someone like an Andy Cole who wants to run in behind you all day and make your life a misery. Martial is like that. “But he’s not going to do it on his own. He will need other players but his pace is a great asset to have.”