Manchester United’s back four has yet to return to the solidity seen when Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra lined out alongside one another under Alex Ferguson.
Ever since that quartet left Old Trafford, United fans have been left crying out for more defensive organisation and although Chris Smalling is well on his way to maturing into a top centre-half, Ferdinand believes he still has to improve in one particular area.
Smalling, who has been compared to Ferdinand for club and country due to both players’ combination of defensive awareness and ability on the ball, is currently representing England at Euro 2016 and Ferdinand has admitted that he’d like to see Smalling become more vocal at the heart of the back four for both England and Manchester United.
“It’s an important tournament for Chris Smalling,” Ferdinand told BBC Sport. “He’s probably the first centre-half on the team-sheet.
“It’s the time now for him to go in there and take the opportunity he’s been given and become the leader in that back four.
“Communication is the biggest area for him to improve on. He’s got to communicate and drag people around that back four to really be that commanding centre-half he really wants to be and I know he wants to be that.”
