"I would 100 per cent agree with that" - Rio Ferdinand believes 27-year-old Manchester United star is the only signing to have improved at the club

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has slammed the Red Devils' recruitment system and has claimed that Bruno Fernandes is the only signing in the past decade that has improved at the club.

Fernandes has been one of the standouts for United since his arrival in January 2020. Despite not having one of his best campaigns this time around, the Portuguese star was handed a new long-term deal to keep him at the club until 2026.

However, the same cannot be said for many other players who have joined in the past ten years as some of them haven't been able to put in consistent performances.

This was something Ferdinand was quick to point out as he said Manchester United's poor recruitment of players is one of the reasons why they're struggling on the pitch.

Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel (via Daily Mail), the former England international said the recruitment culture at the club needs to change if United are to return to their glory days.

"I just feel that, when you look at it, Man United – you can talk about training grounds and all that stuff – but please, you’ve got to get the football stuff right."

"You’ve got to get the culture at the football club right, you’ve got to get the players that you recruit right."

"And if you look at the players that have been coming to this football club for the last eight or 10 years, if you were going to do a list of all of them on paper, how many of these players have come to this football club and actually grown in value or got better?" said Ferdinand.

Ferdinand was asked if Fernandes was the only player to have improved at the club and the former United star agreed.

"I would 100 per cent agree with that. I don’t know any others that have come and you actually go, 'Oh he’s actually miles better! We’ll get more money for him now!' There’s none."

"And that goes down to coaching, that goes down to recruitment, and so those areas need to be improved drastically for us to be able to improve."

"Because you could go in and buy three or four players this window, but if we’re going to continue in the same vein as what was before, those players that you bring in are going to be declining rather than getting better and improving your team – so that needs to be changed."

Manchester United are in for a major rebuild during the upcoming summer transfer window

The upcoming transfer window will be crucial for Manchester United as they're set for a massive rebuild.

The likes of Paul Pogba, Edinson Cavani, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata are all heading for the exit door at Old Trafford, while a few other players have uncertain futures at the club.

According to reports, Manchester United are planning to sign at least four players in the summer, which will include a striker, an attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder and a right-winger.

With current Ajax boss Erik ten Hag tipped to take over the managerial job at United, it will be interesting to see who his transfer targets are for the above roles.