Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand does not believe the comparisons between Harry Maguire and Virgil van Dijk are fair following his world record transfer to Old Trafford.
Maguire became the most expensive defender in the history of the game when he joined United for £80m in the summer transfer window, a fee which eclipsed the £75m paid by Liverpool for Van Dijk last year.
Van Dijk made an incredible impact at Anfield by strengthening Jurgen Klopp's side and transforming them into genuine Premier League title contenders, as well as playing a vital role in their Champions League success.
However, Ferdinand does not believe it is fair to expect the same sort of immediate impact from Maguire now that he has joined United.
Ferdinand believes Van Dijk's success was made easier by the higher quality within the Liverpool squad, whereas the United team still has other areas which need reinforcement.
“Inevitably he is going to be judged against someone like Virgil van Dijk because he has gone for more money,” the former United defender told The Express.
“He’ll be judged against what he’s done and they’ve now won the Champions League.
“But I think it’s an unfair comparison because what Virgil came in to was a team that was closer to the top, closer to winning and a lot of the jigsaw was already pieced together.”
