Rio Ferdinand believes Chelsea will have to wait until next season before their new signings can pose a significant threat to Manchester United’s grip on the Premier League.
The defender, whose United side travel to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, says the £70m pair of Fernando Torres and David Luiz need time to settle into Chelsea’s style of play.
“The Torres deal did make me think ‘Wow, they’ve really gone for it,’” Ferdinand told Inside United magazine. “But will those transfers really improve Chelsea this season? I don’t know. Next season, I would say yeah, they will. But it’s hard to settle in quickly in January”
While Sir Alex Ferguson ultimately kept his promise and declined to make any January signings, Ferdinand had a feeling that United were looking to add to their first team squad.
“I thought that there was a chance we might make a surprise bid for someone. People assume that, as players, we’re in the know, but unfortunately we’re not. It’s not for want of trying to find out, that’s for sure!
“But the manager goes about things the right way. He keeps things to himself and plays his cards close to his chest. And he always moves quickly to make a deal.”
United sit four points clear of second-laced Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and lead Chelsea by 15 points. But although Ferdinand concedes that victory over Chelsea on Tuesday or Arsenal on 1 May will have a significant bearing on the title race, he and his team-mates are looking at a bigger picture.
“Of course we want to beat Arsenal and Chelsea, but you don’t get any more points for doing that,” he said. “You need to win every game and that’s the bottom line. That’s when experience comes into play, and we know that we have a lot of that here at United.
“We know it’s not just about those big games – we have to perform every week, against every team that we come up against.”
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