Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman has recently been linked with a move to Manchester United, but Rio Ferdinand has questioned the job he has done at Selhurst Park.
The former Palace striker and manager has been the club’s sporting director since 2017, and has overseen many transfers and managerial appointments during his time at the club.
With Man United set to make wholesale changes at the club as they are set to introduce Sir Jim Ratcliffe to their ownership group, Freedman has been linked as a potential option as a new sporting director for them as they aim to implement a better transfer strategy.
However, Ferdinand has now controversially claimed that the job Freedman has done at Palace does not give him the credentials to potentially make a bigger move.
Rio Ferdinand criticises Dougie Freedman
Speaking on his Vibe With Five YouTube channel, Ferdinand claimed that Freedman did not have as many transfer success stories as the likes of Newcastle director Dan Ashworth.
“His name has come out of left field. No disrespect, but I don’t remember anyone saying ‘wow, look at what Palace are doing’,” Ferdinand stated of Freedman.
“Paul Mitchell, I get it, he has a history of doing good things and the same with Michael Edwards, Julian Ward at Liverpool,” he stated of Man United’s other targets.
“They have a body of successful work that is recognised, so has Dan Ashworth with England and then Brighton and now at Newcastle. You can understand that but nobody says that about Palace.
“(Michael) Olise, (Eberechi) Eze and (Marc) Guehi are three players you look at that have been good signings but for every one of those, there are others that haven’t worked.”
Ferdinand is wrong about Dougie Freedman
Freedman has been operating with a limited budget throughout his time at Palace, and has still identified top talent and had a lot of successes when it comes to scouting and selling.
He successfully signed Olise, Eze and Guehi for relatively low fees, with the trio costing around £40m combined, and their combined value right now is arguably close to £200m.
Whilst there have been questionable deals, such as the decision to spend heavily on Matheus Franca when there were other priorities this summer, and even then the Brazilian youngster may well come good in the future.
Freedman is currently not receiving the credit he deserves for what he has done at Palace over the years. Ferdinand’s dismissiveness towards Freedman may not sit well with Palace fans, but they may also be relieved that the club may not have to deal with unexpectedly losing Freedman to Man United in the middle of the season.
