Rio Ferdinand defends Erik ten Hag over Jadon Sancho as Man Utd 'cracks' claim made

Manchester United are now preparing for the Manchester derby after a narrow yet meaninful Champions League win during the week. The Red Devils had to rely on a penalty save to get thorugh, but they kept their European campaign alive with a 1-0 win to make it three wins on the bounce across all competitions.

Erik ten Hag's men will now face a huge test against a City side who will be desperate to reclaim top spot over the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news and transfer rumours surrounding Old Trafford.

Ferdinand's Ten Hag defence

Rio Ferdinand has defended Ten Hag over his questionable treatment of Jadon Sancho, who has been made to eat, work and change at the academy building due to an ongoing bust-up. Ferdinand said: “Last season I looked at it and I could see something building and I was optimistic but we haven’t seen that consistency so far of performances, shape, passing patterns. The only thing I can say is he wants to press, not by seeing it but by listening to him. He wants them to be aggressive.

“I’m not making excuses but, in his defence, I don’t know any manager who has come into a job this big, or any job in England, who has had this much to deal with off the pitch. The big sagas he has been involved in and the takeover of the club itself. No one has had to do that before. Pep hasn’t had to do that, he had a seamless transition. Yes, other managers have had difficult moments but 95 per cent of the issues are on the pitch with the odd thing off the pitch.

“When you are winning they get put to the side. This guy the amount of scrutiny he is under and having to answer difficult questions in a new country, new culture, new language, about s**t that he would never have learned about when he earned his coaching badges, ever. It is a lot to deal with. So has he actually had a long time to think solely about football? He is thinking about stuff that is nothing to do with tactics, recruitment, football. It’s hard."

Berbatov prediction

Former United star Dimitar Berbatov has issued his predictions for the Manchester derby. He told Betfair: "Let’s not be blinded by the three points and let’s not pretend we didn’t see some cracks in the team. Copenhagen were easily able to create goal-scoring opportunities. They didn’t score due to Onana and the inexperience of the Copenhagen players. That’s why it was 0-0 for most of the game. This lack of communication, positioning, reading of the game, it needs to be addressed. Yes, it was 1-0 and three points, but I hope everybody will pay attention to the mistakes that were made in the game and correct them immediately.” “Let me tell you something, if United allow the same freedom like they did against Copenhagen to City, they are going to suffer. There are teams, when you play against them, you can afford to make mistakes because you know if there’s a lack of quality in the opposition, they are not going to take advantage of the mistakes you’re making.

“But then there are teams when you know if you make half of a mistake they will punish you – teams like City. You need to be 100% more concentrated against City. Based on what City have achieved so far and how they’re still performing at a high level this season, I don’t think you can have the slightest thought of underestimating them in any way possible.

‌“You need to get that thought out of your mind. Even if they are losing or not playing the way people expect to play, they still have so much quality in the team that the quality can compensate for a bad performance and get you the three points.

They are title challengers, they are Champions League challengers, they challenge for everything. The experience with their manager knowing when to play the right players during the season, and who rests when, it’s unbelievable and that is how you win trophies. This is what good managers do.”