Rio Ferdinand has slammed Graeme Souness for his questionable verdict on Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez and midfielder Casemiro.
The two summer signings have become fan favourites at Old Trafford after a series of impressive performances, but Souness is yet to be convinced. The Liverpool icon insisted Martinez is too small for the Premier League and described Casemiro as "steady Eddie".
Ferdinand was perplexed by Souness' comments and has taken the chance to defend Martinez and Casemiro. The United icon believes his fellow pundit has not kept a close eye on their performances and highlighted their achievements at former clubs.
"Oh come on Graeme, man," Ferdinand told his YouTube channel. "He’s not watched the games. Graeme, I’m sorry because I like you and what a player he was by the way... but forget all that now, you’ve got to watch the games man! You’ve got to watch the games, you can’t be saying things like that.
"He’s obviously not watching Martinez because one of his main attributes when you speak to anyone who knows the game is he’s great with the ball, he’ll take it anywhere, he can pass, he’s tenacious, aggressive, can defend.
"To say he can’t pass… and he called Casemiro a steady Eddie? He’s won five Champions Leagues bruv and been integral to all of them. He can’t be a steady Eddie. United have been winning and Martinez is one of the best players in the team at the moment.
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"Casemiro, since coming in the team, has been arguably the most important player. The two players he’s picked out are probably the worst two he could have picked [for criticism]."
Martinez has arguably been United's best player since he arrived from Ajax in July. The Argentina international, 24, has featured in all 12 of their Premier League games and was named the club's Player of the Month in August - winning a record share of the fan vote.
As Ferdinand referred to, Casemiro won five European Cups and three LaLiga titles at Real Madrid - among other honours. The 30-year-old was also part of the Brazil squad that won the Copa America in 2019 and is set to represent his country at this year's World Cup.
"I just feel when you are that size you will get caught - you will get pinned in the box," Souness told talkSPORT when asked about Martinez. "I don’t think he’s terribly quick, I don’t think he’s terribly good on the ball, but he makes other people play and has real aggression, which Argentinians tend to have. We are talking about the Premier League."
On Casemiro, Souness added: "Casemiro will make a big difference to them. But I don’t see him as a great player. You [his talkSPORT colleagues] are accusing me of calling him a steady Eddie, I stand by that. He is a good steady Eddie. Not a great player.
"A steady Eddie is a 7.5 out of ten every week. In my language it means he’s a seven, 7.5 every week, he is a real team player."
