Rio Ferdinand is no spring chicken and his recent injury record isn’t the greatest. Manchester United scouts have been scouring the globe to replace the man that cost £30 million and it seems they might have found a replacement.
Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay is the Man United have set their sights on to fill the void Rio Ferdinand will leave when he decides enough is enough or leaves Old Trafford with his contract due to end in the summer.
Garay started his career in his native Argentina with Newell’s Old Boys before heading to Europe to sign for Spanish side Racing Santander. The Argentinean quickly adapted to Spanish football and established himself as a major part in Santander’s side playing 60 games in 3 seasons.
Testament to Garay’s impressive displays in La Liga he was snapped up by Spanish giants Real Madrid and duly loaned back to Santander for the 2008/09 season.
On his return to Madrid, Garay made 20 appearances in the 2009/10 season but fell out of favour under new manager Jose Mourinho making just 5 appearances in the 2010/11 season.
At the start of the 2011/12 season Garay was sold to Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of around £5 million and went on to make 24 league appearances and scored 2 goals. The 26 year old has continued to impress in his 12 appearances so far this season alerting Manchester United.
Garay is a tailor made replacement for Ferdinand with his skill lying in his ability on the ball and discipline to not dive in to unnecessary tackles.
Sam Jewell