Rio Ferdinand names Ten Hag signing as one of Man Utd’s three best players this season | OneFootball

Rio Ferdinand recently named Manchester United‘s three best-performing players this season and included two stars who were recently signed.

After a somewhat turbulent start to the 2025-26 campaign, the Red Devils have picked up in recent weeks, collecting 11 points from their last five matches.

During a recent episode on his YouTube channel, Ferdinand picked out the three players who’ve impressed him the most.

Matthijs de Ligt

The Dutch defender arrived at United in 2024 from Bayern Munich with big expectations on his shoulders.

Following a somewhat mixed debut season in Manchester, the 26-year-old has proven his worth under Ruben Amorim of late.

“De Ligt has been our best defender this season, he is even adding goals for us, like the last-minute goal [against Tottenham] the other day,” Ferdinand said.

“But in terms of his press, he’s assertive and has the willingness to go into foreign areas of the pitch to defend at the right times. His clearing out of his box is brilliant.”

Bryan Mbeumo

Having scored four goals in his last four matches, it’s no wonder that Ferdinand singled out Mbeumo for praise.

United struggled to find a consistent source of goals last season, having only averaged 1.15 goals per game in the Premier League during 2024-25.

That number has now jumped to 1.73 goals per game, largely thanks to the impact of Mbeumo.

“Mbeumo has been a joke as well,” Ferdinand said.

“He’s really stepped in and been a mainstay and is someone who can give us two or three seconds on the ball, score important goals for us and create chances.

“I saw Thomas Frank’s comments about him yesterday, being a complete winger.

“I think, by the end of the season, he will be one of the most complete wingers in the league. He can do everything, he just needs to keep consistently doing that in a red shirt.”

Having chipped in with six goal contributions so far this season, he’s also garnered praise from his manager of late.

“He’s a working machine,” is how Amorim described the 26-year-old.

“He’s so good in transitions. He’s improving when we are organising the final third.”

Senne Lammens

When discussing United’s recent improvement, it’s virtually impossible not to mention Lammens.

The Belgian goalkeeper looks like a big upgrade from Andre Onana, who struggled to find his best form in a United shirt.

“And the goalkeeper,” Ferdinand said. “You can’t talk about anyone being our most important player without the goalkeeper.

“It is no coincidence with our upturn in form that we have a goalkeeper that it seems all our players trust.”

In the Premier League, Lammens is currently averaging 0.3 goals prevented per 90, which is the fourth-best record of any goalkeeper in the league.

Of course, it’s still early days for the 23-year-old, but the early signs have been very promising.