Rio Ferdinand Urges Manchester United and Chelsea to Sign Myles Lewis-Skelly

Rio Ferdinand has urged Manchester United and Chelsea to stop hesitating and throw serious money at Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly, insisting the 19-year-old could be a bargain at £60–70 million.

Reports claim Arsenal have offered the England international to both clubs this summer after a breakthrough season in which he grew from a frustrated squad player into a key figure in Mikel Arteta’s title-winning side. Lewis-Skelly forced his way into the team in the closing months of the campaign, then helped drive Arsenal over the line in the Premier League and all the way to the Champions League final.

That late surge has not stopped Arsenal from listening to offers. The club have just spent £75m to prise Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle, and the midfield reshuffle has left Lewis-Skelly’s future in North London uncertain.

Ferdinand, speaking on his YouTube channel, made it clear what he would do in United’s position.

“If I’m Manchester United right now I say press the green button and buy him, take him, right now,” he said. “What a player, a top player. He was a massive part of the team when he was brought in towards the end of the season. He contributed to Arsenal winning the league, he was brilliant and came in and produced.

“If he’s on the market and he’s a good price you have to take him. The good price I’m saying is £60m or £70m. If that’s the case, get the chequebook out, slap it down and sign him. No questions asked, I would take him.”

For Ferdinand, the appeal goes beyond what Lewis-Skelly offers in midfield. His ability to slot in at left-back could solve a long-standing structural issue at Old Trafford. Luke Shaw stayed fit and played regularly last season, but behind him the options are makeshift at best.

Ferdinand pointed out that Patrick Dorgu is now viewed more as a left-winger, while Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot are both more comfortable on the right or as inverted full-backs than as orthodox left-backs. Lewis-Skelly, in his eyes, gives a manager two positions covered at a high level.

“He’s young, a huge talent, can play in two positions and I think mentally he’s made of the right stuff,” Ferdinand said. “The left-back position at Manchester United is not a problem because we’ve got Luke Shaw who played a lot of games last season and stayed fit.

“But if he does get injured we haven’t got a natural left-back sitting there. Dorgu is more of a left-winger now and Mazraoui and Dalot aren’t full left-backs. So that’s an area I think you can bring in someone like Myles Lewis-Skelly and he can play man, definitely.”

Lewis-Skelly has already packed plenty into the early stages of his career. Since making his senior debut for boyhood club Arsenal in 2024, he has racked up 75 first-team appearances and earned six caps for England. Even so, he missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s most recent World Cup squad, a reminder that his international story is still only just beginning.

Now comes the decisive call. With Arsenal open to a sale after landing Guimaraes, the next move sits with United and Chelsea. Do they turn admiration into a formal bid and keep one of England’s most versatile young talents in the Premier League at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge — or risk watching a rival steal a player Ferdinand believes is ready to define the next decade?