Ferdinand Urges Man Utd to Sign Arsenal’s Lewis-Skelly

Rio Ferdinand has called on Manchester United and Chelsea to sign Myles Lewis-Skelly from Arsenal, valuing the midfielder at £70m.

Rio Ferdinand has made a strong plea for Manchester United and Chelsea to pursue the signing of Arsenal’s young star, Myles Lewis-Skelly. Reports indicate that Arsenal has offered the 19-year-old midfielder to both clubs, and Ferdinand believes United should act quickly to secure his signature, suggesting they pay up to £70 million for the talented England international.

Ferdinand, speaking on his YouTube channel, encouraged Manchester United to ‘get the chequebook out’ and finalize the move for Lewis-Skelly. The midfielder recently played a pivotal role in Arsenal’s successful 2025-26 season, contributing significantly to their Premier League title win and a run to the Champions League final.

Despite his growing importance to Arsenal, the club is reportedly open to offers for Lewis-Skelly. This comes shortly after Arsenal completed a £75 million deal to acquire Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, which may have influenced their willingness to consider bids for Lewis-Skelly.

Ferdinand expressed his belief that a transaction between £60 million and £70 million would represent excellent value for United. “If I’m Manchester United right now, I say press the green button and buy him, take him, right now,” he asserted. “What a player, a top player. He was a massive part of the team when he was brought in towards the end of the season. He contributed to Arsenal winning the league; he was brilliant and came in and produced. If he’s on the market and he’s a good price, you have to take him,” he added.

Beyond his midfield capabilities, Ferdinand also highlighted Lewis-Skelly’s flexibility in playing as a left-back, which he believes would add tactical value to United. He pointed out that while Luke Shaw was primarily used in that position last season, the team lacks natural backup for him. Ferdinand noted that with Patrick Dorgu now positioned more as a left-winger, and with Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot not being natural left-backs, the addition of Lewis-Skelly could effectively address this gap in the squad.

He stated, “He’s young, a huge talent, can play in two positions, and I think mentally he’s made of the right stuff. The left-back position at Manchester United is not a problem because we’ve got Luke Shaw who played a lot of games last season and stayed fit. But if he does get injured, we haven’t got a natural left-back sitting there. Dorgu is more of a left-winger now and Mazraoui and Dalot aren’t full left-backs. So that’s an area I think you can bring in someone like Myles Lewis-Skelly and he can play, man, definitely.”

Since making his senior debut for Arsenal in 2024, Lewis-Skelly has amassed an impressive 75 appearances and has also earned six caps for England, though he was surprisingly left out of Thomas Tuchel’s recent World Cup squad. As Arsenal is seemingly open to selling following Guimaraes’ arrival, the ball is now in the court of Manchester United and Chelsea to determine whether they will lodge formal offers for the teenager, keeping him in the Premier League as he seeks to advance to the next stage of his career.