Manchester United: Rio Ferdinand tells Jose Mourinho to sign midfielder and defender this summer

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has urged Jose Mourinho to bring in a midfielder and a defender in the summer transfer window. The Red Devils have already made three signings as Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have completed their move to Old Trafford.

The arrival of Swedish striker and the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has strengthened United's attack, which already boast the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and captain Wayne Rooney. The former England international says United have a strong attack and want another two positions to be bolstered this summer.

"Manchester United have a strong attack. It's the midfield and the defence that needs strengthening," Ferdinand told Copa90.

Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has been heavily linked with a return to Old Trafford this summer. According to Sky Sports, the Turin club wants a world-record fee of £100m ($132.3m) in letting their star player leave the Serie A winners.

Ferdinand has backed United's ongoing pursuit of the France international. The former Leeds United star claims the investment in signing Pogba could benefit the 20-time English champions on a long run as he believes the Juventus star will become the best midfielder in the world.

"I think €120million [£100m] is a lot of money, for any player. You'd expect 40-plus goals per season for that figure. But Pogba is going to be the best midfielder in the world in the next couple of years. He is a leader, who will grow into an even better leader. He could be the start of a new generation of football at Manchester United, given that opportunity," he explained.

Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford after the latter was shown the exit door in May. The job at United saw the Portuguese tactician return to management following his sacking at Chelsea last December. Ferdinand has backed the former Inter Milan and Chelsea manager to help United build a title challenge.

"When you have a manager with Mourinho's ability, you always have a chance of winning the league. It's unheard of for Manchester United to be saying you want to finish in a Champions League position. In my days, the goal was to win the league," the Old Trafford favourite stressed.

"United got Mourinho at the best time possible. Winners are dangerous when they're wounded. He's focused.

"He has a lot of work to do at United, because they finished fifth last season and were not good enough to get into the Champions League," Ferdinand stressed.