Rio Ferdinand says Jonny Evans has been absolutely amazed by £50k-a-week Man United player in training

Add as preferred source on Google

Rio Ferdinand has now been sharing a story of how surprised Jonny Evans was when he first arrived back at Manchester United this season.

At 36-years-old, Evans must be shocked that he’s played just so many games under Erik ten Hag this season.

The Northern Ireland international has appeared on 24 occasions, including 18 games in the Premier League.

And whilst there’s no doubting Evans’ experience and quality, he’d have been forgiven for thinking he was arriving to take a back seat.

However, the injuries suffered by Lisandro Martinez have completely changed the complexion of the season and Evans has been an important player.

That being said, Rio Ferdinand has now been sharing a story from when he recently spoke to Jonny Evans at Manchester United’s training ground.

Speaking on his podcast, FIVE, Ferdinand explained just how surprised Evans had been by the quality of Alejandro Garnacho since he returned.

Evans initially thought the 19-year-old would be something of a back-up player too, an impact sub whilst he was still developing.

But instead the Man United defender recognised a player who is becoming the go to man.

Rio Ferdinand says Jonny Evans has been amazed by Alejandro Garnacho at Man United

Speaking on the podcast, Ferdinand said the story was a testament to just how far Garnacho has come.

He said: “I went to Carrington the other day, the training ground, to do some filming and I was with Jonny Evans and Darren Fletcher.

“And Jonny Evans said he come back to Man United and obviously sees the players and and you expect ‘x’ from him and him etc, but he said I just thought Garnacho would be an impact player from the bench, a sub.

“He said he’s one of our main, if not the go to guy now. And it tells you his development, he’s 19-years-old man.”

Of course, just like Evans, Ferdinand has watched Garnacho play a starring role for Man United this season.

The £50k-a-week winger has been incredibly versatile in forward areas too, helping to cope with the absence of Rasmus Hojlund owing to injury.

And it’s clear that both Garnacho and Hojlund will be stalwarts of Man United’s future, regardless of who is at the helm.

That being said, Chris Sutton recently called for Man United to replace Erik ten Hag with another Premier League manager.