Sir Alex Ferguson snubbed two Rio Ferdinand transfer recommendations, they scored a combined 199 Premier League goals

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson ignored his transfer advice on two occasions.

Ferdinand lifted the lid on two transfer recommendations that went down like a lead balloon with his old boss.

The 44-year-old revealed he once attempted to talk up deals for former Tottenham duo Aaron Lennon and Jermaine Defoe, when both were at the peak of their powers.

Having trained and travelled to the 2006 World Cup alongside Lennon with England, Ferdinand was well aware of the winger’s talent.

Speaking on his YouTube channel Vibe with Five, Ferdinand said: "Like Fergie, I’ve said to him, ‘From what I’ve seen in training, if he can replicate it in games, we need to get this guy.

"But Fergie just never moved on it. We had so many players.”

Another position United were well stocked in was striker, but that didn’t stop Ferdinand from recommending was Defoe, another England team-mate.

Ferdinand said: "The one player I always used to say to Ferguson, 'If you want to buy someone from our England team, it should be Defoe.

"Because he wouldn’t have started for United all the time, but he would’ve been another type of 'Chicharito' [Javier Hernandez].

"Defoe could come on, and all he cares about is scoring. And if we’re winning 5-0, he’ll want to make it 6-0. We would’ve got him in so many positions to score, it would’ve been a joke."

While Ferguson never took up the chance to sign either player, they both had successful top flight careers, making a combing 723 appearances for Tottenham (361 for Defoe, 362 for Lennon).

Both played their final competitive matches in 2022, with Defoe having netted 163 Premier League goals in his career and Lennon netting on 36 occasions in the top flight.

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Topics: Football, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Jermain Defoe, Rio Ferdinand

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.