United legend: ‘Mourinho should try and bring this defender back to Old Trafford’

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand believes that former Red Devils defender Michael Keane could follow in the footsteps of Paul Pogba and return to Old Trafford a ‘huge star’.

38-year-old Ferdinand, who played 455 times for United and won six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008, was speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about the Burnley defender, who left Old Trafford back in 2015 after just four first team appearances for the club.

However, 24-year-old Keane, who has played in all 25 of Burnley’s Premier League games this term, has seriously impressed at the heart of Sean Dyche’s back four, helping them to 12th place in the table.

And Ferdinand reckons that the former England Under-21 international could return to United in the near future, and flourish much in the same way Pogba has done after his own tricky moments at Old Trafford in the past.

Ferdinand said: ‘He [Keane] is always wanting to improve, whether it’s nutrition, whether it’s physical, whether it’s actual working on your game after training. He was always wanting to learn and understand more.

‘To leave United was a huge wrench for him. But it allowed him to go and spread his wings and bloom really and become the player he is now.

‘You look at the likes of Pogba; he’s gone away and come back now and become a huge star. Michael Keane, he could do that himself.’

The former England defender is clearly a huge fan of Keane, and it’s no wonder given that he has been part of a Clarets defence which has conceded just 12 goals at home in the league this season.

Clearly, Keane is a supremely talented defender with a big future in the game, but whether he makes the move back to United in the coming years very much remains to be seen.