Rio Ferdinand has questioned ex-Arsenal star Paul Merson’s player knowledge after he labelled new Manchester United signing Marcel Sabitzer as “fourth rate”.

The Sky Sports pundit believes that the Red Devils’ decision to recruit the Austrian was a rushed decision following the injury sustained by Christian Eriksen but Ferdinand was having none of it:

“I am absolutely delighted with it. If I was trying to get a short-term replacement for Eriksen at the drop of a hat, Sabitzer is the player I would get. I watched a hell of a lot of this player when he was at RB Leipzig and he was sensational. He was integral to everything they did.”

“Yes, he’s gone to Bayern and hasn’t tore it up there or become a regular but the players he’s behind are big, household names. He will be a really good signing for Man United. He’s an experienced player who has played in big games, Champions League games.”

“For me, those comments [from Paul Merson] stink of someone who hasn’t seen him play and who wouldn’t know who he is or if he’s left or right-footed because you can’t say it’s a bad signing. This guys knows how to play football. You don’t get signed by Bayern Munich if you’re a chump. He’s a really, really good footballer. Manchester United couldn’t have done any better, I don’t think.”

Sabitzer has struggled for game time since moving to Bayern from RB Leipzig eighteen months ago. In his 54 appearances for the Bundesliga champions, he has scored just two goals and provided two assists.

That is a stark contrast to the 52 goals and 42 assists he managed in 229 matches for Leipzig, but it should be pointed out that the 28-year-old has only started 20 times for Bayern.

With that being the case, it is hard to judge him on his time at the German club and Ferdinand is probably correct to base his assessment on his more successful spell at his previous team. We shall have to wait and see, though, which pundit turns out to be correct.