Rio Ferdinand rues Manchester United failing to sign Renato Sanches: 'I'd have dragged him by the hair to us'
* Rio Ferdinand: Manchester United should have signed Renato Sanches
* Former United defender believes 19-year-old should have been prioritised
* Portugal midfielder joined Bayern Munich from Benfica for around £29m
* Ferdinand has been impressed by the level of maturity shown by Sanches
Rio Ferdinand is surprised Manchester United were not more aggressive in their pursuit of Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches, who joined Bayern Munich from Benfica last summer.
Ferdinand has claimed that if he were a United scout, he would have 'dragged Sanches by his hair' to the club, given the player's supremely gifted technical abilities for someone so young.
The 19-year-old completed an initial €35million (£29m) deal in May to join the Bundesliga champions, and United boss Jose Mourinho has since admitted that he would have fought for the signature of the wonderkid had he arrived in the hotseat earlier.
Manchester United were beaten to the signature of Renato Sanches by Bayern Munich. Former United defender Rio Ferdinand feels the club missed a trick missing out on Sanches
Ferdinand, who was part of the last United squad to win the Premier League in 2013, believes the current set-up would have benefited greatly from going all out to sign Sanches above all other transfer targets last summer.
'If I was a Man United scout, Renato Sanches would already be at the club,' Ferdinand told Portuguese daily A Bola. 'I'd have dragged him by his hair and said "let's go"'
'Renato is a modern player: Aggressive, strong, powerful, got technique, can shoot and pass. I like him. He's young, but takes responsibility.'
Sanches - who has made 10 appearances for Bayern under Carlo Ancelotti this season - enjoyed a storming Euro 2016 for Portugal, where he claimed the Young Player of the Tournament as well as the trophy itself in Paris.
The bustling midfielder also won the Golden Boy award for Europe's best young player earlier this month, pipping England international Marcus Rashford for the prize.
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